Free Overtime Pay Calculator — Regular + Overtime Earnings

How Overtime Pay Works in the United States

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), non-exempt employees must be paid at least 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for any hours worked beyond 40 in a single workweek. This is commonly referred to as "time and a half." The FLSA is a federal minimum standard — individual states and employers may provide more generous overtime rules, but cannot offer less.

Some key FLSA overtime facts: overtime is calculated on a weekly basis, not a daily basis (there is no federal requirement for daily overtime). The 40-hour threshold resets each workweek, regardless of how many hours were worked the previous week. Overtime cannot be waived voluntarily by an employee — an employer who fails to pay overtime to an eligible employee is violating federal law, regardless of any agreement between the parties.

Overtime vs. Double Time

Federal law only requires time-and-a-half (1.5x) for overtime. "Double time" (2x the regular rate) is not mandated by federal law but is required in certain circumstances by some states and is common in many union contracts and industry agreements:

• California: Requires double time for hours worked over 12 in a single day, or for any hours worked on the 7th consecutive day of a workweek beyond the first 8 hours.
• Union contracts: Many collective bargaining agreements in construction, manufacturing, transportation, and healthcare require double time for holidays, weekends, or extended shifts.
• Employer policy: Some companies voluntarily offer double time as an incentive for employees to volunteer for unpopular shifts or weekend coverage.

A custom multiplier (between 1.5x and 2x, or even higher) is also common in specific industries and sectors. This calculator supports 1.5x, 2x, and any custom multiplier you specify.

Who Is Exempt from Overtime Pay?

The FLSA exempts certain categories of workers from its overtime requirements. To qualify as exempt, employees generally must meet both a salary threshold (currently $684 per week / $35,568 per year as of 2024, pending regulatory updates) and pass a "duties test" for their job category:

• Executive exemption: Employees whose primary duty is managing the enterprise or a recognized department, who regularly direct two or more employees, and who have authority over hiring, firing, or advancement decisions.
• Administrative exemption: Employees whose primary duty is office or non-manual work directly related to management or general business operations, and who exercise discretion and independent judgment on significant matters.
• Professional exemption: Employees whose primary duty requires advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized instruction (doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, teachers).
• Computer employee exemption: Systems analysts, programmers, software engineers, and similar highly skilled IT workers earning at least $27.63/hour or meeting the salary threshold.
• Highly compensated employees: Workers earning over $107,432/year who perform at least one of the exempt duties listed above.

Job title alone does not determine overtime eligibility — the actual duties performed and compensation structure matter. Many workers mistakenly classified as exempt may actually qualify for overtime. If you believe you have been misclassified, the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division handles complaints.

Calculating Overtime for Non-Standard Pay Structures

For employees paid a straight hourly rate, overtime calculation is straightforward: hourly rate × 1.5 × overtime hours. However, other pay structures require different approaches:

• Salaried non-exempt employees: The "regular rate" for overtime purposes is the weekly salary divided by the number of hours the salary is intended to cover. A $800/week salary covering 40 hours = $20/hour regular rate. Overtime would be paid at $30/hour for each hour over 40.
• Piece-rate workers: Total piece-rate earnings are divided by total hours worked to determine the regular rate, and overtime premium (an additional 0.5x the regular rate) is paid for all overtime hours.
• Workers with non-discretionary bonuses: Certain bonuses (production bonuses, attendance bonuses, efficiency bonuses) must be included in the regular rate calculation, which can increase the overtime rate retroactively.
• Multiple job rates: If an employee works at different rates for different tasks in the same week, the regular rate is the weighted average of all rates for that week.

Maximizing Overtime Earnings

For workers who rely on overtime to supplement income, understanding how overtime compounds over time is important. Ten hours of overtime per week at 1.5x a $25/hour rate generates an additional $375 per week — $19,500 per year. Over a career, the differential between regular-rate earnings and overtime-rate earnings can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

From a tax perspective, overtime income is taxed as ordinary income at your marginal rate. There is no special overtime tax rate — the common belief that "overtime gets taxed more" is a misunderstanding of how progressive tax brackets work. All your income is taxed at the same marginal rate within each bracket. Overtime income that pushes you into the next bracket means only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate, not all your income.

Frequently Asked Questions

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