Time and a half calculator
Time and a half means your regular rate plus half of it again, paid on hours past 40 in a workweek.
What time and a half actually pays
At $22.00 an hour, time and a half is $33.00. Six extra hours therefore pay $198.00, taking the week from $880.00 to $1,078.00. The part worth naming separately is the $66.00 premium: that is the half above your regular rate, and it is the figure the federal overtime deduction is built on.
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets the trigger at more than 40 hours in a single workweek. Not a fortnight, not a month, and not a pay period: each workweek stands on its own, so 50 hours one week and 30 the next still earns 10 hours of overtime, even though the fortnight averages 40.
| Hours worked | Over 40 | Extra-hours pay | Week total | Average per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 0 | $0.00 | $880.00 | $22.00 |
| 42 | 2 | $66.00 | $946.00 | $22.52 |
| 44 | 4 | $132.00 | $1,012.00 | $23.00 |
| 46 | 6 | $198.00 | $1,078.00 | $23.43 |
| 48 | 8 | $264.00 | $1,144.00 | $23.83 |
| 50 | 10 | $330.00 | $1,210.00 | $24.20 |
| 55 | 15 | $495.00 | $1,375.00 | $25.00 |
| 60 | 20 | $660.00 | $1,540.00 | $25.67 |
Time and a half by hourly rate
Six overtime hours a week, at a range of regular rates.
| Regular rate | Rate for extra hours | Extra-hours pay | Week total | A year at this pattern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $22.50 | $135.00 | $735.00 | $38,220 |
| $18.00 | $27.00 | $162.00 | $882.00 | $45,864 |
| $20.00 | $30.00 | $180.00 | $980.00 | $50,960 |
| $25.00 | $37.50 | $225.00 | $1,225.00 | $63,700 |
| $30.00 | $45.00 | $270.00 | $1,470.00 | $76,440 |
| $35.00 | $52.50 | $315.00 | $1,715.00 | $89,180 |
| $45.00 | $67.50 | $405.00 | $2,205.00 | $114,660 |
Daily overtime is a state rule, not a federal one. California, Alaska, Nevada, Colorado and a few others require time and a half after 8 hours in a day regardless of the weekly total, which means you can be owed overtime in a week you never reached 40 hours. The federal floor never overrides a more generous state rule.
The regular rate is more than your base rate
The multiplier applies to your "regular rate", which the FLSA defines as all straight-time earnings for the week divided by all hours worked. Non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials and production incentives belong in that figure. A shift differential of $2 an hour on a $22 base makes the regular rate $24, so time and a half becomes $36, not $33.
Leaving those out is the most common underpayment in payroll, and it compounds: every overtime hour for the whole period is understated by the same margin.
Common questions
- Is time and a half paid after 8 hours or after 40?
- Federally, after 40 hours in a workweek. Several states add a daily rule on top, usually after 8 hours in a day, and where both apply you get whichever produces more pay.
- Does time and a half apply to holidays or weekends?
- Not under federal law. The FLSA requires it only for hours beyond 40 in a week. Premium pay for a Sunday or a public holiday is a matter of your employer’s policy or your contract, not a legal minimum.
- Do salaried workers get time and a half?
- Salaried does not mean exempt. If your duties and salary level do not meet an exemption test, you are owed overtime whether you are paid hourly or by salary, and the regular rate is worked out from your weekly salary divided by the hours it covers.
- Is overtime pay taxed at a higher rate?
- No. It lands in the same brackets as the rest of your pay. A single large paycheck can be over-withheld because withholding tables annualize that period, but the annual tax is unaffected, and any excess comes back as refund.