How to Calculate Overtime Pay: Time and a Half, Double Time and Salaried Workers

By the SAA Tool editor, an IT support engineer · Last reviewed 1 October 2026 · 6 min read

Overtime pay is simple arithmetic once you know three things: your hourly rate, how many hours count as overtime, and the rate that applies to them. The hard part is that the last two depend on where you work and what your contract says. This guide shows the formulas, how to turn a salary into an hourly rate, and how the rules differ in a few countries, with worked examples you can check.

The basic formula

Overtime pay = Hourly rate × Overtime multiplier × Overtime hours

The multiplier is the part people describe in words:

• Time and a quarter is 1.25 times your normal rate.
• Time and a half is 1.5 times.
• Double time is 2 times.

Say you earn $20 an hour and work 40 normal hours plus 6 hours of overtime at time and a half. Normal pay is 40 × 20 = $800. Overtime is 6 × 30 = $180. The week comes to $980, an average of about $21.30 an hour.

Turning a salary into an hourly rate

If you're paid a salary, first work out what one normal hour is worth:

• Yearly salary: divide by 52, then by your normal weekly hours. £31,200 a year on 40 hours a week is 31,200 ÷ 52 ÷ 40 = £15.00 an hour, so time and a half is £22.50, and 5 extra hours earn £112.50.
• Monthly salary: multiply by 12 first. 6,500 a month on 40 hours a week is 6,500 × 12 ÷ 52 ÷ 40 = 37.50 an hour, and 56.25 at time and a half.
• Weekly wage: divide by your weekly hours. 900 a week for 40 hours is 22.50 an hour.

Contracts and laws don't always use this method. Some divide a monthly salary by a set number of days and hours, and some base overtime on basic pay only, leaving out allowances. If your payslip uses a different hourly figure, check which method your contract or local rules require.

When a salary already covers the extra hours

In the United States, a salary that is meant to cover all the hours you work changes the sum. The US Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 23 gives this example: a weekly salary of $405 for a 45-hour week gives a regular rate of 405 ÷ 45 = $9.00. Because the salary already pays for every hour at the straight rate, the employee is owed only the extra half for the 5 overtime hours: 5 × $4.50 = $22.50, making $427.50.

If the same $405 were meant to cover only 40 hours, the hourly rate would be $10.125, and 5 hours at time and a half would add $75.94, making $480.94. That's a big difference, so find out which hours your salary is meant to pay for.

The same fact sheet says the regular rate includes all pay for the work, apart from certain exclusions such as discretionary bonuses, expenses and gifts. So a bonus you're promised for hitting targets can raise your overtime rate for that week.

How the rules differ around the world

These are minimum rules from official sources. Contracts, awards and collective agreements often give more.

A few details matter. Under the US federal rules, weekend and holiday work isn't overtime unless it takes you past 40 hours, and hours can't be averaged over two or more weeks. Many salaried managers and professionals are exempt, but only if they meet duties tests and earn at least $684 a week ($35,568 a year); job titles don't decide it. California also has special rules for the seventh day in a row. In the UK, your average pay for all the hours you work must not fall below the National Minimum Wage. In Australia, some awards let you take time off instead of overtime pay. In the UAE, working on your rest day earns a substitute day off or basic pay plus 50%. Canada's rule above applies to federally regulated workplaces; most other jobs follow the rules of their province or territory.

Worked examples

A 13-hour day in California

At $24 an hour, the first 8 hours are paid normally (8 × 24 = $192), hours 9 to 12 at time and a half (4 × 36 = $144) and the 13th hour at double time (1 × 48 = $48). The day earns $384.

A 45-hour week in Canada

A worker in a federally regulated job on C$25 an hour works five 9-hour days. Each day has 1 hour over 8, and the week has 5 hours over 40. These are the same 5 hours, so don't count them twice: 40 × 25 + 5 × 37.50 = C$1,187.50.

Evening overtime in the UAE

If your basic pay works out at AED 20 an hour, 2 hours of overtime in the early evening earn 2 × 20 × 1.25 = AED 50. The same 2 hours worked after 10 pm earn 2 × 20 × 1.5 = AED 60.

How to do it with our tools

The Overtime Calculator runs in your browser and handles hourly pay and salaries.

1. Under I’m paid, choose By the hour, A weekly wage, A monthly salary or A yearly salary, and type the Amount.
2. For a wage or salary, fill in Normal hours a week so the tool can work out your hourly rate.
3. Enter Normal hours this week and Overtime hours, then choose the Overtime rate: 1.25×, 1.5×, 2× or Other…, which lets you type your own in Overtime rate (×).
4. If some hours earn more, add them under Double-time hours (optional) and set the Double-time rate (×).
5. Pick your Currency and read Total pay, Overtime pay and Overtime rate / hour, plus a breakdown showing your normal hourly rate and average pay per hour.

For the California day above, treated on its own, enter 24 by the hour, 8 normal hours, 4 overtime hours at 1.5× and 1 double-time hour at 2×. Total pay shows $384.00.

To add up shifts, the Time Calculator takes a Start, an End and a Break (minutes), copes with shifts past midnight, and converts decimal hours such as 7.75 into 7 h 45 min. The Salary Calculator also gives an hourly rate, but it uses working days per month rather than 52 weeks, so 6,500 a month over 22 days of 8 hours comes out at 36.93 an hour instead of 37.50.

The Overtime Calculator pays every overtime hour at the full multiplier on top of your normal pay. It doesn't decide which hours count as overtime, doesn't use the half-time method for salaries that already cover all your hours, and doesn't add bonuses to the regular rate. Results are before tax.

Common mistakes

• Mixing clock time and decimals. 7 hours 30 minutes is 7.5 hours, while 7.30 hours is 7 hours 18 minutes.
• Averaging over two weeks. Under US federal rules each workweek stands on its own.
• Counting the same hours twice. Where daily and weekly overtime both apply, each extra hour is paid once, at the higher rate that applies.
• Using the wrong pay figure. Some rules use basic salary only, without allowances.
• Counting unpaid breaks. Take them off the shift before you add up hours.
• Forgetting night or rest-day rates. Some places pay more for late hours or days off.

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Overtime rules change and differ by country, state, contract and job, so check your contract and your local labour authority for your own case.

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