How to Calculate Overtime Pay (2026 Guide)
Step-by-step guide to calculating overtime pay under the FLSA — the regular rate, time-and-a-half, daily vs weekly rules, and the free calculators that do the math for you.
Step 1 — Find the regular rate of pay
Overtime is built on your regular rate of pay, not just your base hourly wage. For a simple hourly job that is your hourly rate. But the regular rate must also include non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and most commissions, divided across the hours you worked. If you are paid a salary for a fixed week, divide the weekly salary by the hours it is meant to cover to get the hourly equivalent. Our Salary to Hourly calculator converts an annual or weekly salary into an hourly figure to start from.
Step 2 — Count the overtime hours
Under the federal FLSA, overtime is hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The workweek is a fixed, recurring 7-day period — not a calendar week or a pay period. A handful of states add daily overtime on top: California, Colorado, and Alaska pay overtime after 8 hours in a day, and Nevada does under some conditions. When both a daily and weekly rule could apply, you do not stack them — you apply whichever produces more overtime. The Overtime Hours calculator shows the weekly (>40) and daily (>8) counts side by side so you can see the difference, and the Time Card calculator totals a full week from clock in/out times.
Step 3 — Apply the overtime multiplier
Federal overtime is paid at 1.5× the regular rate — "time and a half." At $20/hour, the overtime rate is $30/hour. Use the Time and a Half calculator to get the premium rate alone, or the Overtime Pay calculator to combine regular and overtime hours into a full weekly total. Some states and many union or employer contracts also provide double time (2×): in California that kicks in after 12 hours in a day and after 8 hours on the seventh consecutive workday. The Double Time calculator splits a long day into regular, 1.5×, and 2× bands.
Who is eligible — exempt vs non-exempt
Overtime only applies to non-exempt employees. Being paid a salary does not by itself make someone exempt — exemption requires meeting both a salary-level test and a duties test. Misclassifying a worker as exempt is one of the most common and expensive wage-and-hour mistakes. For the full picture, read Exempt vs Non-Exempt Employees, and check how rules differ by location in State Overtime Comparison.
A worked example
Say you earn $20/hour and work 46 hours in a federal-only workweek. The first 40 hours are paid at $20 = $800. The 6 overtime hours are paid at $30 (1.5 × $20) = $180. Your gross for the week is $980. If you also earned a $50 production bonus that week, it would be folded into the regular rate first, slightly raising the overtime rate. Plug your own numbers into the Overtime Pay calculator to check your paycheck.
Frequently asked questions
Find the regular hourly rate, count hours worked beyond 40 in the workweek (and beyond 8 in a day where state law requires daily overtime), then pay those hours at 1.5× the regular rate. For example, 6 overtime hours at a $20 regular rate = 6 × $30 = $180 in overtime pay.
Federal FLSA overtime is weekly — over 40 hours in a fixed workweek. Some states (California, Colorado, Alaska, and Nevada in some cases) also require daily overtime after 8 hours. When both could apply you use whichever pays more, not both stacked together.
Yes. Non-discretionary bonuses, commissions, and shift differentials must be included in the regular rate, which slightly raises the overtime rate for that week. Purely discretionary bonuses are generally excluded.
Salaried non-exempt employees do. Exemption depends on meeting both a salary-level test and a duties test — not on simply being paid a salary. Misclassified salaried workers are still owed overtime.