People type this into search every day: overtime pay calculator.
The usual answer is “anything past 40 hours, time and a half.” That sentence is the federal floor for many hourly jobs. It still needs the hours you were paid for, not the hours you were in the building.
I am not going to invent your contract. The time card overtime calculator subtracts one unpaid break from every worked day, then pays hours above the threshold you type.
This page is a labeled example. It is not a wage claim, and it is not personalized payroll advice. Eligibility, daily overtime, premiums, and rounding depend on the contract and the law that apply to that card.
Shift hours, then unpaid breaks, then the threshold
The calculator uses:
paid hours = each shift minus its unpaid break
Overtime is paid hours above the weekly threshold. Regular pay is regular hours × the hourly rate. Overtime pay is overtime hours × the rate × the multiplier.
One unpaid break applies to every day with a non-zero shift. A zero-length Friday does not take a break. Daily overtime and payroll rounding are excluded. Those are the tool’s assumptions.
Fig 1
Clock in, subtract lunch, then split 40
The threshold sees paid hours, not the shift lengths on the roster.
Sum each shift minus its break. Hours up to the threshold are regular. The rest are overtime.
DOL Fact Sheet 23 says covered nonexempt employees must receive overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek at not less than time and one-half the regular rate. A workweek is 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods. You cannot average two weeks to dodge the 40.
The same fact sheet says the Act does not require extra pay for Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday as such. Extra pay for nights is a matter of the agreement. The handy reference guide walks an $8.00 employee who works 44 hours: $320 for the first 40, plus $48 for four overtime hours, $368.00 for the week. I rerun that card later.
State daily-overtime rules can sit on top of the 40. Type the threshold and the multiplier that apply. The overtime topic page is the federal starting point.
Example 1: the published 39.5-hour week
Here are the calculator defaults:
- Monday to Thursday: 8.5 hours each
- Friday: 8 hours
- unpaid break per worked day: 30 minutes
- weekly overtime threshold: 40 hours
- base hourly rate: $25
- overtime multiplier: 1.5×
Shift pile: 8.5 × 4 + 8 = 42.0 hours
Worked days: 5
Unpaid breaks: 5 × 0.5 = 2.5 hours
Paid hours: 42 − 2.5 = 39.5 hours
Regular hours: 39.5
Overtime hours: 0
Gross pay: 39.5 × 25 = $987.50
Calculator result
Time card & overtime
- Monday shift length
- 8.5 hours
- Tuesday shift length
- 8.5 hours
- Wednesday shift length
- 8.5 hours
- Thursday shift length
- 8.5 hours
- Friday shift length
- 8 hours
- Unpaid break per worked day
- 30 minutes
- Weekly overtime threshold
- 40 hours
- Base hourly rate
- $25.00
- Overtime pay multiplier
- 1.5 ×
39.5 hours
total paid time for the entered week
- Regular hours
- 39.5 hours
- Overtime hours
- 0 hours
- Estimated gross pay
- $987.50
The roster looks like a 42-hour week. After lunch it is 39.5. There is no overtime on this card.
Fig 2 · 1/2
42 hours on the clock, 39.5 paid
Calculator defaults. $25 an hour.
Paid
39.5h
Unpaid breaks
2.5h
Paid time is 39.5 hours.
Unpaid breaks take 2.5 hours off the 42-hour roster.
Fig 3 · 1/2
The default paycheck
39.5 paid hours at $25. No overtime.
Gross pay
Default card
$987.50
40 × $25
$1,000
Gross pay is $987.50.
A straight 40-hour week at $25 would be $1,000.
Example 2: five 8-hour days, no break
Monday to Friday 8 hours, break 0.
Paid hours: 40.0
Regular: 40.0
Overtime: 0
Gross: 40 × 25 = $1,000.00
That is the clean 40. People use it as a mental default. The published card is $12.50 under it because of the 0.5-hour shortfall.
Five 8-hour days with the 30-minute break: paid 37.5 hours. Gross $937.50. Breaks 2.5 hours. Still no overtime.
Example 3: five 10-hour days, 7.5 hours of overtime
Monday to Friday 10 hours, 30-minute break, $25, 1.5×.
Paid hours: 5 × 9.5 = 47.5
Regular: 40.0
Overtime: 7.5
Regular pay: 40 × 25 = $1,000.00
Overtime pay: 7.5 × 25 × 1.5 = $281.25
Gross: $1,281.25
Breaks: 2.5 hours
Calculator result
Time card & overtime
- Monday shift length
- 10 hours
- Tuesday shift length
- 10 hours
- Wednesday shift length
- 10 hours
- Thursday shift length
- 10 hours
- Friday shift length
- 10 hours
47.5 hours
total paid time for the entered week
- Regular hours
- 40 hours
- Overtime hours
- 7.5 hours
- Estimated gross pay
- $1,281.25
Fig 4 · 1/2
Regular pay and overtime pay
$25 an hour, 1.5×. Breaks stay 30 minutes.
- Regular
- Overtime
| Category | Regular | Overtime |
|---|---|---|
| Default 8.5s | $988 | $0.00 |
| Five 10s | $1.0k | $281 |
The default card is $987.50 of regular pay.
Five 10-hour days add $281.25 of overtime on top of $1,000 regular.
$1,281.25 − $987.50 = $293.75. Eight extra paid hours, 7.5 of them at $37.50, plus 0.5 regular hours to reach 40: 0.5 × 25 + 7.5 × 37.50 = 12.50 + 281.25 = $293.75.
Example 4: four 10-hour days, Friday off
Monday to Thursday 10 hours, Friday 0, 30-minute break.
Worked days: 4
Paid hours: 4 × 9.5 = 38.0
Regular: 38.0
Overtime: 0
Gross: 38 × 25 = $950.00
Breaks: 2.0 hours
Forty clock hours on four days still miss the 40-hour threshold after lunch. 10 × 4 looks like 40. Paid time is 38.
Example 5: what if I change only the break
Hold the 8.5 / 8.5 / 8.5 / 8.5 / 8 roster and $25.
0-minute break: paid 42.0 hours. Regular 40. Overtime 2.0. Gross 40 × 25 + 2 × 37.50 = $1,075.00.
30-minute break (default): paid 39.5. Overtime 0. Gross $987.50.
60-minute break: paid 37.0. Overtime 0. Gross $925.00. Breaks 5.0 hours.
Fig 5 · 1/3
The same roster, three lunch lengths
8.5 + 8.5 + 8.5 + 8.5 + 8. $25 an hour.
- Gross pay
| Category | Gross pay |
|---|---|
| 60 min | $925 |
| 30 min | $988 |
| 0 min | $1.1k |
A 60-minute lunch prints $925.
The 30-minute default is $987.50. No lunch is $1,075.
$1,075.00 − $987.50 = $87.50. Those 2.5 lunch hours are not all at $25. On the no-break card, 2 of them sit above 40 at $37.50 and 0.5 stays regular at $25.
2 × 37.50 + 0.5 × 25 = 75 + 12.50 = $87.50.
Example 6: the common mistake, paying 42 hours as if lunch counted
Someone looks at 8.5 × 4 + 8 = 42 and does 42 × $25 = $1,050.00.
The card says $987.50. The miss is $62.50, which is the 2.5-hour lunch pile at the straight rate.
The other miss is inventing overtime on those 42 clock hours: 40 × 25 + 2 × 37.50 = $1,075.00. That is example 5’s no-break card. It is the right math only if lunch is paid.
DOL’s own $8.00 / 44-hour example matches the tool when breaks are zero:
Monday to Thursday 8 hours, Friday 12 hours, break 0, rate $8, threshold 40, 1.5×.
Paid: 44.0 hours
Overtime: 4.0
Gross: 40 × 8 + 4 × 12 = 320 + 48 = $368.00
Calculator result
Time card & overtime
- Monday shift length
- 8 hours
- Tuesday shift length
- 8 hours
- Wednesday shift length
- 8 hours
- Thursday shift length
- 8 hours
- Friday shift length
- 12 hours
- Unpaid break per worked day
- 0 minutes
- Base hourly rate
- $8.00
44 hours
total paid time for the entered week
- Regular hours
- 40 hours
- Overtime hours
- 4 hours
- Estimated gross pay
- $368.00
Example 7: a $40 rate, or a $18 rate on the long week
Default roster, $40 an hour, 30-minute break.
Paid 39.5. Overtime 0. Gross 39.5 × 40 = $1,580.00
Five 10-hour days, $18 an hour, 30-minute break.
Paid 47.5. Overtime 7.5. Regular 40 × 18 = $720.00. Overtime 7.5 × 18 × 1.5 = $202.50. Gross $922.50.
The long week at $18 still sits under the default week’s $987.50, because the rate dropped more than the hours rose.
Example 8: double time on the 47.5-hour week
Five 10-hour days, 30-minute break, $25, multiplier 2×.
Paid 47.5. Overtime 7.5.
Regular: $1,000.00
Overtime: 7.5 × 25 × 2 = $375.00
Gross: $1,375.00
The 1.5× version was $1,281.25. Double time adds 7.5 × 12.50 = $93.75.
FLSA does not require double time. Fact Sheet 23 is explicit about Saturday and holiday work. Type 2 only when the contract pays it.
Fig 6 · 1/2
7.5 overtime hours at two multipliers
Five 10-hour days, 30-minute break, $25.
- Gross pay
| Category | Gross pay |
|---|---|
| 1.5× | $1.3k |
| 2× | $1.4k |
Time and a half prints $1,281.25.
Double time prints $1,375.00.
Example 9: 9-hour days, and a 44-hour threshold
Monday to Friday 9 hours, 30-minute break, $25, 1.5×, threshold 40.
Paid: 5 × 8.5 = 42.5
Overtime: 2.5
Gross: 40 × 25 + 2.5 × 37.50 = 1000 + 93.75 = $1,093.75
Default roster with the threshold moved to 44: paid still 39.5, overtime still 0, gross still $987.50. A higher threshold does nothing until paid hours cross it.
Two 12-hour days plus three 8-hour days, 30-minute break: paid 11.5 + 11.5 + 7.5 + 7.5 + 7.5 = 45.5. Overtime 5.5. Gross 40 × 25 + 5.5 × 37.50 = 1000 + 206.25 = $1,206.25.
Four 10-hour days plus an 8-hour Friday, 30-minute break: paid 9.5 × 4 + 7.5 = 45.5. Same $1,206.25. The pile of paid hours matches, so the pay matches. Daily overtime, if your state has it, would treat those two cards differently. This tool does not.
Salary and a weekly check
The salary to hourly pay calculator default is $72,000 over 48 working weeks of 40 hours: $37.50 an hour. The salary to hourly post walks that $37.50. That is a salary conversion. It is not this time card.
$52,000 over 52 weeks of 40 hours is $25.00 an hour, which matches the default rate on this tool. 52 × $1,000 = $52,000.
The 47.5-hour week at $25 is $1,281.25. Times 52, if every week looked like that, is $66,625. That is a labeled projection, not a W-2.
The pay period converter on the $1,093.75 week, 52 times, prints $56,875.00 a year. On a 40-hour divisor that is $27.34 an hour. The extra $2.34 against the $25 base is the overtime premium spread across those 40 hours.
A raise changes the $25 box. A freelance rate is a bid, not a time card.
Nine weeks side by side
| Example | Paid hours | OT hours | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Defaults | 39.5 | 0 | $987.50 |
| 2. Five 8s, no break | 40.0 | 0 | $1,000.00 |
| 2. Five 8s, 30 min | 37.5 | 0 | $937.50 |
| 3. Five 10s, 1.5× | 47.5 | 7.5 | $1,281.25 |
| 4. Four 10s, Friday off | 38.0 | 0 | $950.00 |
| 5. Default roster, no lunch | 42.0 | 2.0 | $1,075.00 |
| 6. Clock-hours mistake | 42.0 counted | n/a | $1,050.00 (wrong) |
| 6. DOL $8 / 44 h | 44.0 | 4.0 | $368.00 |
| 7. Default roster, $40 | 39.5 | 0 | $1,580.00 |
| 8. Five 10s, 2× | 47.5 | 7.5 | $1,375.00 |
| 9. Five 9s | 42.5 | 2.5 | $1,093.75 |
Open the time card overtime calculator with the shifts on this week’s card, the unpaid break your workplace uses, and the threshold in the contract. If the roster says 42 and lunch is unpaid, start from 39.5, not from 42, before you talk about overtime.