Career calculator
Overtime Pay Calculator
Estimate gross weekly earnings with regular and overtime hours separated.
Uses the common US convention: 1.5× pay after 40 hours. This is an estimate, not payroll or legal advice.
Gross weekly pay
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How hours get split into regular and overtime
You enter an hourly rate and total hours worked in the week. The calculator automatically caps regular hours at 40 and routes anything beyond that into an overtime bucket paid at 1.5 times the hourly rate — you never enter regular and overtime hours separately.
Work 40 hours or fewer and the overtime figure is exactly $0.00; there's no partial credit or rounding involved, the extra-hours calculation simply doesn't activate. There's also no upper limit on hours worked — entering 60, 70, or 80 hours computes correctly, though real schedules that long are unusual and some jurisdictions cap allowable weekly hours in certain industries.
Both the rate and hours fields require zero or a positive number. This tool only models a flat 1.5× rate above a 40-hour weekly threshold; it doesn't model a second, higher tier like double-time for very long shifts.
The overtime formula
At $20.00 an hour for 45 hours: regular pay is 20 × 40 = $800.00, overtime pay is 20 × 1.5 × 5 = $150.00, and gross pay is $950.00.
At $18.50 an hour for 52 hours: regular pay is 18.50 × 40 = $740.00, overtime pay is 18.50 × 1.5 × 12 = $333.00, and gross pay is $1,073.00.
The 1.5× multiplier applies to the rate, not the paycheck
The most common overtime mistake is multiplying total weekly pay by 1.5 instead of applying the multiplier only to hours past 40. For $20 an hour at 45 hours, that wrong shortcut gives 45 × 20 × 1.5 = $1,350.00 — $400 too high. The correct figure, applying 1.5× only to the 5 overtime hours, is $950.00. Time-and-a-half means the extra hours are worth more per hour, not that the whole week suddenly pays more per hour.
The 40-hour weekly threshold is the common US federal default (the Fair Labor Standards Act), but it isn't universal. Some jurisdictions add daily overtime rules on top of it — California, for example, applies overtime after 8 hours in a single day regardless of the weekly total — and eligibility itself varies by job classification. Check your state's labor rules and your employment classification rather than treating this weekly, 1.5×-only estimate as a final number.
Everyday overtime scenarios
A few work weeks and the exact figures this returns:
- Retail shift – $20.00/hour for 45 hours: $800.00 regular + $150.00 overtime = $950.00 gross
- Warehouse peak week – $18.50/hour for 52 hours: $740.00 regular + $333.00 overtime = $1,073.00 gross
- Under the threshold – $25.00/hour for 32 hours: no overtime at all, $800.00 gross, entirely regular pay
- Double shift week – $15.00/hour for 60 hours: $600.00 regular + $450.00 overtime = $1,050.00 gross
- Salary comparison – a $52,000 annual salary converts to a $25.00 hourly-equivalent rate ($52,000 ÷ 2,080 standard yearly hours), useful for estimating what overtime would be worth if the role were non-exempt
Frequently asked questions
Why does overtime only kick in after 40 hours?
40 hours a week is the default threshold under the US federal Fair Labor Standards Act. It's a common convention, not a universal rule — some states layer on additional thresholds, so check local law for your situation.
Does the calculator apply daily overtime rules?
No, it only checks the weekly total against 40 hours. States with daily overtime rules, such as California's requirement to pay overtime after 8 hours in a single day, aren't modeled here even if the weekly total stays under 40.
What happens if I work fewer than 40 hours?
Overtime pay is exactly $0.00, and gross pay equals hourly rate times hours worked with no multiplier applied anywhere — for example, $25/hour at 32 hours gives a flat $800.00.
Is there a limit on how many hours I can enter?
No explicit cap — any hours value of zero or more computes, including 60- or 80-hour weeks. The tool only applies one flat 1.5× tier above 40 hours; it doesn't add a separate double-time rate for unusually long shifts.
Does this calculation apply to salaried employees?
The formula assumes an hourly rate. Salaried employees classified as exempt under the FLSA aren't entitled to overtime pay at all, while non-exempt salaried workers would need their salary converted to an hourly-equivalent rate first — for example, $52,000 ÷ 2,080 standard yearly hours = $25.00/hour.
Why is my overtime pay smaller than I expected?
The 1.5× multiplier applies only to hours beyond 40, not to the whole paycheck. At $20/hour for 45 hours, only the 5 overtime hours get the boosted rate ($150.00 total); the first 40 hours are still paid at the plain $20 rate ($800.00), for $950.00 gross rather than a full-week 1.5× total of $1,350.00.