How to calculate overtime pay

Five steps cover almost every paycheck. Then we handle the three cases that trip people up: salaried staff, two pay rates, and bonuses.

The basic formula (hourly workers)

Overtime pay = hours over 40 in the week × hourly rate × 1.5
Gross pay = (40 × rate) + overtime pay
  1. Find your regular rate — your normal hourly wage.
  2. Count the week's hours — overtime is weekly, never daily (except in California and a few states) and never averaged across weeks.
  3. Split at 40 — the first 40 hours pay at the regular rate; everything above is overtime.
  4. Multiply overtime hours by 1.5× your rate.
  5. Add the two parts together for gross weekly pay.

Example 1 — hourly

$22/hour, 46 hours in a week: regular = 40 × $22 = $880 · overtime = 6 × $33 = $198 · gross = $1,078.

Salaried non-exempt workers

A salary doesn't remove overtime rights unless the job is genuinely exempt. For a salaried non-exempt employee paid weekly:

  1. Regular rate = weekly salary ÷ 40 (unless the salary was agreed to cover a different fixed schedule).
  2. Overtime premium = 0.5 × regular rate × hours over 40 — the salary already covers straight time for all hours worked.

Example 2 — salaried

$1,000/week salary, 50 hours worked: regular rate = $1,000 ÷ 40 = $25 · premium = 0.5 × $25 × 10 = $125 · total = $1,125.

Two pay rates in one week

Use the weighted average: total straight-time pay ÷ total hours = your regular rate for that week, then add a 0.5× premium on hours over 40. The weighted overtime calculator does this for you — including the step most people miss:

Bonuses count. Non-discretionary bonuses (attendance, production, shift premiums promised in advance) must be included in the regular rate. Leaving them out understates every overtime hour that week.

Double time

Where double time applies (California after 12 hours/day, contracts, holiday policies), those hours pay 2× — and they replace, never stack on, the 1.5× rate for the same hour. The main calculator has a double-time field; Californians should use the day-by-day version.

Quick answers

Is overtime calculated on the day or the week?

Federal law: the week. California (and Alaska, Colorado, Nevada in specific cases) add daily rules on top.

Do weekends automatically pay overtime?

No. Saturday/Sunday hours pay overtime only if they push the week past 40 hours — unless your contract or company policy says otherwise, or California's seventh-day rule applies.

Can my employer average two weeks?

No. Each workweek stands alone, even inside a biweekly pay period.