How to Calculate Overtime Rate Per Hour (Free Calculator)

How do you calculate the overtime rate per hour?

Find the regular rate: add up everything earned for the workweek that counts as pay and divide by the hours worked. With one hourly rate and no bonus, it is the hourly rate.
Multiply the regular rate by 1.5 to get the overtime rate.
Count the overtime hours: hours over 40 in the workweek, or over 8 in a day where state law says so.
Add it up: regular rate × all hours, plus half the regular rate for each overtime hour.

For $22.50 an hour the overtime rate is $33.75. A 45-hour week pays 40 × $22.50 = $900.00 plus 5 × $33.75, which is $1,068.75. A 50-hour week pays $1,237.50.

Formula weekly pay = regular rate × hours up to 40 + regular rate × 1.5 × hours over 40

What counts in the regular rate?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act a non-exempt employee is owed at least 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Anything that is part of pay for the week goes into the regular rate, other than a short list of excluded items such as true gifts, expense reimbursements and discretionary bonuses.

Non-discretionary bonuses, which are promised in advance for production, attendance or retention, must be included. A $50 bonus in a 50-hour week at $10 an hour moves the regular rate to $11.00, so overtime premium rises to $55.00. Shift differentials are included in the same way.

The workweek is a fixed, recurring period of 168 hours. Hours are never averaged across weeks, and a biweekly pay schedule does not change that: weeks of 38 and 45 hours produce 5 overtime hours, not 3.

How do you calculate overtime with two different pay rates?

Use the weighted-average regular rate: total straight-time pay divided by total hours. Thirty hours at $20 and 20 hours at $30 is $1,200.00 ÷ 50 = 24.0000. The 10 overtime hours earn an extra half of that rate, $120.00, for a total of $1,320.00.

With an agreement made before the work, an employer may instead pay overtime at the rate of the job being worked during the overtime hours. Without that agreement, the weighted average applies.

How is the overtime rate worked out for salaried employees?

Convert the salary to a weekly figure (a monthly salary × 12 ÷ 52), divide by the hours the salary is meant to cover to get the hourly rate, then pay 1.5 times that rate for hours over 40. A non-exempt employee on $800.00 a week for 40 hours has a $20.00 rate, so 48 hours pays $1,040.00.

Where there is a clear agreement that a fixed salary covers all hours worked, the fluctuating workweek method divides the salary by the hours worked and owes only the extra half-time. A $600 salary for 50 hours gives a rate of $12.00, a premium of $60.00 and $660.00 in all. Employees who truly meet the salary and duties tests for an exemption are not owed overtime at all.

How does the overtime rate work in California?

California adds daily overtime after 8 hours at 1.5 times and double time after 12 hours. On the seventh straight day of a workweek the first 8 hours are 1.5 times and the rest 2 times. A 13-hour day at $25 pays $400.00: 8 regular hours, 4 at 1.5 times and 1 at double time.

Each hour is counted once, at the highest rate that applies. The seventh-day rule applies only when the employee works all seven days of the workweek. Other states, among them Alaska, Nevada and Colorado, have some form of daily overtime, so check your state before relying on the weekly rule alone.

Overtime rate adjustment calculatorEnter several rates, a bonus or a California week and see the true overtime rate.

Who is not owed overtime at all?

Overtime applies to non-exempt employees. Executive, administrative and professional employees can be exempt, but only when they are paid on a salary basis above the minimum salary level set by the Department of Labor and their duties really are exempt duties. A job title alone does not make anyone exempt, and a salary alone does not either.

The calculator takes it for granted that the employee is non-exempt, because the arithmetic is meaningless otherwise. If you are unsure of your status, check the current salary threshold and the duties test with the Department of Labor or your state labor agency before relying on any figure here.

Common questions

How much is overtime for $22.50 an hour?

The overtime rate is $33.75 an hour. A 45-hour week pays $1,068.75 and a 50-hour week pays $1,237.50.

What is the overtime formula?

Weekly pay = regular rate × hours up to 40, plus regular rate × 1.5 × hours over 40. The same figure is regular rate × total hours plus 0.5 × regular rate × overtime hours.

Do bonuses change my overtime rate?

Yes. Non-discretionary bonuses must be included in the regular rate. A discretionary bonus, where the employer decides the amount and timing at its own discretion, is not.

How is overtime calculated for a biweekly pay period?

Federal overtime is counted per workweek, not per pay period. Two weeks of 38 and 45 hours give 5 overtime hours, because the short week cannot offset the long one.

What changes if my base rate goes up?

The overtime rate rises with it. If the raise is backdated, the overtime for the earlier weeks has to be recalculated too, which is what the retro pay calculator does.

Is there a formula for Excel?

Yes: =(Pay+Bonus+Differential)/Hours for the regular rate, then =Rate*Hours+0.5*Rate*MAX(0,Hours-40) for weekly pay.

Sources

Reviewed on 25 Oct 2026 against the published sources below. Laws and prices change, so check the current position before you rely on a figure.

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This guide is general information, not legal, financial or religious advice. Figures are estimates worked out from the sources above and may differ from what applies to you. See the disclaimer. Found a mistake? Tell us.