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Salary & HRpayrollUnited States only

Overtime Pay Calculator

Overtime pay computed from the regular rate rather than the contract rate. A non-discretionary bonus has to be folded into the rate before the multiplier applies, and leaving it out is the most common underpayment there is.

Also called: overtime calculator, time and a half calculator.

$
hours
Total pay for the week
$950.00

$950.00 for 45 hours. The regular rate is $20.00, not the 20 on your contract, so the 5 overtime hours carry a premium of $50.00.

Hours at the regular rate
40
Overtime hours
5
Regular rate for overtime purposes
$20.00
Straight-time pay
$900.00
Overtime premium
$50.00
How this is calculated

Computed from the published rates for the tax year you selected, which is not necessarily the current year. A calculation, not tax advice, and it does not know anything about your circumstances beyond the figures entered.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Federal law sets overtime at one and a half times the regular rate, and the regular rate is all straight-time earnings divided by all hours worked, not the hourly figure on the contract. A production or attendance bonus raises it. Because the straight-time portion of the overtime hours has already been paid, only the premium is added on top, which is why the multiplier appears here as one half rather than one and a half.

regular rate = all straight-time earnings / all hours worked; premium = (multiplier - 1) * regular rate * overtime hours
R
The regular rate (currency)
m
The overtime multiplier (decimal)
H_ot
Hours over the threshold (hours)

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

forty-five hours at twenty an hour

Hourly rate
20
Hours worked this week
45
Non-discretionary bonus this week
$0.00
Overtime starts after
40 hours
Overtime multiplier
1.5

Total pay for the week$950.00

Worked by hand: 900 straight time plus 5 hours of half-rate premium

Open this example

a bonus raises the regular rate and the premium with it

Hourly rate
20
Hours worked this week
45
Non-discretionary bonus this week
$90.00
Overtime starts after
40 hours
Overtime multiplier
1.5

Total pay for the week$1,045.00

(900 + 90) / 45 = 22; the premium is 5 * 22 * 0.5

Open this example

under the threshold there is no overtime

Hourly rate
20
Hours worked this week
38
Non-discretionary bonus this week
$0.00
Overtime starts after
40 hours
Overtime multiplier
1.5

Total pay for the week$760.00

degenerate case

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • A weekly overtime threshold, which is the federal standard.
  • The bonus entered is non-discretionary and attributable to this week.

What it deliberately does not model

  • Daily overtime and double-time rules in states such as California are not applied. Change the threshold to model them approximately.
  • Exempt employees are not entitled to overtime at all, which is a classification question rather than a calculation.

Sources

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why is the regular rate higher than my hourly rate?
Because a non-discretionary bonus counts as earnings for the week and has to be spread across the hours worked before the overtime multiplier applies. Paying one and a half times the bare hourly rate underpays.
Does a discretionary bonus count?
A genuinely discretionary bonus, decided after the fact and not promised in advance, is excluded. A bonus announced in advance to encourage output is not discretionary however it is labelled.