Overtime Pay Calculator (Time-and-a-Half)
Enter an hourly rate, regular hours, and overtime hours to see the gross paycheck — regular pay, overtime pay, and the blended effective hourly rate — broken out separately. Built for small crews running weekly or bi-weekly payroll by hand.
Overtime Pay Calculator
Defaults assume a standard 40-hour week with 6 hours of time-and-a-half overtime.
FLSA note: for non-exempt employees, overtime is generally 1.5× the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Some states (e.g. California, daily overtime) and some roles (salaried-exempt) have different rules — check your state labor department before running payroll.
The overtime pay formula
Overtime pay has three moving pieces, and getting the paycheck right just means keeping them separate instead of blending everything into one hourly average:
| Step | Example: $28/hr, 40 reg + 6 OT hours |
|---|---|
| Regular pay | $28 × 40 = $1,120.00 |
| Overtime rate | $28 × 1.5 = $42.00/hr |
| Overtime pay | $42.00 × 6 = $252.00 |
| Gross pay | $1,120.00 + $252.00 = $1,372.00 |
The blended effective hourly rate that week — gross pay divided by total hours worked — comes out to $1,372.00 ÷ 46 hours = $29.83/hr. That number matters when you are comparing what a job actually cost you against what you bid it at, since a week with heavy overtime pays out well above the base rate per hour worked.
Who actually gets overtime
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), non-exempt employees — most hourly W-2 crew — are owed 1.5× their regular rate for every hour over 40 in a single workweek. Salaried-exempt employees (typically supervisors or managers meeting specific duties and salary tests) are not owed overtime under federal law. 1099 subcontractors are not employees at all, so overtime rules do not apply to them — they are paid whatever the contract says, which is one more reason misclassifying an employee as a 1099 to dodge overtime is a real audit risk, not a shortcut.
A handful of states layer on stricter rules. California and a few others require daily overtime (over 8 hours in a day, not just 40 in a week) and double-time thresholds after 12 hours. This calculator uses the standard federal weekly model — if your state has daily overtime, run each day separately and total the results.
Payroll & Timesheet Kit
A weekly timesheet, an overtime-tracking log, and a pay-period summary sheet built for small crews running payroll by hand — no software subscription required.
Turn this into an actual pay stub
Once the gross number is right, the next step is documenting it. Use the free pay stub generator to turn these same hours into a formatted, printable stub with deductions and net pay. If you are still deciding whether a worker should be on payroll at all, read 1099 vs. W-2 for trades first — and if you want the full walkthrough of running payroll for a small crew, start with how to do payroll for a small contractor business.
Before you can quote a job that includes overtime-heavy weeks, you need to know your true labor cost per hour, not just the wage you pay — run it through the labor burden rate calculator and the true hourly rate calculator to see what an hour of labor actually costs once taxes, insurance, and overtime are folded in.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay overtime after 40 hours a week?
For non-exempt employees under the federal FLSA, yes — 1.5× the regular rate for every hour worked over 40 in a single workweek. Some states add daily overtime rules on top of that. Salaried-exempt employees and 1099 subcontractors are generally not owed overtime.
How is the overtime rate calculated?
Multiply the regular hourly rate by the OT multiplier, usually 1.5 for time-and-a-half or 2.0 for double time. That overtime rate is then multiplied by the overtime hours worked to get overtime pay, which is added to regular pay for the gross total.
What is the effective hourly rate and why does it matter?
It is gross pay divided by total hours worked that week. Once overtime is mixed in, the true blended rate per hour is higher than the base rate — useful when comparing actual labor cost on a job against what you bid.
Is this overtime calculator free?
Yes — free, no sign-up. Enter the rate and hours and read the gross, regular pay, overtime pay, and effective hourly rate. This is a math aid, not tax or legal advice.