Overtime Calculator

The Overtime Calculator splits a pay period into regular and overtime earnings: enter regular hours, overtime hours, the base hourly rate, and the overtime multiplier (time and a half by default), and it returns regular pay, overtime pay, total pay, and the effective hourly rate across all hours worked.

How It Works

Regular pay is regular hours times the base rate. Overtime pay is overtime hours times the base rate times the multiplier. Total pay is the sum, and the effective hourly rate divides total pay by total hours, blending the two rates into the single number your week actually earned per hour.

$\text{Total pay}=(\text{Regular hours}\times\text{Rate})+(\text{Overtime hours}\times\text{Rate}\times\text{Multiplier})$

Parameters

| Input | Required | Meaning | |---|---|---| | Regular hours | Yes | Hours paid at the base rate (0 to 168) | | Overtime hours | Yes | Hours paid at the premium rate | | Base rate | Yes | Standard hourly wage | | Overtime multiplier | No | 1.5 by default; 2 for double time, 1.25 where that applies |

Worked example

An employee works 40 regular hours and 10 overtime hours at a $25 base rate with the 1.5 multiplier. Regular pay is$1,000; the overtime rate is $37.50, so overtime pay is$375; total pay is **$1,375** for 50 hours, an effective rate of$27.50 an hour. The effective rate is the number to compare against a salaried offer: a $1,375 week sounds like a$27.50 job only if those 50-hour weeks are guaranteed, which is the question to ask about any role whose headline pay depends on overtime.

Know which hours count as overtime

The calculator prices the overtime hours you hand it; the law decides how many there are. Under the US Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees earn at least 1.5x for hours beyond 40 in a workweek (weekly, not daily, and not averaged across a two-week pay period). Some states add daily overtime beyond 8 hours in a day and double time beyond 12 (California is the well-known case), and many countries set their own thresholds, rest-day, and night premiums. Salaried-exempt staff, and independent contractors under their agreements, sit outside these rules entirely. Enter the hours your jurisdiction and contract classify as overtime, and use 2 as the multiplier for double-time blocks by running those hours separately.

Worked second example: mixed premium blocks

A week with 40 regular hours, 6 hours at time-and-a-half, and 4 Sunday hours at double time, at $20: regular$800; the 1.5 block at $30 pays$180; the double-time block at $40 pays$160; total $1,140 over 50 hours, an effective$22.80. Running the two premium blocks as separate calculations, as here, is the accurate pattern whenever a roster mixes multipliers; a single blended multiplier would misprice both blocks.

Limitations

The calculator is gross-pay arithmetic. It does not apply tax withholding, benefits deductions, shift differentials that stack with overtime, or the "regular rate" subtleties of US law (non-discretionary bonuses and differentials must often be included in the rate overtime is computed from, which raises it). It also does not determine exempt status or which hours legally qualify: payroll and employment-law sources govern disputed cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is overtime calculated daily or weekly?

Under US federal law, weekly: hours beyond 40 in a workweek. Some states (notably California) and many contracts add daily thresholds. The calculator takes your classified overtime hours as the input, whichever rule produced them.

What multiplier should I use?

1.5 is the standard time-and-a-half and the default here. Use 2 for double time (common for holidays and long daily shifts) and 1.25 where a contract or jurisdiction sets a quarter premium; run separate calculations per block and add the totals.

Why is my effective rate lower than my overtime rate?

Because it blends all hours: mostly base-rate hours with a minority at the premium. The effective rate is the honest per-hour value of the whole week and the right figure for comparing offers.