Case 1
- Hourly wage
- 12
- Hours worked this week
- 46h
- Bonus, differential, commission
- 0
588.00
Open with these valuesOvertime Pay Calculator
588.00$
Result: 588.00 $Hours past 40 in a workweek pay 1.5 × the regular rate, and the regular rate is not your wage. A $12-an-hour worker who also earns a $46 production bonus in a 46-hour week has a regular rate of $13, so the week owes $637 — not the $588 the wage alone would give.
The numbers at a glance
Held fixed: Hourly wage 12.00, Hours worked this week 46.00 h.
| Bonus, differential, commission | Result |
|---|---|
| 0.00Your value | 588.00 |
| 50,000.00 | 53,848.87 |
| 100,000.00 | 107,109.74 |
| 150,000.00 | 160,370.61 |
| 200,000.00 | 213,631.48 |
| 250,000.00 | 266,892.35 |
Worked examples
Case 2
- Hourly wage
- 12
- Hours worked this week
- 46h
- Bonus, differential, commission
- 46
637.00
Open with these valuesCase 3
- Hourly wage
- 22.5
- Hours worked this week
- 50h
- Bonus, differential, commission
- 0
1,237.50
Open with these valuesHow it's calculated
Regular rate = (wage × hours + other pay) ÷ hours; add ½ × rate × hours over 40
- StepEnter your hourly wage and every hour you actually worked in that one workweek.
- StepAdd the nondiscretionary bonus, shift differential or commission earned in the same week.
- StepTotal straight-time pay divided by total hours worked is the regular rate.
- ResultEach hour past 40 earns half the regular rate again on top of that.
What this number means
Federal overtime is a weekly test, not a daily one. The Fair Labor Standards Act asks one question about each fixed workweek — were more than 40 hours worked? — and every hour past 40 earns one and a half times the regular rate. A long Tuesday or a sixth day changes nothing on its own. The part most calculators get wrong is the regular rate. It is not the number on the offer letter. It is everything the week paid for work, divided by every hour worked, so a production bonus, a night-shift differential, a commission or an attendance award is added in first and then spread across all the hours, lifting the rate the overtime half-time is figured on. Part 778 works the arithmetic through: a twelve-dollar worker who also takes a forty-six-dollar production bonus in a forty-six-hour week has a regular rate of thirteen dollars, and the week owes $637 rather than $588. Only a genuinely discretionary bonus, a holiday gift, reimbursed expenses and pay for hours not worked stay outside. Two limits on this page. It computes the federal floor, and a state may be stricter — California, for one, pays overtime after eight hours in a day. And salaried does not mean exempt: the exemption turns on duties and salary level, not on how the pay is labelled.
The examples come from the regulation
Every test figure behind this page is a worked example in 29 CFR Part 778 with its result written out — § 778.110 for hourly and bonus, § 778.111 for piece rates, § 778.113 for salary.
A bonus raises the overtime rate
A nondiscretionary bonus is spread back over the hours it was earned in, so it lifts the regular rate and with it the half-time premium. Paying the bonus and the overtime separately at the base wage underpays the week.
The workweek is fixed, and it is the unit
The employer sets a recurring period of seven consecutive 24-hour days. Hours cannot be averaged across two of them, so 30 hours one week and 50 the next still owes ten hours of overtime.
Federal floor only
Several states require daily overtime or a lower weekly threshold, and where state law is more generous it applies instead. This page is an estimate, not legal advice.
Commonly misread
Overtime is 1.5 × my hourly wage.
It is 1.5 × the regular rate, which also carries your bonus and shift differential. The two are the same figure only when the wage is the whole of the week's pay.
Over eight hours in a day is federal overtime.
The federal test counts hours over 40 in the workweek, not hours over eight in a day. Daily overtime exists in some states, not in the FLSA.
Vacation and holiday pay count toward the 40 hours.
Only hours actually worked count, and pay for idle hours stays out of the regular rate under § 778.218. A 32-hour week plus a paid holiday is not an overtime week.
I am on a salary, so no overtime is owed.
A salary is just a way of paying; the exemption depends on duties and salary level. A non-exempt salaried employee's rate is the salary divided by the hours it was meant to cover.
Reference table
| Payment | In the regular rate? | 29 CFR |
|---|---|---|
| Nondiscretionary production bonus | Yes | 778.208 |
| Night-shift or hazard differential | Yes | 778.207(b) |
| Commission | Yes | 778.117 |
| Truly discretionary bonus | No | 778.211 |
| Christmas or special-occasion gift | No | 778.212 |
| Reimbursed expenses | No | 778.217 |
| Vacation, holiday and sick pay | No | 778.218 |
Questions
How do I calculate overtime pay?
Add everything the workweek paid for work — wages, nondiscretionary bonus, shift differential, commission — and divide by all the hours worked to get the regular rate. Pay that rate for every hour, then add half the regular rate again for each hour past 40. The FLSA sets no daily threshold.
Is time and a half the same thing?
Yes. Time and a half is 1.5 × the regular rate, which is exactly what this calculator pays for hours over 40, so there is no separate time-and-a-half sum to do. Just remember the multiplier applies to the regular rate, not to the base wage.
Does a bonus change my overtime rate?
A nondiscretionary bonus does — a production, attendance or safety bonus is added to the week's earnings and spread over the hours worked, which raises the regular rate. A genuinely discretionary bonus and a Christmas gift do not, under §§ 778.211 and 778.212.
What about a night-shift differential?
It is included. § 778.207(b) names nightshift differentials specifically, whether they are a percentage of the base rate or a few cents an hour, and the same goes for hazard and dirty-work premiums.
Do the hours reset each week?
Yes. Overtime is computed on a single fixed workweek of seven consecutive 24-hour periods, and hours cannot be averaged over two weeks. Working 30 hours and then 50 still owes ten overtime hours.
Is 45 hours at $20 an hour just $950?
That is right only when the wage is your entire pay for the week: 45 × $20 plus 5 × $10 is $950. Add any bonus or differential and the regular rate rises above $20, and so does the answer.
Sources and last check
Information, not financial advice.