Overtime
calculator.
Enter the hours worked each day and your hourly rate to see a week’s gross pay, with every hour split into straight time, time-and-a-half and double time under federal, California or custom rules.
Which hours
earn more.
- Federal (FLSA): hours over 40 in the workweek at 1.5× the regular rate. Daily hours do not matter.
- California: over 8 hours in a day at 1.5×, over 12 at 2×; on the 7th consecutive workday the first 8 hours at 1.5× and the rest at 2×; then straight-time hours over 40 a week at 1.5×.
- No hour is paid overtime twice: daily overtime hours are excluded when checking the weekly limit.
- Day 1 is the first day of your employer’s fixed 7-day workweek, which need not be Monday.
How is overtime pay calculated?
Count the overtime hours under your rule, multiply them by the overtime rate (usually 1.5× your hourly rate) and add straight-time pay. Five 10-hour days at $20 an hour under federal rules: 40 × $20 + 10 × $30 = $1,100.
Federal and California rules give different answers
Federal law looks only at the weekly total. Three 12-hour days (36 hours) earn no federal overtime, but in California the 4 hours over 8 each day earn 1.5×: $840 instead of $720 at $20 an hour. A single 14-hour day in California includes 2 hours of double time.
The 7th consecutive day in California
Working all seven days of a workweek triggers the seventh-day rule: the first 8 hours that day are paid at 1.5× and any more at 2×, even if the week totals 40 hours or fewer.
What counts as the regular rate?
Overtime is based on the regular rate of pay, not just the base wage. Under federal rules the regular rate is all straight-time pay for the week, including non-discretionary bonuses and commissions, divided by all hours worked. The Labor Department’s example: $12 an hour for 46 hours plus a $46 production bonus is $598, or $13 an hour, so the week pays $637 rather than $634. Enter a bonus or commission and the calculator applies this method. California calculates some flat-sum bonuses differently, which can raise overtime further.
Worked examples.
A 50-hour week under federal rules
$20 an hour, five 10-hour days.
$1,100.00: 40 hours at $20 and 10 hours at $30.
Load this exampleThree long days: federal vs California
$20 an hour, three 12-hour days (36 hours). Federal rules pay no overtime.
Under California rules $840.00: 4 hours a day over 8 are paid at $30. Under federal rules the same week pays $720.00.
Load this exampleA 14-hour day in California
$25 an hour, one 14-hour shift.
$450.00: 8 hours at $25, 4 hours at $37.50 and 2 hours at $50 (double time over 12 hours).
Load this exampleSeven days in a row in California
$20 an hour, 8 hours every day of the workweek.
$1,280.00: 40 straight-time hours, 8 weekly overtime hours and 8 seventh-day hours at 1.5×.
Load this exampleA union contract with daily overtime at double time
$30 an hour, four 10-hour days, overtime after 8 hours a day at 2×.
$1,440.00: 32 hours at $30 and 8 hours at $60.
Load this exampleA production bonus (the Labor Department’s own example)
$12 an hour, 46 hours in the week and a $46 production bonus, federal rules (29 CFR 778.110).
$637.00: the bonus raises the regular rate to $13, so the 6 overtime hours earn $6.50 extra each, not $6.
Load this exampleWhat this calculator
does not do.
- It covers one workweek. It does not apply local ordinances or industry wage orders with different rules.
- Exempt employees are not owed overtime; this assumes the employee is non-exempt.
- Bonuses and commissions are spread over the week’s hours under the federal method; shift differentials and multiple pay rates in one week are not modelled.
Common questions.
Is overtime paid after 8 hours a day?
Not under federal law, which only counts hours over 40 in a workweek. California and a few other states, and many union contracts, add daily overtime.
What is double time?
Twice the regular rate. In California it applies to hours over 12 in a day and over 8 on the seventh consecutive workday.
Do paid holidays count toward overtime?
Not under federal law: pay for vacation, holidays and illness is not for hours worked. Some contracts count them; use a custom rule if yours does.
- US Department of Labor, Overtime Pay — over 40 hours in a workweek at not less than 1.5× the regular rate
- California DIR, Overtime FAQ — daily, seventh-day and weekly overtime
- California DLSE opinion letter 2000.01.19 (no pyramiding of overtime) — daily overtime hours are not counted again for weekly overtime
- 29 CFR 778.218, Pay for certain idle hours — vacation, holiday and illness pay are not hours worked
- 29 CFR 778.110, Hourly rate employee — regular rate including a production bonus; $12/h, 46 h, $46 bonus = $637
Overtime splits are checked against an independent hour-by-hour simulation of every federal and California schedule, plus hand-worked vectors for long single days, three-day weeks and the seventh-day rule.