Overtime Pay Calculator
Calculate overtime pay from an hourly rate, regular and overtime hours, and a multiplier, plus optional double-time hours and the effective hourly rate.
Written by Rahman · Last reviewed
Quick answer
At $20 an hour, a 45-hour week with five hours of overtime at time-and-a-half pays $950 ($800 regular plus $150 overtime), which is an effective $21.11 an hour across all 45 hours. Overtime pay is the regular hourly rate multiplied by an overtime multiplier, typically 1.5×, applied to hours beyond a threshold, commonly 40 in a week under US federal rules.
Results are estimates for general guidance and are not financial, tax or legal advice. Except where a calculator names a currency, figures carry no currency of their own: put in pounds and you get pounds back, put in rupees and you get rupees. Figures depend on the assumptions you enter and on rates that change over time. Check current rates and speak to a qualified adviser before acting on them.
About the Overtime Pay Calculator
Overtime pay compensates hours worked beyond a standard threshold at a higher rate than regular time, commonly 1.5× the regular rate ("time-and-a-half"), and sometimes 2× ("double-time") for hours beyond a further threshold or on specific days.
This calculator computes total pay from a regular hourly rate, hours worked at each rate, and the multiplier that applies, along with the effective hourly rate once overtime is blended in across all hours worked.
Total pay = (rate × regular hours) + (rate × multiplier × overtime hours) + (rate × 2 × double-time hours)
Where the 1.5× multiplier comes from
In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires non-exempt employees to be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. This is a federal floor, not a ceiling: some states, union contracts and specific industries mandate a higher multiplier, an earlier daily threshold, or both.
California, for example, requires overtime after 8 hours in a single day as well as after 40 in a week, and doubles the rate after 12 hours in a day, rules this generic calculator does not encode, since they vary by state and situation. Check your own state's rules before relying on a specific multiplier or threshold.
The regular rate is not always the hourly rate
The multiplier applies to the "regular rate", and for someone paid a single hourly wage and nothing else the two are the same. Add a bonus that was promised in advance (for output, attendance or hitting a target) and they separate, because federal rules count that bonus as pay for the week's hours.
- 45 hours at $20 is $900 of straight-time pay. Add a $90 production bonus and the week's earnings are $990.
- $990 ÷ 45 hours gives a regular rate of $22, not $20.
- The five overtime hours earn an extra half of that rate, $11 each, so total pay is $990 + $55 = $1,045.
- Working the overtime out on the $20 base and adding the bonus afterwards gives $1,040, which is $5 short.
Only a genuinely discretionary bonus stays out of the regular rate, meaning one the employer decided on at the end of the period without having promised it. Each workweek is also judged alone: 30 hours one week and 50 the next is 10 hours of overtime, even though the two average 40 and even when pay is issued every two weeks. This calculator multiplies the rate you enter, so to model a week with a bonus, enter the regular rate rather than the base wage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is overtime always 1.5x?
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1.5x is the common US federal floor for non-exempt employees past 40 hours a week, but some states, union agreements and specific circumstances (like double-time after a longer daily threshold) require different multipliers.
Does salary count toward overtime?
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Only non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime under US federal law; whether a salaried position is exempt depends on job duties and a minimum salary threshold, not simply on being paid a salary rather than an hourly wage.
What is the effective hourly rate for?
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It blends regular, overtime and double-time pay across all hours worked into one average rate, useful for comparing total compensation across weeks with different amounts of overtime.
Sources
- 29 CFR Part 778 — Overtime Compensation (eCFR) — The US Department of Labor regulation behind the 1.5× multiplier. §778.107 states the general standard directly: overtime "must be compensated at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which the employee is actually employed." The same part defines the regular rate the multiplier applies to (§§778.108–778.122), and it is not automatically the base hourly rate; it folds in most other compensation, which is why a real payslip can differ from this estimate. §778.110(b) gives the hourly-rate-plus-bonus method the worked example above follows, §§778.208 and 778.211 set out which bonuses are excluded as discretionary, and §778.104 is the rule that each workweek stands alone.