Overtime Pay Calculator

Overtime pay is the regular rate times a multiplier, times the overtime hours: overtime pay = rate × multiplier × overtime hours. At $20 an hour with time and a half (1.5×), each overtime hour pays $30. Five overtime hours add $150 on top of regular pay, for the total shown above. Double time (2×) works the same way with a higher multiplier.

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor, covered non-exempt employees must be paid at least time and a half for hours worked beyond 40 in a single workweek — a rule that cannot be waived by agreement between an employer and employee. Federal law counts by the week, not the day, so working one long day does not by itself trigger overtime. A number of states go further and set their own daily thresholds or higher minimums; where state law is stricter than federal law, the more protective rule applies. Check your state labor department for the rules where you work.

The multiplier is not always applied to just your stated hourly wage. Under the FLSA, the regular rate used to calculate overtime is generally based on total pay for the week — which can require folding in nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions and certain other pay on top of the base wage — divided by hours worked, rather than the base rate alone. This calculator uses the hourly rate you enter as the regular rate; if bonuses or commissions are a regular part of your pay, your actual legal overtime rate may run higher than a simple base-rate calculation shows.

The 1.5× (or 2×) math applies to non-exempt employees — most hourly workers. Exempt salaried employees, who must meet specific duties and pay-related tests set by the Department of Labor, are generally not entitled to overtime pay at all, regardless of how many hours they work. Independent contractors are a separate category entirely: FLSA overtime rules apply to employees, not contracted freelance work, though whether a given working relationship is really a contractor or an employee is sometimes disputed. This calculator assumes you already know your classification — it does not determine it.

This page tells you what a given overtime scenario is worth once you know your rate, multiplier and hours — it does not tell you whether you are entitled to overtime, or whether your employer has classified you correctly. If you believe you are owed overtime that was not paid, the classification and pay questions are worth raising directly with your employer, your state labor department, or the DOL Wage and Hour Division, which investigates FLSA complaints.