When does overtime apply?

Under federal FLSA, non-exempt employees must receive 1.5x their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The workweek is a fixed 168-hour period defined by the employer. Some states (notably California, Alaska, Nevada) also require daily overtime — typically 1.5x for hours over 8 in a single day.

What is double-time pay?

Double-time (2x regular rate) is not required by federal law but is required in some states like California for hours over 12 in a single day, and for the first 8 hours on the seventh consecutive workday in a workweek. Some union contracts also require double-time for specific situations (holidays, weekend work).

Am I eligible for overtime?

Most hourly employees are eligible. Salaried employees earning below the federal threshold (approximately $58,656/year in 2025, subject to legal challenges) are also eligible regardless of duties. Specific exemptions exist for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and certain computer-related roles meeting both salary and duties tests.

Does overtime push me into a higher tax bracket?

Sometimes — but only the dollars above the bracket threshold are taxed at the higher rate. Your earlier income still falls into the lower brackets. You always take home more after-tax money by earning more pre-tax money; the bracket math just reduces the marginal benefit slightly.

Can my employer require overtime?

In most U.S. states, yes — employers can require mandatory overtime as a condition of employment, provided they pay the proper premium. Some industries (healthcare nurses in several states) have legal protections against mandatory overtime. Refusing required overtime can be grounds for termination in most cases.

Overtime Pay Calculator

Figure out your total pay including regular hours, overtime (1.5x), and double-time (2x) hours. See your effective hourly rate and projected weekly, monthly, and annual earnings.

Overtime pay is one of the strongest features of U.S. labor law for hourly workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), enacted in 1938, requires that non-exempt employees be paid at least 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for any hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. This "time and a half" premium creates a meaningful economic incentive — a worker earning $25/hour effectively earns $37.50 per overtime hour, and an extra 10 hours of overtime per week can add hundreds of dollars to a paycheck.

Some states go beyond the federal floor. California requires daily overtime (1.5x for hours over 8 in a day, 2x for hours over 12), Saturday/Sunday premiums in certain industries, and seventh-consecutive-day double time. Several other states have daily overtime rules, weekly thresholds below 40 for specific industries (e.g., 5-day, 35-hour weeks for some healthcare workers), or higher premiums for collective bargaining agreements.

This calculator computes total weekly gross pay across regular, overtime (1.5x), and double-time (2x) hours, then extrapolates to monthly and annual figures. Use it to understand a paycheck, plan around expected overtime, or evaluate whether overtime opportunities are worth the marginal effort and tax cost. The output is gross — take-home pay after federal, state, and FICA tax is typically 65–80% of gross for most middle-income earners.

Inputs

Hourly Rate

Regular Hours / Week

Overtime Hours (1.5x) / Week

Double-Time Hours (2x) / Week

Results

Weekly Pay

$1,375.00

Monthly Pay

$5,957.88

Annual Pay

$71,500.00

Effective Hourly Rate

$27.50

Weekly Pay Breakdown

Hourly Rates

Last updated: May 26, 2026Reviewed by the CalcMountain editorial team

Formula

Gross weekly pay: Regular Pay = Hourly Rate × Regular Hours OT Pay (1.5x) = Hourly Rate × 1.5 × Overtime Hours DT Pay (2x) = Hourly Rate × 2 × Double-Time Hours Total Weekly Gross = Regular Pay + OT Pay + DT Pay Effective hourly rate: Effective Rate = Total Weekly Gross / Total Hours Worked Annual gross (52 weeks): Annual Gross = Total Weekly Gross × 52 Monthly gross (52/12 weeks per month): Monthly Gross = Total Weekly Gross × 52 / 12 ≈ Total Weekly × 4.33 After-tax estimate (approximate): Take-home ≈ Total Weekly Gross × (1 − combined marginal tax rate) Combined marginal rate = Federal marginal + State marginal + 7.65% FICA (typical: 25–40%) Example: $25/hour, 40 regular hours, 10 OT hours, 0 DT hours. Regular: 25 × 40 = $1,000 OT: 25 × 1.5 × 10 = $375 Total weekly gross: $1,375 Total hours: 50 Effective hourly rate: $1,375 / 50 = $27.50/hour Annual: $1,375 × 52 = $71,500 Monthly: $5,961 Without overtime, the same 40-hour week earns $1,000 ($52,000 annual). The 10 overtime hours per week adds $19,500 to annual gross — a 37.5% boost.

How to use this calculator

Enter your regular hourly rate. This is the base rate before any overtime premium.
Enter your regular hours per week — typically 40 for most U.S. employees, sometimes less for part-time positions or specific industries.
Enter overtime hours (paid at 1.5x). Under federal law, this is any hours over 40 per week. Some states (CA, AK, NV) also count daily hours over 8 as overtime.
Enter double-time hours (paid at 2x). Federal law doesn't require double-time, but California requires it for hours over 12 in a single day and for the seventh consecutive workday. Some union contracts also have double-time provisions.
Review the weekly, monthly, and annual gross pay. Verify against your pay stub if you have one — the calculator helps catch errors in paycheck calculations.
For after-tax planning, multiply by ~0.65–0.75 to estimate take-home (depends on your federal and state marginal brackets and other deductions like 401(k), insurance).
For salary-equivalent comparison, the effective hourly rate (weekly gross / total hours) tells you what hourly the position effectively pays once overtime is factored in.
For "is overtime worth it" decisions, factor in: tax bracket (extra OT can push you into a higher bracket), opportunity cost of time, fatigue and burnout costs, and whether your employer's OT is regular and predictable or sporadic.

Worked examples

Standard 40 + 10 overtime week

Hourly rate: $25. 40 regular hours + 10 OT hours per week. Regular pay: $25 × 40 = $1,000 OT pay: $25 × 1.5 × 10 = $375 Weekly total: $1,375 Annual (52 weeks): $71,500 Effective hourly: $27.50/hour The 25% increase in hours (40 to 50) produces a 37.5% increase in pay ($1,000 to $1,375) because of the 1.5x premium. Overtime is materially valuable when consistent.

California daily overtime — high-hour day

Hourly rate: $30. Working a 16-hour day in California (rare but instructive). Hours 1–8: regular pay = $30 × 8 = $240 Hours 9–12: 1.5x overtime = $30 × 1.5 × 4 = $180 Hours 13–16: 2x double-time = $30 × 2 × 4 = $240 Daily total for 16 hours: $660 (effective $41.25/hour for the day) The same 16 hours at flat $30 would be $480 — California's daily OT plus DT structure produces $180 in additional premium. State labor laws can dramatically change pay outcomes.

Tax bracket impact of heavy overtime

$22/hour, 40 regular + 25 OT hours/week (heavy OT pattern). Weekly: $22 × 40 + $22 × 1.5 × 25 = $880 + $825 = $1,705 Annual: $1,705 × 52 = $88,660 Without OT (just 40 hours): $880 × 52 = $45,760. Probably 12% federal marginal bracket. With OT: $88,660. Probably 22% federal marginal bracket. The bracket jump increases the marginal tax on each OT hour. Hours 1–12 OT might be taxed at 12% federal; hours 13–25 may push into 22% federal. Take-home grows with OT but slightly less than gross suggests because of the bracket creep.

When to use this calculator

Use this calculator at any decision point involving overtime: deciding whether to accept extra hours, projecting annual income with planned overtime, comparing job offers where one has higher base pay vs. overtime opportunity, or simply understanding what a complex paycheck should look like.

For seasonal workers, contractors, and shift workers, the calculator is most useful for projecting annual gross when overtime varies week to week. Average your typical weekly OT hours across the past 6–12 months and use that as the projection input — more realistic than assuming consistent peak weeks.

Pair this with the salary-to-hourly calculator (the inverse direction — given annual salary, compute the equivalent hourly rate), the hourly-to-salary calculator (to compare hourly + OT positions against salaried alternatives), the income-tax-estimator (for after-tax calculations), and the payroll-tax calculator (for FICA and other withholdings on OT pay).

A common workplace dynamic worth knowing: in many industries, overtime is the difference between "decent income" and "good income" — especially for skilled trades, healthcare technicians, manufacturing, public safety, and union jobs. Workers who can sustain 10–15 hours of regular weekly overtime often earn 25–40% more than their straight-time-only counterparts. But chronic high overtime carries real costs: sleep debt, family time costs, accident risk increase, and long-term health impacts. Worth measuring not just the dollar value but the time cost.

An evolving area: federal salary threshold for overtime exemption. As of 2025, salaried employees earning below $58,656/year ($35,568 was the prior 2019 threshold; multiple revisions and court challenges have occurred) are non-exempt and must receive overtime regardless of duties. This threshold has been in legal flux — check current DOL guidance for the latest rule before assuming a salaried role is exempt.

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming all salaried employees are exempt from overtime. Salaried employees earning below the federal threshold (currently around $58,656/year, in legal flux) are non-exempt and entitled to OT for hours over 40. The job duties test also matters — executive, administrative, professional, and certain other roles have specific qualifying tests.
Forgetting state-specific rules. California, Alaska, Nevada, and several other states have daily overtime rules. Some union contracts impose additional OT requirements. Federal law is a floor; state and contract rules can be more generous.
Including non-OT premium pay in regular rate. Shift differentials, hazard pay, and other premiums sometimes need to be included in the "regular rate" used to compute the OT premium. The math gets complex; if your role pays multiple premium types, double-check the paycheck against the law.
Working overtime that isn't paid. Some employers improperly classify workers as exempt to avoid overtime. If you're a non-exempt employee working without OT, you may be owed back pay — the DOL's Wage and Hour Division enforces FLSA violations and can recover wages, often with double damages.
Treating overtime as guaranteed long-term income. Overtime is often discretionary on the employer's side and can disappear quickly (cost cuts, business slowdown). Treat regular OT as bonus income to save aggressively, not as fixed income to budget against.
Ignoring the fatigue and accident risk of chronic overtime. Workers in their 5th+ year of 60-hour weeks have measurably higher injury rates, health problems, and family stress. The dollar value of OT should be netted against these costs, not just the marginal tax rate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & further reading

Fair Labor Standards Act — Overtime Pay rules — U.S. Department of Labor — Wage and Hour Division
Final Rule: Overtime Update (federal salary threshold) — U.S. Department of Labor — Wage and Hour Division
California Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders — California Department of Industrial Relations

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