Free Overtime Calculator (+ Guide)

What is an overtime calculator?

An overtime calculator works out what a week's work pays when some hours count as overtime.

This one follows the federal rule, or California's daily rules for its nonexempt employees.

How it works

The calculator works it out on your device, and your numbers stay there.

The federal rule

29 CFR 778.101 sets 40 hours as the most you can work in a workweek without overtime, and 778.107 sets the rate at no less than 1.5 times your regular rate.

778.104 adds that each workweek stands alone: 30 hours one week and 50 the next still means 10 hours of overtime.

California's daily rules

The Labor Commissioner sets out California's overtime for nonexempt employees:

• 1.5 times your regular rate for hours over 8 in a day, up to 12
• 1.5 times for hours over 40 in a week
• Double for hours over 12 in a day
• On a 7th day in a row, 1.5 times for the first 8 hours and double after that

The calculator counts each day first, so no hour is paid as overtime twice.

A worked example

Here's the example the calculator loads: $25 an hour and 48 hours in a week, by the federal rule.

40 hours at $25 is $1,000, and 8 hours at $37.50 is $300, so the week pays $1,300, about $27.08 an hour.

In California, the same 48 hours worked as 4 days of 12 pay $1,400: 32 regular hours and 16 at time and a half.

Mistakes to avoid

These are the slips that come up most.

• Averaging 2 weeks together, when each workweek counts on its own
• Using the federal rule in California, which misses daily overtime
• Forgetting double time past 12 hours in a California day
• Assuming every job gets overtime, when some salaried roles are exempt

Who is the overtime calculator for?

It's for hourly workers checking a paycheck, and these tools help around it.

• Hourly to salary calculator – for your hourly pay as a salary
• Salary to hourly calculator – for a salary as an hourly rate
• Freelance rate calculator – for pricing your own time

Check your hours against your pay stub every week, and keep a note of each day you work.