South Carolina has no overtime law of its own and no state minimum wage law, so federal FLSA rules decide your pay. Enter your rate and hours for an accurate South Carolina paycheck estimate: 1.5x after 40 hours a week, no daily overtime.
Rules verified November 2026 · Sources: U.S. Department of Labor
By Mudassir Khan
Federal FLSA rules only. Each workweek stands alone.
Wage complaints go to SC LLR within 3 years. Estimates only. Not tax, legal, or payroll advice. Confirm with your employer or a qualified professional.
South Carolina has no state overtime law, so the federal FLSA applies: nonexempt workers earn 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, with no daily overtime. The 2026 minimum wage is the $7.25 federal floor. File wage complaints with SC LLR within 3 years; courts can award up to 3 times unpaid wages.
South Carolina never passed a minimum wage or overtime statute, so the Fair Labor Standards Act applies directly: nonexempt employees earn at least 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. No state rule adds or changes this.
While South Carolina has no overtime statute, its Payment of Wages Act lets workers sue for unpaid wages and recover up to 3 times the unpaid amount plus attorney fees. The Office of Wages and Child Labor at SC LLR investigates wage complaints, with a 3 year deadline.
South Carolina moved to a two rate system for 2026: 1.99% on the first $30,000 of state taxable income, then 5.21% above that. Overtime still gets taxed like any other wages, just under simpler math than before.
Gross = (40 × rate) + (hours over 40 × rate × 1.5)
| Rule | South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Overtime rule | Federal FLSA only: 1.5 times pay after 40 hours in a workweek |
| Minimum wage 2026 | $7.25 (federal floor; no state law) |
| State income tax | 1.99% up to $30,000 of SC taxable income, 5.21% above |
| Claim agency | SC LLR, Office of Wages and Child Labor |
| Claim deadline | 3 years; courts can award up to 3 times unpaid wages |
| Worker | Math | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| $7.25/hr, 46 hours | $290 + 6 × $10.88 | $355.25 |
| $13/hr, 54 hours | $520 + 14 × $19.50 | $793.00 |
| $19/hr, 48 hours | $760 + 8 × $28.50 | $988.00 |
| $12/hr, four 10 hour days (40 hrs) | 40 × $12, no overtime | $480.00 |
Example 4 is the daily overtime trap: four 10 hour days earn zero overtime in South Carolina. The same schedule earns 8 overtime hours in California, where daily rules exist.
Triple damages are on the table. The Payment of Wages Act lets a court award up to 3 times the unpaid wages plus attorney fees. Employers know this, which makes a written demand letter a powerful first step before you file.
The written notice rule protects your rate. Employers with 5 or more workers must tell you in writing at hire what your wages, hours, and deductions are, and give 7 days written notice before cutting them. A verbal pay cut that was never put in writing is hard for an employer to defend.
Final pay has a hard clock. When you separate from a job, all wages are due within 48 hours or by the next regular payday, whichever is sooner, and never more than 30 days out. Late final pay feeds the same triple damages claim.
South Carolina neighbors North Carolina, where the same weekly formula applies: our North Carolina overtime calculator shows the math across the state line. The federal baseline is explained in the FLSA overtime rules guide.
No. South Carolina has no state overtime statute and no state minimum wage law, so the federal Fair Labor Standards Act decides: 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.
You can file a wage complaint with the SC LLR Office of Wages and Child Labor, or sue directly in court. Courts can award up to 3 times the unpaid wages plus attorney fees. Act within 3 years.
$7.25 an hour, the federal floor. South Carolina has no state minimum wage law.
No. Only hours over 40 in a workweek earn 1.5 times the regular rate.
Yes. For 2026 the rate is 1.99% on the first $30,000 of state taxable income and 5.21% above that, on top of federal taxes.
Yes, if nonexempt. A salary alone does not remove overtime rights. Only employees who pass the FLSA exempt duties and salary tests can be denied overtime pay.
Rates and rules checked against these sources in November 2026.
Want the same math without the South Carolina framing? Use the overtime pay calculator. Curious what the federal no tax on overtime deduction does to a South Carolina paycheck? Try the deduction calculator.