How to use the overtime calculator
- Enter your hourly rate. Use your base rate before any shift differential or bonus.
- Enter the hours you worked in one workweek. Count only hours actually worked. Paid vacation, holidays and sick days do not count toward overtime under federal rules, even though you are paid for them.
- Check the overtime settings. The defaults follow the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): overtime after 40 hours, at 1.5 times the regular rate. If your employer, union contract or state uses a different threshold or multiplier, change them.
- Add double-time hours if they apply. Some states and contracts pay 2× for certain hours. Enter how many of the overtime hours were double time.
- Add any non-discretionary bonus or commission earned for the same week: production bonuses, attendance bonuses or sales commission. These raise your regular rate, so they raise the overtime rate too.
Overtime formula
Overtime rate = regular rate × 1.5
Weekly pay = 40 × hourly rate + overtime hours × overtime rate
With a bonus: regular rate = (hourly rate × all hours + bonus) ÷ all hours
Worked example from the federal regulation. The Department of Labor’s rule on hourly workers, 29 CFR 778.110, uses a $12 rate and a 46-hour week. The first 40 hours pay $12 × 40 = $480. The 6 overtime hours pay $18 each (1.5 × $12), or $108. The week totals $588.
The regulation also shows the same total another way: all 46 hours at the straight $12 rate ($552) plus a half-time premium of $6 for each of the 6 overtime hours ($36). Both methods give $588, and the second one is the key to handling bonuses.
Overtime when you earn a bonus or commission
Under the FLSA, overtime is figured on the regular rate, which includes most pay you earn for working, not only the hourly rate. Non-discretionary bonuses (ones you are promised for meeting a goal) and commissions are part of it. The regulation on commissions, 29 CFR 778.117, says commissions must be included whether they are your only pay or come on top of an hourly wage.
Continuing the regulation’s example, suppose the same worker also earns a $46 production bonus for the week. Straight-time pay becomes $552 + $46 = $598. Divided by 46 hours, the regular rate is $13. The half-time premium is now $6.50 for each of the 6 overtime hours, or $39, so the week pays $637 rather than $588 + $46 = $634.
That $3 difference is easy to miss on a pay stub. If you receive a bonus and work overtime in the same week, compare your overtime line with this calculation. Discretionary gifts, such as an unannounced holiday bonus, are treated differently and are not included.
What time and a half means
Time and a half is 1.5 times your regular rate. To find it, multiply the rate by 1.5, or add half the rate to itself. At $22 an hour, time and a half is $22 + $11 = $33.
| Hourly rate | Time and a half | Double time | Pay for 45 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $22.50 | $30.00 | $712.50 |
| $18.00 | $27.00 | $36.00 | $855.00 |
| $22.00 | $33.00 | $44.00 | $1,045.00 |
| $25.00 | $37.50 | $50.00 | $1,187.50 |
| $30.00 | $45.00 | $60.00 | $1,425.00 |
The last column is 40 straight-time hours plus 5 hours at time and a half. A useful shortcut: each overtime hour is worth one and a half regular hours, so 5 overtime hours add 7.5 hours of pay to the 40.
The workweek rule and what counts as hours worked
Federal overtime is measured one workweek at a time. The Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet #23 describes a workweek as a fixed, recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour days, which does not have to match the calendar week. Hours cannot be averaged across two weeks: 50 hours one week and 30 the next is 10 overtime hours, even though the two weeks total 80.
The same fact sheet notes that federal law does not require extra pay just for working on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. Those days pay overtime only if they push you past 40 hours, unless your employer or contract promises a premium.
Paid time off works the other way. Under 29 CFR 778.218, vacation, holiday and sick pay are not pay for hours worked, so they are left out of both the hours count and the regular rate. A week with 8 hours of holiday pay and 36 hours worked has no federal overtime.
When these rules may not apply
The calculator assumes you are a non-exempt employee paid by the hour. Some salaried employees in executive, administrative or professional roles are exempt from overtime, and some jobs have special rules. Independent contractors are not covered by overtime law at all; they set their own rates.
Several states require more than federal law, such as daily overtime after 8 hours or double time after 12, and some union contracts do too. This calculator does not apply any state rule automatically. Enter the threshold, multiplier and double-time hours your employer actually uses, and the math follows them.
If your pay stub does not match, the usual causes are a different workweek start day, a bonus not yet included in the regular rate, or hours rounded by the timekeeping system. Your payroll department can tell you which one applies.
Estimating overtime over a month or a year
Because overtime is counted weekly, estimate longer periods week by week. Five extra hours every week at $22 an hour adds 5 × $33 = $165 a week, about $8,580 over 52 weeks. Uneven weeks matter: working 50 hours one week and 30 the next earns 10 overtime hours, $330 at time and a half, while two 40-hour weeks earn none, even though both pairs total 80 hours.
Sources & assumptions
How this calculator gets its numbers. Full method: our methodology.
- Overtime starts after the weekly threshold you set (40 hours under the federal FLSA) and is figured one workweek at a time.
- Regular rate = (hourly rate × all hours + non-discretionary bonus or commission) ÷ all hours. Overtime premium = (multiplier − 1) × regular rate × overtime hours.
- Double-time hours, if entered, are part of the hours over the threshold and are paid at 2 × the regular rate.
- Paid vacation, holidays and sick time are not hours worked and should not be counted in hours.
- Daily overtime rules and exemptions (for example salaried exempt staff) are not modeled.
Sources
- U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), 29 CFR 778.110, Hourly rate employee. The two worked examples: $12 an hour for 46 hours is $588; with a $46 production bonus the regular rate becomes $13 and the week pays $637.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA. Overtime at not less than one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek; each workweek stands alone; no federal overtime requirement for weekends or holidays as such.
- U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), 29 CFR 778.117, Commission payments—general. Commissions are payments for hours worked and must be included in the regular rate, whether they are the only pay or added to a salary or hourly rate.
- U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), 29 CFR 778.218, Pay for certain idle hours. Vacation, holiday and sick pay are not compensation for hours worked, so they are left out of the regular rate and do not count toward overtime hours.
Last reviewed . Some states and union contracts require more than federal law; this calculator applies the rules you enter.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate time and a half?
Multiply your hourly rate by 1.5. At $20 an hour, time and a half is $30. Then multiply by the overtime hours: 6 hours of overtime at $30 is $180, added to your pay for the first 40 hours.
How much is 50 hours at $18 an hour with overtime?
The first 40 hours pay $18 × 40 = $720. The 10 overtime hours pay $27 each (1.5 × $18), or $270. The week totals $990 before tax, which averages $19.80 per hour worked.
Does a bonus change my overtime rate?
A non-discretionary bonus does. It is added to your straight-time pay for the week and divided by all hours worked to get the regular rate, and overtime is 1.5 times that rate. In the federal example, a $46 bonus over 46 hours raises the regular rate from $12 to $13.
Is overtime calculated per day or per week?
Under federal law it is per workweek: hours over 40 in a fixed seven-day period. Some states and contracts add daily overtime, for example after 8 hours in a day. If yours does, enter the overtime hours that result and the multiplier your employer uses.
Do holidays and vacation count toward overtime?
Not under federal rules. Paid holidays, vacation and sick time are not hours worked, so they do not count toward the 40 hours. Some employers count them anyway by policy, which you can reflect by entering those hours.
What is double time pay?
Double time is twice your regular rate, so $40 an hour if you normally earn $20. Federal law requires only time and a half; double time comes from some state laws, union contracts or employer policies. Enter the double-time hours separately so they are paid at 2× instead of 1.5×.