How to Calculate Overtime Pay (2026 Guide)

If you've ever stared at a paycheck after a 50-hour week and thought "that doesn't look right," you're not imagining things. Overtime is one of the most common places employers underpay workers, usually not out of malice but because the math is genuinely fiddly and they cut corners.

Here's the good news: the core rule is simple. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), most hourly workers must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate for every hour over 40 in a single workweek. This guide walks through exactly how to do that math, including the parts employers get wrong, so you can check your own pay in a few minutes.

Step 1: Find your real regular rate

Your "regular rate" is the starting point for everything, and it is not always the same as your base hourly wage. If you earn a flat $20 an hour and nothing else, your regular rate is $20. Easy.

But if you also earn nondiscretionary bonuses (think production bonuses, attendance bonuses, or shift differentials promised in advance), the law says those have to be folded into your regular rate. So a $20/hour worker who earned a $100 production bonus over a 50-hour week actually has a regular rate of $22 that week ($1,000 in wages plus $100, divided by 50 hours). Overtime is then calculated on that higher number, which means a bonus can quietly raise your overtime pay.

This is one of the most overlooked errors in payroll. If your overtime was calculated only on your base wage and you got bonuses, you may be owed more.

Step 2: Count hours over 40 in the workweek

Overtime is based on a single, fixed seven-day workweek, not your pay period and not a calendar week. Your employer picks the start day (say, Sunday 12:00 a.m.), and it has to stay consistent.

Add up every hour you actually worked in that week. Anything over 40 is overtime. Here's the catch employers love: paid time off, holidays, and sick days you didn't actually work do not count toward the 40. So if you took Monday off as PTO and then worked 36 hours the rest of the week, you didn't hit overtime, even though your check showed 44 paid hours.

One more trap: employers cannot average two weeks together. Working 30 hours one week and 50 the next is not "80 over two weeks, no overtime." That second week earned you 10 overtime hours, full stop.

Step 3: Multiply overtime hours by 1.5x the rate

Now the part everyone knows. Overtime hours are paid at 1.5 times the regular rate. Let's run a clean example: $20 an hour, 46 hours in the week. You earn 40 x $20 = $800 in straight time, plus 6 x $30 = $180 in overtime, for $980 gross that week.

Try a higher wage to see how fast it adds up. At $28 an hour for 52 hours: 40 x $28 = $1,120, plus 12 x $42 = $504, for $1,624. That $504 overtime premium is real money, and over a year of busy weeks it can run into five figures.

The fastest way to check your own numbers is the overtime calculator, which applies your state's rules automatically. If you just want the premium rate by itself, the time and a half calculator gives you the per-hour figure.

Salaried but non-exempt? You still get overtime

A salary does not mean you're exempt from overtime. If you're paid a salary but your job duties don't meet the legal exemption test, you're "salaried non-exempt" and you're owed overtime like anyone else.

To find the regular rate, divide your weekly salary by the hours it's meant to cover (usually 40). A $48,000 salary is about $923 a week, or roughly $23.08 an hour. Work 48 hours and you're owed 8 overtime hours at $34.62, on top of your salary. We cover this trap in detail in do salaried employees get overtime.

Watch out for daily-overtime states

Federal law only counts weekly hours, but a handful of states require overtime based on hours per day. California, Alaska, Nevada, and Colorado all have daily-overtime rules, which means you can earn overtime in a week with fewer than 40 total hours.

California is the big one: over 8 hours in a day triggers time and a half, and over 12 hours in a day triggers double time. There's also a seventh-consecutive-day rule. We break it all down in California overtime rules. If you work in one of these states, enter your daily hours, not just your weekly total.

Frequently asked questions

Does my employer have to pay overtime if I didn't get it approved first? Generally yes. Under federal law, if you worked the hours and your employer knew or should have known, they owe the overtime, even if you broke a rule by not getting approval. They can discipline you for the rule, but they can't refuse to pay.

Can my boss give me "comp time" instead of overtime pay? In the private sector, no. Banking time off in place of overtime cash is generally illegal for private employers. Only certain government employers can offer comp time, and even then there are strict rules.

How far back can I claim unpaid overtime? The FLSA generally allows you to recover up to two years of back pay, or three years if the violation was willful. Many states give you even longer. The clock is running, so don't sit on it.

Check your last few paychecks now

Pull your three most recent pay stubs and any weeks where you topped 40 hours. Run the numbers through the overtime calculator, and if you suspect you've been shorted across many weeks, the back-pay calculator estimates the total you may be owed, including liquidated damages.

If the figures don't match, you have options: raise it with payroll, file a complaint with the DOL Wage and Hour Division, or talk to an attorney. The important thing is to start with real numbers, not a gut feeling.