Overtime calculator

How to use the overtime calculator

1. Enter your hourly rate.
2. Enter the total hours you worked in the workweek, in decimal hours: 45 hours 20 minutes is 45.33, because 20 minutes is 0.33 hours. Hours over 40 become overtime automatically; change Overtime after if a different limit applies.
3. Keep the overtime rate at 1.5 for time and a half, or change it if your employer or contract pays more.
4. Add double time hours, and any shift differentials or bonuses earned that week, if you have them.

If you have daily in and out times instead of totals, use the time card calculator, or the time card calculator with lunch if you clock out for lunch. To add up shift lengths first, use the time calculator, and to find what time you reach 40 hours this week, the clock out calculator.

Time and a half and double time

Time and a half means 1.5 times your regular rate for each overtime hour. At $18 an hour that is $27 an hour, so 5 overtime hours pay $135. Double time is 2 times the regular rate, or $36 an hour at the same wage.

Shift differentials and bonuses raise the regular rate, as shown below.

When overtime applies

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, nonexempt employees earn at least time and a half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The workweek is a fixed, recurring seven-day period set by the employer. Each week stands alone, so hours cannot be averaged: 50 hours one week and 30 the next still means 10 overtime hours. Federal law does not require extra pay for weekends, holidays, nights or long single days. Sources: DOL Fact Sheet #23 and 29 CFR 778.104.

Overtime is based on hours actually worked. Under federal rules, paid holidays, vacation and sick time usually do not count toward the 40, although some employers and union contracts count them.

California adds daily rules. Time and a half applies after 8 hours in a workday, after 40 hours in a workweek, and for the first 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day worked in a workweek. Double time applies after 12 hours in a workday and after 8 hours on that seventh day. Employees on an approved alternative workweek schedule have different daily limits. Source: California Labor Commissioner.

For California, count each day's hours first, then enter the overtime and double time hours here, or enter your punches in the California overtime calculator, which splits each day at 1.5× and 2×.

Firefighters and police officers at public agencies can be paid under a different rule, section 7(k), which counts overtime over a work period of up to 28 days: after 212 hours for fire protection and 171 for law enforcement in 28 days. The shift calendar shows the hours a 24/48, Kelly or 12-hour rotation adds up to. Source: DOL Fact Sheet #8.

Shift differentials and bonuses

Overtime is owed at 1.5 times the regular rate, not just the base wage. The regular rate is all pay for the workweek, minus certain exclusions, divided by the hours worked. Shift differentials, such as extra pay for nights, must be included. So must nondiscretionary bonuses: those promised in advance or tied to attendance, production or performance. Truly discretionary bonuses and gifts are left out. Sources: 29 CFR 778.207, 778.208, DOL Fact Sheet #56A and #56C.

When part of the week pays more, the regular rate is a weighted average of all straight-time pay (29 CFR 778.115). Every hour is paid once at straight time, and each hour over 40 adds a premium of half the regular rate.

Paying a flat $30 an overtime hour plus the $32 differential gives $1,012.00, $2.09 short, because it leaves the differential out of the regular rate. A bonus earned in the week is added to straight-time pay the same way. A bonus that covers several weeks is spread back over those weeks (29 CFR 778.209).

Overtime premium and the federal tax deduction

Time and a half has two parts: straight-time pay for every hour, and a premium of half the regular rate for each hour over 40. The calculator shows that premium on its own line. In the example above it is $62.09, already inside the gross pay.

• What counts. A federal law signed on July 4, 2025 (Public Law 119-21) created a deduction for qualified overtime compensation: pay above the regular rate, such as the "half" of time and a half, that section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act requires. Overtime paid only because of state law, a union contract or employer policy, such as California's daily overtime, does not count, and neither does pay above the FLSA's half, such as the extra part of double time.
• Years and limits. It covers tax years 2025 through 2028, up to $12,500 a year or $25,000 on a joint return, and phases out when modified adjusted gross income is over $150,000 ($300,000 joint). You can take it whether or not you itemize.
• Your W-2. From tax year 2026, employers report the total on Form W-2, box 12, code TT. For 2025 they did not have to report it separately, and the IRS lets workers use a reasonable method based on their regular rate and hours over 40.
• Who can claim it. You need a Social Security number valid for work, and married taxpayers must file jointly.

The line is an estimate from the hours and rate you enter. Your employer's payroll decides the amount on your W-2. This is general information, not tax advice. Sources, checked September 29, 2026: IRS questions and answers on the overtime deduction, What to know about the No Tax on Overtime deduction, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026) and Notice 2025-69.

Salaried and exempt employees

A salary does not by itself remove the right to overtime. For a nonexempt employee paid a fixed weekly salary, the regular rate is the salary divided by the hours it is meant to cover. A $900 salary for a 40-hour week gives a regular rate of $22.50, so each hour over 40 pays at least $33.75. A fluctuating workweek arrangement uses a different method. Sources: 29 CFR 778.113 and 778.114.

Exempt employees are not owed overtime under federal law. The common exemptions cover executive, administrative and professional employees who meet job duties tests and are paid a salary of at least $684 a week, the federal level in 2026. Job title alone does not decide it, and many states, including California, set higher salary levels. Sources: DOL Fact Sheet #17A and DOL salary levels.

Questions