How to calculate overtime
Overtime pay is your overtime hours × your hourly rate × 1.5. The work is in finding the overtime hours: under federal law they’re the hours over 40 in a workweek, and some states also count hours over a daily limit. The calculator above does the counting for a whole week of shifts.
How to calculate overtime
Pay rules
Defaults follow the federal weekly rule (over 40 hours at 1.5×). Your state or contract may differ: set your own.
| Day | Start | End | Break | Hours | Actions |
|---|
Times are in .
| Regular | ||
| Overtime | ||
| Double time | ||
| Estimated gross pay |
Estimate of gross pay before tax and deductions.
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The formula, written out: overtime pay = (hours worked in the workweek − 40) × regular rate × 1.5. Regular pay is the first 40 hours × your rate, and gross pay is the two added together. At $25 an hour, the overtime rate is $37.50.
The rest of this page goes step by step, with what the U.S. Department of Labor says about the workweek and why two weeks can’t be averaged. Each statement about the law links to the official page we read it from.
Worked example: Five 10-hour days: 10 daily overtime hours, none added weekly
$20.00/h · overtime over 40 h a week or 8 h a day at 1.5×
| Day | Start | End | Breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 2 | 07:00 | 17:00 | none |
| Tue, Nov 3 | 07:00 | 17:00 | none |
| Wed, Nov 4 | 07:00 | 17:00 | none |
| Thu, Nov 5 | 07:00 | 17:00 | none |
| Fri, Nov 6 | 07:00 | 17:00 | none |
50.00 hours (50:00): regular 40.00, overtime 10.00. Estimated gross $1,100.00: regular $800.00 + overtime $300.00.
Step by step
1. Add up the hours you actually worked in the workweek, the fixed seven-day period your employer uses. Take unpaid breaks out.
2. Subtract 40. What’s left is your weekly overtime. 46 hours worked means 6 overtime hours; 38 means none.
3. Multiply your rate by 1.5 to get the overtime rate, then by the overtime hours. 6 hours at $20 is 6 × $30 = $180.
4. Add the regular pay, 40 × your rate, to get the week’s gross before tax: $800 + $180 = $980.
When there’s a daily limit too
Some states count overtime by the day as well; California, for example, pays 1.5× for hours over 8 in a workday. Then count each day’s hours over the limit first, and only add weekly overtime for regular hours left over 40.
The worked example is five 10-hour days with a daily limit of 8. Each day has 2 daily overtime hours, 10 in all. That leaves 40 regular hours, so there’s no extra weekly overtime: 40 regular and 10 overtime, $800 + $300 = $1,100 at $20 an hour.
Questions
What is the formula for overtime pay?
Overtime hours × hourly rate × 1.5. For a weekly rule, the overtime hours are the hours worked in the workweek minus 40.
What is overtime for $25 an hour?
$37.50 an hour: $25 × 1.5. Five overtime hours at that rate is $187.50.
Is overtime based on 40 hours or 80 hours?
On 40 hours in each workweek. Federal rules don’t allow averaging over two or more weeks, so a 50-hour week has 10 overtime hours even if the next week is 30.
Is overtime 1.5 or 2 times my rate?
The federal rule is not less than 1.5 times your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Some states also set double time in some cases; California, for example, pays double for hours over 12 in a workday.
What does 1.5 overtime mean?
That each overtime hour is paid at one and a half times your normal hourly rate, often called time and a half. At $20 an hour, an overtime hour pays $30.