Time and a Half Calculator: Calculate Your US Overtime Pay
If you are working overtime, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires most employers to pay you at least time and a half (1.5 times your standard hourly rate) for any hours worked beyond 40 in a single workweek. This time and a half calculator does the math automatically. Enter your hourly rate or annual salary, the hours worked at the enhanced rate, and the calculator returns your overtime pay, your gross total for the period, and an estimated take-home after federal income tax and FICA.
Time and a Half Calculator
Enter your hourly rate and hours to see your overtime pay at time-and-a-half (1.5×) and double-time (2×).
Pay rate & standard hours
Overtime
Estimate only. Under the U.S. FLSA, eligible non-exempt employees earn at least 1.5× their regular rate beyond 40 hours per week; state laws and employer policies vary. Tax shown is a flat estimate, not actual payroll withholding.
The tool is built for US workers in manufacturing, retail, healthcare, hospitality, logistics, construction, and any other sector covered by federal or state overtime law.
✅ Calculates time-and-a-half, double time, and triple time
✅ Works for hourly and salaried non-exempt workers
✅ Includes federal income tax and FICA estimates
✅ Free to use, no signup required
What This Calculator Does?
Time and a half is the most common overtime pay rate in the US, mandated by federal law for non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a single workweek. The math is straightforward in principle, but applying it correctly across hourly workers, salaried non-exempt workers, multiple shift premiums, and state-specific rules takes some care. This time and a half pay calculator handles the arithmetic and lets you model different scenarios quickly.
The inputs:
- Your standard hourly rate (or annual salary, if salaried)
- The number of standard hours in your normal workweek (typically 40 for full-time employees)
- The hours worked at time and a half
- Optional: hours worked at double time or triple time
- Optional: your filing status and state for federal and FICA tax estimation
The outputs:
- Total time-and-a-half pay for the period
- Combined overtime earnings if you also worked double time
- Estimated federal income tax and FICA withholding on the overtime
- Net take-home from the overtime work
- Effective hourly rate if you are salaried
You can adjust the inputs to model different scenarios: a factory worker putting in 50 hours in a workweek, a healthcare worker covering a holiday shift, a salaried logistics manager picking up weekend overtime.
What Time and a Half Means?
Time and a half is pay at 1.5 times your standard hourly rate. If you earn $20 per hour, time and a half is $30 per hour for the hours worked at that enhanced rate.
The phrase comes from the calculation itself: one full hour’s pay plus an additional half hour’s pay for each hour worked, which equals 1.5 hours of pay for one hour of work.
In the US, time and a half typically applies in three situations:
- Overtime hours worked beyond the 40-hour weekly threshold (federally mandated by FLSA for non-exempt employees)
- Premium shifts under company policy or collective bargaining agreement, such as weekend work, holiday shifts, or unsocial hours
- State-specific overtime triggers, such as California’s daily-over-8 rule
The federal FLSA rule is the baseline. State law and employer policy can require time and a half in additional situations.
Time and a Half Under Federal Law (FLSA)
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is the federal law that mandates overtime pay in the US. The core rule is simple: covered, non-exempt employees must receive overtime pay at a rate not less than 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek.
Key FLSA definitions:
- A workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours (seven consecutive 24-hour periods). It can begin on any day and any hour, as long as it is consistent
- The regular rate of pay includes all remuneration for employment, with certain exclusions (gifts, holiday pay paid for unworked time, premiums beyond required, and so on)
- Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime. Exempt employees are not (covered in detail below)
Federal law does NOT require overtime pay for:
- Work on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays as such (only if the total weekly hours exceed 40)
- Pay over 8 hours in a single day under federal law (some states differ)
- Pay for night, weekend, or holiday work unless the overtime threshold is crossed
Many employers do pay enhanced rates for these situations as a matter of policy or contract, but federal law does not require it. The US Department of Labor enforces the FLSA through its Wage and Hour Division at dol.gov.
State Laws and Daily Overtime
While the FLSA sets the federal floor, several states require additional overtime protections beyond the weekly 40-hour threshold.
California has the most extensive state overtime law. Non-exempt employees are entitled to:
- Time and a half for hours worked over 8 in a single workday
- Time and a half for the first 8 hours of the seventh consecutive workday
- Double time for hours worked over 12 in a single workday
- Double time for hours worked over 8 on the seventh consecutive workday
Alaska, Nevada, and Colorado also have daily overtime rules with their own specific thresholds.
Most other states follow the federal weekly 40-hour standard without adding daily overtime requirements.
State laws are stricter than the FLSA where they exist, and employers must follow whichever law is more favorable to the employee. The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement at dir.ca.gov is the authoritative source for California overtime rules. For other states, check with your state labor department.
Who Is Exempt from Overtime?
Not every US worker is entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA. Several categories of employees are exempt:
- Executive exemption: Salaried managers who supervise two or more employees, have authority to hire or fire, and meet the salary basis test.
- Administrative exemption: Salaried office workers whose primary duties involve significant judgment and discretion related to management or general business operations.
- Professional exemption: Salaried workers in fields requiring advanced knowledge (law, medicine, accounting, engineering) or creative professionals.
- Computer employee exemption: Computer systems analysts, programmers, software engineers, and similar roles meeting specific duties and salary tests.
- Outside sales exemption: Employees whose primary duty is making sales and who work away from the employer’s place of business.
- Highly compensated employees: Workers earning above a high salary threshold (currently approximately $107,432, subject to DOL rulemaking) with at least one exempt duty.
The exemption tests are technical, and a worker who appears exempt by job title may not actually be exempt when the actual duties test is applied. The Department of Labor publishes detailed fact sheets on each exemption category.
The Calculation Formula
The calculation is simple:
Time and a half rate = Standard hourly rate × 1.5
Overtime pay = Time and a half rate × Overtime hours worked
For example, if your standard rate is $20 per hour and you work 8 hours of overtime at time and a half:
- Time and a half rate = $20 × 1.5 = $30 per hour
- Overtime pay = $30 × 8 = $240
This is gross overtime pay, before federal income tax, state income tax, and FICA withholdings. The calculator above does this math automatically and adds the tax estimate for your take-home figure.
For salaried non-exempt workers, the effective hourly rate has to be derived first:
Effective hourly rate = Annual salary ÷ (Standard hours per week × 52)
A salaried non-exempt employee earning $52,000 per year on a 40-hour standard week has an effective hourly rate of $25.00. Their time and a half rate is $37.50 per hour.
Three Worked Examples
Example 1: Factory worker exceeding 40 hours. Maria earns $22 per hour at a manufacturing plant. In one workweek, she works 50 hours total: 40 standard hours and 10 hours at time and a half.
- Standard earnings: $22 × 40 = $880
- Time-and-a-half rate: $22 × 1.5 = $33
- Overtime earnings: $33 × 10 = $330
- Total gross for the week: $1,210
Example 2: California worker with daily overtime. James earns $25 per hour at a logistics company in California. He works a 10-hour shift on Tuesday and 9 hours on Wednesday, with the rest of his workweek standard.
- Tuesday: 8 hours standard ($200) + 2 hours at time and a half ($75) = $275
- Wednesday: 8 hours standard ($200) + 1 hour at time and a half ($37.50) = $237.50
Under California law, the daily-over-8 rule means James qualifies for time-and-a-half even though his weekly hours stay under 40. Without California’s daily overtime, only the weekly excess would qualify.
Example 3: Salaried non-exempt manager. Amir earns $65,000 per year as a salaried non-exempt warehouse coordinator on a 40-hour standard week. He works 5 hours of overtime in one workweek.
- Effective hourly rate: $65,000 ÷ (40 × 52) = $31.25
- Time-and-a-half rate: $31.25 × 1.5 = $46.88
- Overtime earnings: $46.88 × 5 = $234.40
In all three cases, the overtime pay is subject to federal income tax, FICA, and any applicable state and local income taxes, so the take-home amount is lower than the gross.
Double Time and Triple Time
Some US workplaces pay enhanced rates above time and a half for particular shifts:
Double time is pay at 2x your standard hourly rate. It is required by California state law for hours worked over 12 in a single workday or over 8 on the seventh consecutive workday. Some employers also pay double time voluntarily for Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, or other major holidays as a matter of policy.
Triple time is 3x your standard rate. It is not required by federal or state law, but some union contracts include it for emergency cover or rare premium shifts.
The double time and a half calculator above can model any of these rates. The same math applies:
- Double time = Hourly rate × 2
- Time and a half = Hourly rate × 1.5
- Triple time = Hourly rate × 3
If your employer or collective bargaining agreement uses non-standard multipliers (1.33x, 1.75x, and so on), enter the multiplier directly into the calculator’s custom field.
Federal Tax and FICA on Overtime Pay
Overtime pay is taxable income in the US, the same as your standard wages. It is subject to:
- Federal income tax at your marginal rate (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, or 37%)
- State income tax, where applicable (rates vary; nine states have no individual income tax)
- FICA contributions: 6.2% Social Security (up to the annual wage base) plus 1.45% Medicare
- Additional Medicare tax of 0.9% on incomes above certain thresholds ($200,000 single, $250,000 married filing jointly)
If your overtime pushes your annual income into a higher tax bracket, the portion above the threshold is taxed at the higher rate. For occasional overtime, this is rarely an issue. For consistent significant overtime, it is worth tracking your annual gross against the bracket boundaries.
A common surprise: a $400 gross overtime payment for a worker in the 22% federal bracket typically converts to approximately $284 take-home after federal income tax and FICA, assuming no state tax. State income tax can take that further down by $20 to $40 depending on your state.
The IRS publishes current federal tax brackets and FICA rates at irs.gov.
Open the Time and a Half Calculator
Enter your hourly rate or salary above to see your time-and-a-half pay, double-time pay for premium shifts, and your estimated take-home after federal income tax and FICA. The time and a half calculator is free to use, works on any device, and gives instant results.