Overtime Calculator

What is overtime pay?

Overtime pay is extra money you earn for working more than your standard hours. Simple as that.

In the US, that usually means anything over 40 hours a week. You work 45 hours? Those extra 5 hours get paid at a higher rate.

Most places pay time and a half. So if you make $20 an hour normally, overtime bumps that to $30. Some situations get you double time—$40 an hour using that same example.

This isn't optional for employers, by the way. It's the law in most countries. The Fair Labor Standards Act in the US requires it. Other countries have their own versions.

I think a lot of people don't realize how much overtime pay they're actually owed. They see extra hours on their paycheck and assume it's correct. It's often not.

How does an overtime calculator work?

An overtime calculator does the math you probably don't want to do yourself.

You plug in a few numbers:

• Your regular hourly rate
• How many regular hours you worked
• How many overtime hours you worked
• Your overtime multiplier (usually 1.5x or 2x)

The calculator runs a basic formula:

So if you worked 10 overtime hours at $20/hour with time-and-a-half:

That's your overtime pay. Add it to your regular pay, and you've got your total.

Could you do this by hand? Sure. But when you're dealing with different rates, multiple pay periods, or weird state rules—let the calculator handle it.

What are the different types of overtime?

Overtime isn't just one thing. There are different types, and they depend on where you live and who you work for.

This matters because the type of overtime affects when it kicks in and how much you get paid. Miss this, and you might be leaving money on the table.

1. Daily overtime

Daily overtime triggers when you work more than 8 hours in a single day.

Not every state uses this. California does. Nevada does. Most states don't—they only care about weekly totals.

Here's how it works in California: Hours 9-12 in a day get time and a half. Anything past 12 hours gets double time.

So if you work a 14-hour day at $20/hour:

• First 8 hours: $20 × 8 = $160
• Hours 9-12: $30 × 4 = $120
• Hours 13-14: $40 × 2 = $80

Total for that day: $360

Daily overtime can stack up fast if you're pulling long shifts.

2. Weekly overtime

Weekly overtime is the most common type in the US.

The FLSA says: anything over 40 hours in a workweek gets overtime pay. Doesn't matter if you worked 10-hour days or 5-hour days. It's the weekly total that counts.

Most employers only have to follow this federal rule. They don't worry about daily overtime unless their state requires it.

Quick example: You work 50 hours in a week at $25/hour.

• Regular pay: 40 × $25 = $1,000
• Overtime pay: 10 × $37.50 = $375
• Total: $1,375

This is probably the overtime calculation you'll use most often.

3. Consecutive day overtime

This one trips people up.

Some states—California again—have rules about working seven days in a row. If you work all seven days of a workweek, your seventh day gets special treatment.

In California, the first 8 hours of that seventh consecutive day get time and a half. Anything over 8 hours gets double time.

This is separate from your weekly overtime. It stacks.

Honestly, I don't think most workers even know this rule exists. But it does, and it can mean real money.

4. Holiday and weekend overtime

Holiday and weekend overtime is a bit different. It's usually not legally required.

The FLSA doesn't mandate extra pay for holidays or weekends. Some employers offer it anyway—through company policy or union contracts.

When it is offered, it's often double time. Sometimes time and a half.

Union workers tend to have the best holiday overtime rates. If you're in a union, check your contract. Those rates are usually negotiated in there.

How to calculate overtime pay?

Let me walk through the actual calculation. You can do this manually or use a calculator—either works.

But understanding the math helps you catch errors on your paycheck.

Step 1: Determine your regular hourly rate

If you're paid hourly, you already know this. It's whatever your employer agreed to pay you per hour.

If you're salaried, you need to convert it.

Take your annual salary. Divide by 2,080. That's 52 weeks times 40 hours.

Example: $52,000 salary ÷ 2,080 = $25/hour

That's your regular hourly rate for overtime purposes.

Some people make this more complicated than it needs to be. It's just division.

Step 2: Identify your overtime hours

This is total hours worked minus regular hours.

If your standard workweek is 40 hours and you worked 48:

Track your hours. Seriously. Don't rely on your employer's records being correct. Keep your own notes—even just in your phone.

Step 3: Calculate your overtime rate

Take your regular hourly rate and multiply by your overtime multiplier.

If you make $20/hour and get time-and-a-half:

For double time:

Step 4: Calculate total overtime pay

Now multiply your overtime rate by your overtime hours.

Using our example: 10 overtime hours at $30/hour overtime rate

This is the extra money on top of your regular pay.

Step 5: Calculate total pay

Final step. Add everything together.

Full example:

• 40 regular hours × $20 = $800
• 10 overtime hours × $30 = $300
• Total: $1,100

That's your gross pay for the week before taxes.

Overtime pay formula

Here's the basic formula again:

And the comprehensive version for total pay:

Let me run through a few scenarios.

Scenario 1: Standard time-and-a-half

• Regular rate: $18/hour
• Regular hours: 40
• Overtime hours: 8
• Multiplier: 1.5x

Scenario 2: Double time

• Regular rate: $22/hour
• Regular hours: 40
• Overtime hours: 5
• Multiplier: 2x

Scenario 3: Mixed overtime (California-style)

• Regular rate: $25/hour
• Regular hours: 8
• Overtime at 1.5x: 4 hours
• Overtime at 2x: 2 hours

The formula stays the same. The inputs change based on your situation.

What is the standard overtime rate?

Time and a half. That's the standard.

The FLSA sets this at 1.5 times your regular rate for any hours over 40 per week. It's been this way since 1938.

Why 1.5x? Honestly, it was a compromise when the law was written. Congress wanted to discourage excessive work hours without making overtime prohibitively expensive for businesses.

Double time isn't required under federal law. But some states mandate it for specific situations—like working over 12 hours in California. And some union contracts guarantee it.

I think time and a half is fair for regular overtime. Double time should probably be standard for holidays, but that's just my opinion.

Overtime laws and regulations by country

Overtime laws vary a lot depending on where you work. What's legally required in one country might be completely different in another.

This matters if you work internationally or if you're an employer with workers in multiple countries.

United States overtime rules

The Fair Labor Standards Act is the federal baseline. It requires time-and-a-half pay for hours over 40 per week for non-exempt employees.

Exempt vs non-exempt is the big question. Exempt employees don't get overtime. Non-exempt employees do.

To be exempt, you typically need to:

• Earn at least $684/week ($35,568/year)
• Be paid on salary
• Perform executive, administrative, or professional duties

Some states go further than federal law. California requires daily overtime after 8 hours. Alaska and Nevada have similar rules. Always check your state's specific requirements.

The overtime salary threshold gets updated periodically. It was raised in 2019 and there have been recent attempts to raise it again. Keep an eye on this if you're borderline.

United Kingdom overtime regulations

The UK doesn't have a legal requirement for overtime pay. That surprised me when I first learned it.

Overtime is entirely based on your employment contract. If your contract says you get extra pay for overtime, you get it. If it doesn't, you don't.

What the UK does have is the Working Time Regulations. These limit the workweek to 48 hours on average—though workers can opt out in writing.

In practice, many UK employers do pay overtime premiums. It's just not legally mandated the way it is in the US.

Canada overtime laws

Canada gets complicated because each province has different rules.

Federal employees follow federal standards: time-and-a-half after 40 hours per week.

But most workers fall under provincial rules:

• Ontario: Overtime after 44 hours/week
• Quebec: Overtime after 40 hours/week
• British Columbia: Daily overtime after 8 hours, plus weekly after 40

You need to know which province governs your employment. The threshold hours aren't the same everywhere.

Australia overtime standards

Australia handles overtime through the Fair Work Act and modern awards.

Modern awards are industry-specific documents that set minimum pay rates, including overtime. Most employees fall under some award.

Typical Australian overtime rates:

• First 2-3 overtime hours: 1.5x
• After that: 2x
• Sundays and public holidays: Often 2x or higher

Australia tends to have stronger overtime protections than the US, in my experience. The award system is complex but comprehensive.

European Union overtime regulations

The EU Working Time Directive sets a maximum 48-hour workweek. Member states have to implement this, but they handle the details differently.

The directive allows workers to opt out voluntarily—so it's not an absolute cap.

Overtime pay rates aren't standardized across the EU. France, Germany, Spain—they all have different approaches. Some mandate premium pay; others leave it to collective bargaining.

If you're working in Europe, you need to check the specific country's rules. The EU provides the framework, but implementation varies.

Who is eligible for overtime pay?

Not everyone gets overtime. This is where exempt vs non-exempt status matters.

Non-exempt employees get overtime pay. Exempt employees don't.

Under the FLSA, you're probably non-exempt unless:

1. You earn at least $684 per week on salary
2. You perform specific exempt duties

The duties tests are:

• Executive exemption: You manage a department or subdivision, supervise two or more employees, and have authority over hiring/firing
• Administrative exemption: You do office work directly related to management or business operations, and you exercise independent judgment on significant matters
• Professional exemption: You do work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning

Job title doesn't determine exemption. Actual job duties do.

A lot of employers get this wrong—either intentionally or not. I've seen "managers" who manage no one being classified as exempt. That's not legal.

If you think you're misclassified, it's worth looking into. The back pay could be significant.

How to use an overtime calculator?

Using the calculator is straightforward.

1. Enter your regular hourly rate — If salaried, divide annual salary by 2,080 first
2. Enter your regular hours — Usually 40 per week
3. Enter your overtime hours — Total hours minus regular hours
4. Select your overtime multiplier — 1.5x for time and a half, 2x for double time

Hit calculate. The tool gives you:

• Your overtime pay
• Your regular pay
• Your total pay

The main benefit is accuracy. You don't have to worry about making math errors. And if you're checking against your paycheck, you'll know immediately if something's off.

Some calculators handle multiple overtime rates too—like if you have hours at 1.5x and hours at 2x in the same period.

Benefits of using an overtime calculator

Why use a calculator instead of doing the math yourself?

Accuracy — No calculation errors. The formula doesn't change; the inputs do.

Speed — Takes seconds instead of minutes. Especially useful if you're calculating multiple pay periods.

Error reduction — Manual math goes wrong. Especially with weighted averages or multiple rates.

Budget planning — Employers can forecast labor costs before approving overtime.

Compliance checking — Helps ensure you're paying (or being paid) what the law requires.

Paycheck verification — Workers can double-check that their employer got it right.

I think the biggest benefit is transparency. When you can run the numbers yourself, you're not relying on someone else to be accurate—or honest.

Frequently asked questions

Is overtime calculated daily or weekly?

Depends on where you work.

Federal law uses weekly. The FLSA only cares about hours over 40 per week.

Some states add daily overtime on top. California kicks in overtime after 8 hours in a day. Nevada does too. Colorado has daily overtime for certain industries.

You might owe both daily and weekly overtime in states with daily rules. They stack.

Check your state's specific laws. The federal rule is just the minimum.

Do all employees get overtime pay?

No. Exempt employees don't.

Common exempt categories include:

• Executive employees
• Administrative employees
• Professional employees
• Outside sales employees
• Computer professionals (in some cases)

To be exempt, you need to meet both the salary test and the duties test. Making $35,568+ doesn't automatically make you exempt—your job duties matter too.

Most hourly workers are non-exempt. Most low-to-mid level salaried employees are too.

Can my employer refuse to pay overtime?

Not legally—if you're entitled to it.

If you're non-exempt and you worked the hours, they owe you the money. Period.

If they're refusing, you have options:

1. Document everything—hours worked, pay received
2. Talk to HR or payroll first (might be an honest mistake)
3. File a complaint with the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division
4. Consult an employment attorney

Wage theft is a real thing, and it happens more than people think. Don't assume your employer is right just because they're your employer.

How is overtime taxed?

Same as regular income. There's no special overtime tax rate.

Your overtime might look more heavily taxed on your paycheck, though. That's because of how withholding works—the system calculates based on that check as if you earned that much every pay period.

But when you file your annual taxes, it all evens out. Overtime is just income. It gets taxed at whatever your marginal rate is.

Some people turn down overtime because they think they'll lose it all to taxes. That's not how it works. More income is still more money in your pocket.

Can I waive my right to overtime pay?

Generally, no.

The FLSA doesn't let employees waive their right to overtime. Even if you sign something saying you won't claim it, that agreement isn't enforceable.

There are narrow exceptions. Some union contracts have special provisions. Certain public sector employees have different rules.

But for most private sector workers? You can't waive it. Your employer can't ask you to waive it. And any agreement saying you did is worthless.

What if I work different hourly rates?

You need to calculate a weighted average.

Here's how:

1. Add up total earnings at all rates
2. Divide by total hours worked
3. That's your weighted average regular rate
4. Apply the overtime multiplier to that rate

Example:

• 20 hours at $15/hour = $300
• 20 hours at $20/hour = $400
• Total: $700 for 40 hours
• Weighted average: $700 ÷ 40 = $17.50/hour

If you work overtime, it's calculated on that $17.50 rate—not either individual rate.

This comes up a lot with people who work multiple positions for the same employer.

How do bonuses affect overtime calculations?

Non-discretionary bonuses get factored into your regular rate.

Non-discretionary means the bonus was announced in advance—like a production bonus or attendance bonus. The employer committed to it beforehand.

Discretionary bonuses—like a surprise year-end gift—don't count.

If a non-discretionary bonus applies to a period where you worked overtime, the employer needs to recalculate your regular rate including that bonus. Then pay additional overtime based on the higher rate.

This is another area where employers often mess up, honestly. It's complicated math, and some just skip it.