Calculate overtime earnings at any multiplier and hour count

How Overtime Pay Is Calculated

Overtime pay is the base hourly rate multiplied by an overtime premium, then multiplied by the number of overtime hours worked. The most common premium is 1.5x — known as time-and-a-half — which applies in many countries to hours worked beyond a standard 40-hour week. Some industries use 2x (double time) for weekends, holidays, or hours beyond a higher threshold.

What Counts as Overtime Varies by Country and Contract

The threshold for when overtime kicks in is rarely consistent. generally uses 40 hours per week under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Many European countries use either weekly or monthly thresholds set by sectoral agreements. The country has no statutory overtime rate, but most contracts include one. Anyone with a contract or workplace agreement should check the specific multiplier and threshold that applies — defaults like 1.5x are common but not universal.

Common Things People Overlook

Two distortions are common in overtime calculations. First, salaried employees often have an implicit hourly rate that is much lower than the headline salary suggests once overtime is factored in — calculating the implied hourly rate first makes the comparison clear. Second, taxes apply to overtime the same as regular pay, but if overtime pushes total income into a higher bracket, the marginal rate on those overtime hours can be substantially higher than expected. The take-home from overtime is rarely as much as the gross figure suggests.

Run it with sensible defaults

Using base hourly rate of 25, overtime hours this week of 10, overtime multiplier of 1.5, the calculation works out to 375.00. Nudge the inputs toward your own situation and the output recalculates instantly. The defaults are meant as a starting point, not a recommendation.

The levers in this calculation

The inputs — Base Hourly Rate, Overtime Hours This Week, and Overtime Multiplier — do not pull with equal force. Hours and hourly rate both appear to matter equally, but in practice the rate is the bigger lever because it applies to every hour. A modest rate uplift beats a modest hour increase almost every time.

How the math works

This calculator multiplies the base hourly rate by the overtime multiplier to derive the overtime hourly rate, then multiplies by overtime hours to get total overtime pay. The premium is the difference between overtime rate and base rate, multiplied by hours. The weekly total assumes a 40-hour standard work week plus the overtime worked. Results are estimates for illustration purposes only. The working is transparent — you can verify every step yourself in the formula section below. No black box, no opaque "proprietary model".

Why small rate shifts add up

A 3% pay rise looks modest. Apply it over a 30-year career with modest promotions and the lifetime difference runs to six figures. This calculator makes that invisible compounding visible in a way spreadsheets usually don't.

What this doesn't capture

Tax bands, pension contributions, student-loan deductions, and benefits-in-kind sit outside this calculation. The figure is the headline; your actual position depends on local tax rules and personal circumstances. Pair with a dedicated take-home calculator for the full picture.