This overtime pay calculator applies the federal time-and-a-half (1.5x) rule from the Fair Labor Standards Act: any hour worked over 40 in a workweek is paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. Enter your hourly wage and total weekly hours below to see your regular pay, overtime premium, and gross weekly pay. Below the tool we explain the often-misunderstood "regular rate of pay" rule that can change your overtime when bonuses are involved.
At $20/hour working 48 hours, you earn 40 regular hours × $20 = $800, plus 8 overtime hours × $30 (that is $20 × 1.5) = $240, for a gross of $1,040 before taxes. Those 8 overtime hours pay $240 instead of the $160 they would at straight time — an extra $80 from the time-and-a-half premium.
The rule is simple but precise. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), non-exempt employees must be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate for every hour over 40 in a single workweek. A workweek is any fixed, recurring 168-hour (7-day) period your employer designates — it does not have to match the calendar week, but it cannot be averaged across two weeks to dodge overtime.
| Hours/week | Regular pay (@ $20) | Overtime pay (@ $30) | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | $800.00 | $0.00 | $800.00 |
| 45 | $800.00 | $150.00 | $950.00 |
| 50 | $800.00 | $300.00 | $1,100.00 |
| 55 | $800.00 | $450.00 | $1,250.00 |
Overtime is not always 1.5x your stated hourly wage — it is 1.5x your regular rate of pay, which can be higher. The regular rate includes most non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and commissions. For example, if you earn $20/hour and also a $100 weekly production bonus, the bonus is spread across your hours to find a higher regular rate, and your overtime premium is recalculated on that figure. This is one of the most common ways employers (and employees) get overtime wrong. Truly discretionary bonuses (a surprise holiday gift, say) and certain gifts are excluded.
The FLSA only requires weekly overtime after 40 hours — it has no daily overtime rule. But several states add their own. California, for instance, requires 1.5x after 8 hours in a day and 2x (double time) after 12 hours, plus overtime on the seventh consecutive day. Alaska, Nevada, Colorado, and others have daily rules too. When state and federal rules differ, the one that pays you more applies. Use the 2x option in the calculator to model double-time situations.
A persistent myth is that overtime is taxed at a higher rate. It is not — there is no separate "overtime tax." Overtime wages are ordinary wages, taxed the same as your regular pay. A larger paycheck can have more withheld that period because withholding tables annualize each check, but your annual tax depends on total income, and any over-withholding comes back at filing. For 2025–2028 there is a federal deduction for qualified overtime premium pay under recent law, but that is a tax-return deduction, not a change to how overtime is withheld each week.
Overtime applies to non-exempt workers. Employees who are properly classified as exempt — typically salaried executive, administrative, or professional roles paid above the FLSA salary threshold and meeting a duties test — are not owed overtime. Misclassification is common and costly; if you are paid a salary but do mostly routine non-managerial work, you may actually be non-exempt and owed back overtime. The salary threshold is set by the DOL and worth checking against your pay.
Multiply your regular rate by 1.5 for hours over 40 in a week. At $20/hr, overtime is $30/hr; 48 hours = $800 + $240 = $1,040 gross.
After 40 hours in a single workweek for non-exempt employees. The FLSA has no daily rule, but states like California require daily overtime.
No. Overtime is taxed like regular wages. A bigger check may have more withheld that period, but annual tax is based on total income.
Non-discretionary bonuses must be included in your regular rate, raising the rate your overtime premium is based on. Discretionary bonuses are excluded.