Professional services
Overtime Pay Calculator
Works overtime pay, where the regular rate includes more than the hourly wage.
Result
Not legal advice. Overtime rules are set by federal and state law and the stricter applies. Some states require daily overtime beyond eight hours or double time beyond twelve, which federal law does not. Non-discretionary bonuses must be included in the regular rate, a requirement frequently missed. Employee classification as exempt or non-exempt is a legal question with significant consequences for getting it wrong.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Hours beyond the threshold are paid at the overtime multiplier applied to the regular rate of pay. The regular rate is not simply the hourly wage: it generally includes non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials and certain other payments, averaged over the workweek, which means overtime on a week containing a production bonus is higher than the base wage suggests.
What moves the number
- Hours over the weekly threshold.
- What is included in the regular rate beyond base wage.
- Whether the employee is genuinely exempt.
- State rules, which can be stricter than federal.
Where this one goes wrong
Non-discretionary bonuses have to be included in the regular rate, which raises the overtime due for the weeks they relate to, and recalculating retrospectively is a common compliance gap. Exemption is the other and larger one: it depends on duties and salary tests rather than on being salaried or on a job title, and a misclassification is corrected with back overtime. Several states also impose daily overtime or lower thresholds than federal law.
Before you quote
- Include non-discretionary bonuses in the regular rate.
- Verify exemption against the duties and salary tests.
- Check state rules, which may require daily overtime.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
What is the regular rate of pay?
More than the base hourly wage. It generally includes non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials and certain other payments averaged over the workweek, which means overtime in a week containing a production bonus is higher than the base wage implies.
Does a salary make someone exempt?
No. Exemption depends on meeting duties and salary tests, and many salaried roles do not qualify. Treating salaried staff as automatically exempt is a frequent error, and it is corrected with back overtime rather than going forward.
Do state overtime rules differ?
Several states are stricter than federal law, including some requiring overtime after a set number of hours in a single day rather than only weekly. The stricter rule applies, so the state's own requirements have to be checked.
The formula
regular rate = (all straight-time pay + non-discretionary bonuses) / total hours; overtime = hours x regular rate x multiplier
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How to use this calculator
- Regular hours. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 40.
- Overtime hours. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 8.
- Double time hours. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 0.
- Hourly rate ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $26.
- Non-discretionary bonus this week ($). Must be included when working out the regular rate.
- Overtime multiplier. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.5.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to total pay, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Regular hours | 40 |
| Overtime hours | 8 |
| Double time hours | 0 |
| Hourly rate | $26 |
| Non-discretionary bonus this week | $0 |
| Overtime multiplier | 1.5 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total pay main result | $1,352.00 |
| Regular rate for overtime | $26.00 |
| Regular pay | $1,040.00 |
| Overtime pay | $312.00 |
| Double time pay | $0.00 |
Total pay is $1,352.00. The regular rate for overtime purposes is $26.00, giving $312.00 of overtime pay.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only hourly rate, this is what happens to total pay. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Hourly rate ($) | Total pay |
|---|---|
| $13 | $676.00 |
| $19.5 | $1,014.00 |
| $26 example above | $1,352.00 |
| $39 | $2,028.00 |
| $52 | $2,704.00 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Regular hours
- A number, between 0 and 80, starting at 40.
- Overtime hours
- A number, between 0 and 80, starting at 8.
- Double time hours
- A number, between 0 and 60, starting at 0.
- Hourly rate ($)
- A money amount, starting at $26.
- Non-discretionary bonus this week ($)
- Must be included when working out the regular rate.
- Overtime multiplier
- A number, between 1 and 3, starting at 1.5.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Total pay | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Regular rate for overtime | A money figure. |
| Regular pay | A money figure. |
| Overtime pay | A money figure. |
| Double time pay | A money figure. |
Keep going
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