Overtime Pay
Federal overtime pay is at least 1.5 times your regular rate for each hour over 40 in a workweek: at $25 an hour, 45 hours is $187.50 in overtime and $1,187.50 for the week. Each week counts alone: 45 hours and then 35 at $25 is $2,062.50 for the two weeks, and averaging the 80 hours to 40 a week would pay $2,000.00, $62.50 short. This page shows gross pay under federal rules, before taxes and deductions; it is not your take-home pay, and your state may require more.
Your gross overtime pay
$187.50 gross overtime pay
Overtime rate: $37.50 an hour.
Week 1: 45 hours worked, 5 overtime, $187.50 overtime pay, $1,187.50 gross for the week.
Week 2: 35 hours worked, 0 overtime, $0.00 overtime pay, $875.00 gross for the week.
Two weeks: $2,062.50 gross. Averaging the hours would pay $2,000.00, which is $62.50 short; the general federal rule does not allow averaging.
A check like week 1, every week: $61,750.00 gross at 52 paydays, $62,937.50 at 53. The check stays $1,187.50.
A Friday weekly payroll has 53 paydays in 2026, 2032, 2037, 2043, 2048, 2054, 2060, 2065, 2071 and 2076 (checked 2026 to 2080).
Gross pay only: no taxes or deductions are calculated here. This uses one rate and the federal 40-hour weekly rule, with no bonuses, tips or state rules. Hours are hours actually worked; paid holidays and leave are not included, so add them separately. A salary here is fixed for a 40-hour week and is not reduced in a shorter week; it is not a salary meant to cover all hours worked. Rates are shown rounded; pay uses the unrounded rate. The year count uses the calendar year each check is paid in.
Overtime pay by hourly rate
The overtime rate is your rate times 1.5. All amounts are gross, for a single workweek, at one rate.
| Hourly rate | Overtime rate | 5 overtime hours | 10 overtime hours | 50-hour week, total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | $22.50 | $112.50 | $225.00 | $825.00 |
| $18 | $27.00 | $135.00 | $270.00 | $990.00 |
| $20 | $30.00 | $150.00 | $300.00 | $1,100.00 |
| $25 | $37.50 | $187.50 | $375.00 | $1,375.00 |
| $30 | $45.00 | $225.00 | $450.00 | $1,650.00 |
| $40 | $60.00 | $300.00 | $600.00 | $2,200.00 |
| $50 | $75.00 | $375.00 | $750.00 | $2,750.00 |
Each workweek stands alone, even on a two-week check
The federal rule "takes a single workweek as its standard and does not permit averaging of hours over 2 or more weeks," whether you are paid "weekly, biweekly, monthly or other" (29 CFR 778.104). A workweek is a fixed 168 hours your employer sets, and it need not be Sunday to Saturday (29 CFR 778.105).
So 80 hours on a bi-weekly paycheck does not settle it. At $25 an hour:
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Total hours | Overtime hours | Gross for both weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 40 | 80 | 0 | $2,000.00 |
| 45 | 35 | 80 | 5 | $2,062.50 |
| 50 | 30 | 80 | 10 | $2,125.00 |
Same 80 hours, up to $125.00 apart. To check your own stub, you need the hours for each week, not the total for the period. Exceptions exist: hospitals and nursing homes can agree to a 14-day period with overtime over 8 hours a day or 80 hours (29 CFR 778.601), and some jobs, such as certain public safety work, have their own rules or are exempt (29 CFR 778.107).
Which check the overtime lands on
Federal rules do not require weekly payment. Overtime earned in a workweek is generally due "on the regular pay day for the period in which such workweek ends" (29 CFR 778.106). On a pay period that is not built from whole weeks, that can move overtime to the later check.
Take a Sunday-to-Saturday workweek and periods with no pay lag. On a semi-monthly paycheck, the week of March 14 to 20, 2027 crosses the 15th and ends in the second period, so its overtime belongs with the March 16 to 31 check, even though the week began in the first period. On a monthly paycheck, the week of March 28 to April 3 ends in April, so its overtime goes with April, not March. A check can look short one period and long the next without being wrong.
Overtime in a year with 53 weekly paydays
On a weekly paycheck paid by the hour, a 53-payday year does not shrink the overtime check; it adds one more. At $25 an hour and 45 hours every week, each check is $1,187.50, and the year is $61,750.00 gross at 52 paydays and $62,937.50 at 53.
A salary can go the other way. If your employer divides $60,000 by 53, the 40-hour check falls from $1,153.85 to $1,132.08. As arithmetic, a regular rate figured from that check would take the overtime rate from $43.27 to $42.45 an hour. The federal examples use 52 and do not address 53, so this is not a compliance answer; ask your payroll office. Here are the next three 53-payday years from 2027 (Friday paid before, and Thursday paid after, also have 2026):
| Payday | Paid the day before a holiday | Paid the day after a holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 2028, 2033, 2039 | 2029, 2035, 2040 |
| Tuesday | 2029, 2035, 2040 | 2030, 2036, 2041 |
| Wednesday | 2030, 2036, 2041 | 2031, 2036, 2042 |
| Thursday | 2031, 2036, 2042 | 2032, 2037, 2043 |
| Friday | 2032, 2037, 2043 | 2027, 2032, 2038 |
When a holiday moves the payday
Friday, January 1, 2027 is New Year's Day. Paid the business day before, a $1,187.50 check lands on December 31, 2026; paid the business day after, on January 4, 2027. The dollars are the same, but they fall in a different calendar year. Which way a payday moves is on pay schedule.
If a moved payday means the correct amount truly cannot be determined in time, the employer must pay the extra overtime "as soon after the regular pay period as is practicable," and "in no event" later than the next payday after it can be computed (29 CFR 778.106).
A paid holiday you do not work is not hours worked. Off on a paid Monday holiday, with 8-hour days Tuesday through Saturday, you worked 40 hours and were paid for 48. Federal overtime on that week is $0.00, so at $25 an hour the gross is $1,200.00, unless your employer's policy pays more. Holiday pay of this kind also cannot be credited toward overtime you are owed (29 CFR 778.218).
Overtime on a salary
A salary does not by itself rule out overtime. To be exempt under the main federal exemptions, you generally must be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 a week (29 CFR 541.600), which is $35,568 a year, and your job duties must also meet the test. If you are non-exempt, a salary longer than a week is reduced to a weekly figure: a monthly salary times 12 divided by 52, or a semi-monthly salary times 24 divided by 52 (29 CFR 778.113). Divide by the hours it is meant to cover. For $60,000 and a 40-hour week:
| Paid | Check | Weekly equivalent | Regular rate | Overtime rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | $1,153.85 | $1,153.85 | $28.85 | $43.27 |
| Bi-weekly | $2,307.69 | $1,153.85 | $28.85 | $43.27 |
| Semi-monthly | $2,500.00 | $1,153.85 | $28.85 | $43.27 |
| Monthly | $5,000.00 | $1,153.85 | $28.85 | $43.27 |
At 52 weeks, the check is different on each schedule, but the overtime rate is not. Two other methods change this. Under 29 CFR 778.113(b), an employer may by agreement divide a month's salary by that month's working days and daily hours, so the rate varies by month. A fixed salary meant to cover all hours worked, a fluctuating workweek under 29 CFR 778.114, is figured differently, and this tool does not apply to it. The salary threshold on each check and the fluctuating workweek are worked out on overtime for salaried employees.
Questions
How do you calculate overtime pay?
Take the hours worked over 40 in the workweek, multiply by your regular rate, then by 1.5. Add that to your pay for the first 40 hours. At $20 an hour and 48 hours, that is $240.00 overtime and $1,040.00 gross.
Is overtime always time and a half?
Federal law sets 1.5 as the minimum. It does not require double time. California does: it generally requires 1.5 times for hours over 8 in a workday and double time beyond 12. The California overtime calculator counts it by the day. Bonuses that count toward the regular rate raise it above your hourly wage, so this page's one-rate math would be too low for those weeks.
Do weekends and holidays pay overtime?
Not by themselves under federal law. Saturday, Sunday or holiday work earns overtime only if it takes you over 40 hours in the workweek, unless your employer's policy or state law gives more.
Do part-time workers get overtime?
Under the federal rule, only for hours over 40 in a workweek. A part-time worker at 35 hours who picks up 3 more has no federal overtime, at any rate.
Last updated November 8, 2026 (America/Chicago). Federal rules are from 29 CFR Part 778 and 541.600 as published on eCFR; the California rule is from the California Department of Industrial Relations overtime FAQ. This is general information, not legal advice.