The FLSA workweek
Most non-exempt employees earn 1.5× for hours over 40 in a fixed, recurring 7-day workweek. Daily overtime may apply under state law.
Time and a half · FLSA overtime
Time and a half calculator.
How much is 1.5× of $20 an hour? Enter your base rate and hours to see time-and-a-half and double-time rates, weekly overtime pay, and bi-weekly, monthly, and annual totals.
02 — Payout
Overtime earnings
Time and a half · 1.5×$30.00per overtime hour
Double time · 2.0×$40.00per double-time hour
Total weekly gross$1,100.00Estimated net $902.00after 18%
Regular pay 40 hrs × 1×$800.00
Overtime pay 10 hrs × 1.5×$300.00
Double-time pay 0 hrs × 2×$0.00
Estimated taxes−$198.00
Net weekly$902.00
Bi-weekly · 26/yr$2,200.00Net $1,804.00
Semi-monthly · 24/yr$2,383.33Net $1,954.33
Monthly$4,766.67Net $3,908.67
Annual · 52 weeks$57,200.00Net $46,904.00
Estimates only. Overtime eligibility and state rules vary. Tax scenarios are simplified planning estimates, not withholding advice.
Quick reference
Time and a half rates for common US wages
Common hourly rates from $15 to $40. Overtime rate = hourly rate × 1.5; double time = hourly rate × 2.
| Hourly wage | Time and a half · 1.5× | Double time · 2× | 40-hr week |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $22.50 | $30.00 | $600.00 |
| $16.00 | $24.00 | $32.00 | $640.00 |
| $17.00 | $25.50 | $34.00 | $680.00 |
| $18.00 | $27.00 | $36.00 | $720.00 |
| $19.00 | $28.50 | $38.00 | $760.00 |
| $20.00 | $30.00 | $40.00 | $800.00 |
| $21.00 | $31.50 | $42.00 | $840.00 |
| $22.00 | $33.00 | $44.00 | $880.00 |
| $23.00 | $34.50 | $46.00 | $920.00 |
| $24.00 | $36.00 | $48.00 | $960.00 |
| $25.00 | $37.50 | $50.00 | $1,000.00 |
| $26.00 | $39.00 | $52.00 | $1,040.00 |
| $27.00 | $40.50 | $54.00 | $1,080.00 |
| $28.00 | $42.00 | $56.00 | $1,120.00 |
| $29.00 | $43.50 | $58.00 | $1,160.00 |
| $30.00 | $45.00 | $60.00 | $1,200.00 |
| $31.00 | $46.50 | $62.00 | $1,240.00 |
| $32.00 | $48.00 | $64.00 | $1,280.00 |
| $33.00 | $49.50 | $66.00 | $1,320.00 |
| $34.00 | $51.00 | $68.00 | $1,360.00 |
| $35.00 | $52.50 | $70.00 | $1,400.00 |
| $36.00 | $54.00 | $72.00 | $1,440.00 |
| $37.00 | $55.50 | $74.00 | $1,480.00 |
| $38.00 | $57.00 | $76.00 | $1,520.00 |
| $39.00 | $58.50 | $78.00 | $1,560.00 |
| $40.00 | $60.00 | $80.00 | $1,600.00 |
How it works
How to calculate time and a half
Time and a half means 1.5 times the employee's regular hourly rate. It is the standard FLSA overtime premium for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek for most non-exempt workers.
The formula
Time and a half rate = hourly rate × 1.5
Overtime pay = overtime hours × hourly rate × 1.5
At $20 per hour, the time-and-a-half rate is $30 per overtime hour. Ten overtime hours produce $300 in overtime pay on top of regular wages.
Regular pay plus overtime pay
Total weekly pay is regular pay plus overtime pay plus any double-time pay. If the employee works 40 regular hours and 10 overtime hours at $20 per hour, weekly gross is $800 + $300 = $1,100 before taxes.
Double time and state rules
Double time is 2× the regular rate. Federal law does not require double time, but some states — California in particular — require it for hours beyond 12 in a day or for seventh consecutive workdays. Company policy or a union contract can also create double-time pay.
Rules
When does overtime apply?
Overtime is a legal standard, not a job title. The key questions are the workweek, the regular rate, and whether the worker is exempt.
More than base pay
The overtime rate is based on the regular rate, which can include non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and commissions — not just the hourly wage.
Not everyone qualifies
Salaried executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees may be exempt. Exempt status depends on duties and salary, not the paycheck type.
Overtime field guide
Overtime math that holds up on payday.
Overtime is not a vibe. It is a formula: hours worked, regular rate, and the workweek. Most paycheck disputes come from one of those three being wrong.
The 40-hour rule is a weekly test, not a two-week average
The FLSA workweek is a fixed, recurring period of 168 hours. It can start on any day and at any time, but it has to be consistent. The employer cannot move the start of the workweek around to avoid overtime, and it cannot average two weeks together to make the overtime disappear.
Here is the version that shows up in real pay disputes. You work 50 hours in Week 1 and 30 hours in Week 2. The two-week total is 80, so someone in payroll says there is no overtime. That is wrong. Week 1 has 10 hours over 40, and those 10 hours are paid at 1.5×. Week 2 has no overtime because it is under 40. The second week does not erase the first week's overtime.
$20/hr, two weeksWeekly vs. averaged
Week 1: 40 × $20 + 10 × $30$1,100.00
Week 2: 30 × $20$600.00
Correct two-week pay$1,700.00
Averaged 80 hours at $20$1,600.00
Underpayment from averaging$100.00
The $100 gap is not a rounding error. It is the 0.5× premium on 10 overtime hours. If the same pattern repeats every two weeks, the annual underpayment is $2,600 before taxes. That is real money for a warehouse, hospital, or restaurant worker.
There is one common exception: the hospital 8/80 rule. Under 29 U.S.C. § 207(j), hospital employees may be on an 8/80 schedule, which pays overtime after eight hours in a day or 80 hours in a 14-day period, not both. It requires a 14-day work period and has to be adopted properly. It is not a general two-week averaging rule, and it does not cover every hospital job.
A fixed workweek can start at any hour, but it has to stay consistent. If your shift runs from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., the workweek may start at 7 p.m. Sunday and end at 7 p.m. the following Sunday. Hours worked after that boundary belong to the next week. If an employer moves the boundary around to avoid overtime, ask for the change in writing and ask why it changed.
Being salaried does not automatically make you exempt. The salary threshold and the duties test both apply. A worker who is paid a salary but does not meet the duties test may still be owed overtime for hours over 40. Misclassification is common in assistant-manager and coordinator roles.
The two-week average error
If an employer says "it evens out over two weeks," ask which workweek the hours fall in. Unless a specific 8/80 schedule applies, the 50-hour week owes 10 hours of overtime no matter what the next week looks like.
Your $2 differential is part of your overtime rate
The FLSA regular rate is not just the hourly wage. It includes non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, commissions, hazard pay, and other remuneration for employment. Discretionary bonuses can be excluded. The regular rate is total straight-time earnings divided by total hours worked, and the overtime premium is half that rate for each overtime hour.
Take a $20 base rate and a $2 night differential for 45 hours. Straight-time earnings are 45 × $22 = $990. The regular rate is $990 ÷ 45 = $22.00. The overtime premium is 0.5 × $22 × 5 = $55. Total pay is $1,045. If the employer paid 40 × $20 + 5 × $30 plus 45 × $2, the total is $1,040. The $5 difference is the premium on the differential.
45 hours, $20 base + $2 nightRegular rate method
Straight-time earnings: 45 × $22$990.00
Regular rate: $990 ÷ 45$22.00/hr
Overtime premium: 0.5 × $22 × 5$55.00
Total pay$1,045.00
If the differential applies only to some hours, use a weighted average. Suppose 40 night hours are paid at $22 and five day overtime hours are paid at $20. Straight-time earnings are $980, the regular rate is $21.78, and the overtime premium is about $54.44. The exact number depends on which hours get the differential, so the payroll department has to show its work.
Non-discretionary bonuses work the same way. A $100 attendance bonus for a 45-hour week is added to straight-time earnings: $900 + $100 = $1,000. The regular rate is $22.22, and the overtime premium is $55.56. If the employer ignores the bonus, the overtime rate is too low. A true discretionary bonus, where the employer keeps control and does not promise payment, can be excluded.
Commissions are included in the regular rate for the period they are earned, even when they are paid later. If a commission is paid monthly but attributed to several workweeks, the employer may need to recalculate overtime for those weeks. Retail, sales, and service payrolls get this wrong more often than they should.
Check the regular rate, not just the base
If your stub says $30/hr overtime on a $20 base but you also earn a $2 differential, the overtime rate should be based on $22, not $20. The difference is $2 per overtime hour. Over 200 overtime hours a year, that is $400 before taxes.
Overtime is not taxed at a higher rate
There is no federal overtime tax. Overtime is wages. It is subject to the same Social Security, Medicare, and income tax as regular pay. The confusion comes from withholding, not tax law. A bigger check can trigger a bigger withholding percentage, and workers understandably read that as a special overtime tax.
Payroll software often annualizes a large check: it treats the check as if you earned that amount every pay period, calculates withholding, then divides it back. A $1,500 check can have a higher withholding rate than a $1,000 check, even when the extra hours are overtime. The IRS also allows a flat 22% supplemental wage withholding rate for bonuses and supplemental wages up to $1 million, and many systems use the aggregate method. Either way, the withholding is an estimate.
At tax time, your liability is based on annual taxable income, not on which hours were labeled overtime. If payroll over-withheld, you get the difference back as a refund. If it under-withheld, you write a check. The goal is to get close, not to avoid tax.
FICA does not care about overtime. Social Security is 6.2% and Medicare is 1.45% on overtime wages just like regular wages. If you are a high earner, the Social Security wage base cap can change the math late in the year, but that is a wage-base rule, not an overtime rule. A few states have considered or enacted limited overtime deductions or exemptions. Those are state income tax rules, not a federal overtime rate.
Progressive brackets also get blamed. Overtime can push some dollars into a higher bracket, but only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate. It does not retroactively tax your regular hours. A $1,000 overtime check does not move your entire year into the 22% bracket.
You can adjust withholding with a new W-4. If overtime is steady, add extra withholding or reduce credits; if it is sporadic, do not over-adjust based on one check. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator is a better tool than guessing from a single stub. The point is to match the year, not to win an argument with one paycheck.
Compare year-to-date withholding
If an overtime check looks heavily taxed, compare year-to-date tax withheld to year-to-date gross. A single big check is a bad sample. The annual total is what shows whether you are over-withheld or under-withheld.
How to check an overtime stub
- Confirm the workweek start date and which hours fall inside it.
- Find the regular rate used for the 1.5× calculation, not just the base rate.
- Add non-discretionary bonuses and differentials before checking the premium.
- Compare year-to-date withholding with year-to-date gross, not one check.
Questions
Time and a half FAQ
1.5× and 2× rates, California daily overtime, pay periods, and FICA.
How much is time and a half of $20 an hour?
Time and a half of $20 an hour is $30.00 per overtime hour, because $20 × 1.5 = $30. Double time is $40.00 per hour. Ten overtime hours at $30 produce $300 in overtime pay on top of the $800 earned for 40 regular hours, for $1,100 gross in that week.
How does California daily overtime work on an 8-hour or 12-hour shift?
California requires daily overtime based on hours worked in a single workday. The first 8 hours are paid at 1×, hours 8 through 12 are paid at 1.5×, and hours beyond 12 are paid at 2×. A 24-hour shift with no sleep or meal deductions therefore splits into 8 regular, 4 overtime, and 12 double-time hours.
What is the difference between bi-weekly and semi-monthly paychecks?
Bi-weekly pay arrives every two weeks, producing 26 paychecks a year. Semi-monthly pay arrives twice a month — usually the 1st and 15th — producing 24 paychecks a year. A semi-monthly check is larger because annual pay is split 24 ways instead of 26, but there are two fewer checks each year.
What is FICA and how much is deducted from each paycheck?
FICA is the mandatory federal payroll tax for Social Security and Medicare. Employees pay 6.2% for Social Security on covered wages plus 1.45% for Medicare, for a combined 7.65% of gross pay. NetHourly applies that 7.65% inside every after-tax estimate; federal and state income tax withholding are separate.
Can sleep and meal time be deducted from a 24-hour caregiver shift?
Under FLSA rules, up to 8 hours of sleep time may be excluded only when the worker gets at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Up to 3 duty-free meal hours — typically one hour each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner — may also be excluded. With the full 8 sleep and 3 meal hours excluded, 13 of the 24 hours remain payable. If the worker is on duty or sleep is interrupted below the 5-hour threshold, the time is generally paid.
How accurate is the NetHourly take-home estimate?
It is a planning estimate, not tax advice. The standard scenario applies roughly 18% total — FICA at 7.65% plus about 10.35% effective federal income tax. The high-tax scenario uses 24% for states such as California, New York, New Jersey, and Oregon; the no-income-tax scenario uses 15% for states such as Texas, Florida, Washington, and Nevada. Actual withholding depends on filing status, deductions, credits, and location.