Pay Hour Calculator
Calculate hourly wages, total work hours, overtime pay and estimated earnings. Results are gross pay before taxes and deductions.
Quick answer: Pay equals paid hours times your hourly rate. Hours over your overtime threshold are paid at your rate times the overtime multiplier. Add the two together for gross pay, which is your pay before taxes.
How to use the Pay Hour Calculator
Start with your hourly rate. Then choose the way that fits how you track time.
- Same shift each day. Best for a steady schedule. Enter a start time, an end time, your unpaid break and how many days you work.
- Hours per day. Best when you already know your paid hours, such as 7.5 a day for 4 days.
- Weekly timesheet. Best when your shifts differ. Tick each day you worked and enter its times. The calculator adds the week for you and applies overtime to the weekly total.
Next, set your overtime rules. Most US hourly workers who are eligible for overtime use a 40-hour weekly threshold and a 1.5 multiplier, which are already filled in. If your state or employer also pays overtime after a set number of hours in one day, enter that number in the optional daily field.
The results update as you type. The big number is weekly gross pay. Below it you will find daily, biweekly, twice-a-month, monthly and yearly figures, an effective hourly rate, and a table that splits regular and overtime pay. You can copy a text summary or print the page.
How the pay hour calculator works
The calculator uses a few plain steps. Each one is shown here so you can check the result yourself.
Weekly hours = sum of paid time for every day worked
Daily overtime hours = hours past the daily threshold, for each day
Weekly overtime hours = (weekly hours - daily overtime hours) past the weekly threshold
Regular pay = regular hours x hourly rate
Overtime pay = overtime hours x hourly rate x multiplier
Weekly gross pay = regular pay + overtime pay
The calculator works in whole minutes and whole cents, so a long list of shifts does not pick up tiny rounding errors. When a shift ends earlier on the clock than it starts, the calculator adds 24 hours to the end time. That is how a 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. shift becomes 8 hours.
How other pay periods are estimated
A year has 52 weeks, so yearly gross pay is weekly gross pay times 52. Monthly pay divides that yearly figure by 12. Pay every two weeks is weekly pay times 2, and twice-a-month pay divides the yearly figure by 24. These estimates assume you earn the same amount every week. If your hours change, use the weekly timesheet for the typical week and treat the yearly figure as a rough guide.
What the effective hourly rate shows
The effective hourly rate is gross pay divided by total paid hours. With no overtime it matches your hourly rate. With overtime it rises above it. It is a quick way to see how much extra hours really add to your average pay.
Worked examples
These examples use the same formulas as the calculator, so you can enter them and compare.
| Schedule | Hours | Weekly | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard full-time week 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 30-minute unpaid break, 5 days at $18.50 | 8.00 hours a day, 40.00 hours a week, no overtime | $740.00 | $3,206.67 | $38,480.00 |
| Long shifts with weekly overtime 10 paid hours a day, 5 days, overtime after 40 hours at 1.5x at $22.00 | 40.00 regular hours and 10.00 overtime hours | $1,210.00 | $5,243.33 | $62,920.00 |
| Part-time schedule 6 paid hours a day, 4 days at $15.00 | 24.00 hours a week, no overtime | $360.00 | $1,560.00 | $18,720.00 |
| Daily overtime rule 12 paid hours a day, 3 days, daily overtime after 8 hours at 1.5x at $30.00 | 24.00 regular hours and 12.00 overtime hours | $1,260.00 | $5,460.00 | $65,520.00 |
In the second example, 50 hours at $22.00 does not equal 50 x $22.00 = $1,100.00. The first 40 hours pay $880.00. The last 10 hours pay $33.00 each, which is $330.00. The total is $1,210.00, which is $110.00 more than straight pay. In the fourth example, the 8-hour daily line means four hours of every 12-hour shift are overtime, even though the week totals only 36 hours.
Some states pay double time after a higher daily limit. PayHour uses one overtime multiplier and does not model double time. If double time applies to you, calculate those hours separately.
Overtime rules in the United States
Overtime pay depends on who you are, where you work and what your contract says. Here is the general picture so you can set the calculator correctly.
The federal rule
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires covered, non-exempt employees to receive at least one and a half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. A workweek is a fixed, repeating period of seven days in a row, or 168 hours. It does not have to start on Monday or on a calendar week.
Non-exempt and exempt employees
Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime. Some employees are exempt, usually because of their duties and how they are paid, and they are not owed overtime under federal law. Job titles alone do not decide this. Being paid a salary does not automatically make someone exempt either. If you are unsure, ask your employer or check the U.S. Department of Labor guidance listed below.
Daily overtime and state rules
Some states add rules on top of the federal law. California, for example, requires overtime for hours beyond 8 in a day for many workers, and it has double-time rules at higher daily hours. Other states have their own limits, and local ordinances or union contracts can add more. Where state and federal rules differ, the rule that gives the worker more protection generally applies. Use the optional daily threshold for these cases and confirm the details with your state labor department.
What counts in the regular rate
The regular rate is not always the same as your base hourly wage. Non-discretionary bonuses and shift differentials can raise it, which raises your overtime rate too. The calculator multiplies the hourly rate you enter. If you earn a shift premium, enter your average rate or ask payroll for your regular rate.
Gross pay and take-home pay
Gross pay is the full amount you earn. Net pay, also called take-home pay, is what reaches your bank account. The difference usually includes federal income tax withholding, state and local income tax where they apply, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and deductions such as health insurance premiums or retirement contributions.
The employee share of Social Security and Medicare (FICA) is 7.65% of wages up to the Social Security wage limit: 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare. Income tax withholding depends on your filing status, your pay and your Form W-4. Because those details are personal, PayHour does not calculate them. The optional take-home field applies one flat percentage you choose, which is only a rough guide. For a precise figure, use your pay stub or your employer's payroll tools.
Minutes to decimal hours
Payroll systems usually pay in decimal hours, not hours and minutes. To convert, divide the minutes by 60. Seven hours and 45 minutes is 7.75 hours, not 7.45. This is one of the most common reasons a paycheck looks different from a hand calculation.
| Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0.08 |
| 10 minutes | 0.17 |
| 15 minutes | 0.25 |
| 20 minutes | 0.33 |
| 30 minutes | 0.50 |
| 40 minutes | 0.67 |
| 45 minutes | 0.75 |
| 50 minutes | 0.83 |
| 55 minutes | 0.92 |
Timekeeping and rounding
Many employers round clock punches to the nearest quarter hour, often called the 7-minute rule. Federal guidance allows rounding when it is neutral, meaning it does not favor the employer over time. Paid rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes count as hours worked, while bona fide meal periods of 30 minutes or more are usually unpaid when you are fully relieved of duty. Enter only the unpaid minutes in the break field. If your employer rounds, your paycheck can differ slightly from the calculator.
Common mistakes when estimating hourly pay
- Subtracting paid breaks. Only unpaid breaks come out of your hours.
- Treating 7:45 as 7.45 hours. Convert minutes to decimals before multiplying.
- Using four weeks per month. A year has 52 weeks, so a month averages 4.33 weeks.
- Paying overtime on every long day. Many states have no daily overtime. Use the daily threshold only if yours does.
- Counting an hour twice. An hour that is already daily overtime should not be paid again as weekly overtime. PayHour handles this for you.
- Reading gross pay as take-home pay. Taxes and deductions come out before you are paid.
- Forgetting the pay period. Paychecks every two weeks and twice a month are not the same. The calculator shows both.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate pay from the hours I worked?
Work out your paid hours, then multiply them by your hourly rate. Paid hours are the time from start to end minus any unpaid break. A shift from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a 30-minute unpaid break is 8 paid hours. At $18.50 an hour, that is $148.00 for the day.
How is overtime pay calculated?
Overtime hours are paid at your regular hourly rate times the overtime multiplier. Time and a half means a multiplier of 1.5. If you earn $22.00 and work 10 overtime hours at 1.5x, the overtime pay is 10 x $22.00 x 1.5 = $330.00. The calculator lets you set a weekly threshold and an optional daily threshold.
Is the result my take-home pay?
No. The result is gross pay, which is your pay before taxes and deductions. Take-home pay is lower because of income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare, and benefits you pay for. You can enter a rough tax percentage in the optional field to see a simple take-home estimate.
How does the calculator handle overnight shifts?
If your end time is earlier than your start time, the calculator treats the shift as ending the next day. A shift from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. counts as 8 hours before any unpaid break.
How are monthly and yearly pay estimated?
The calculator multiplies weekly gross pay by 52 to estimate yearly pay. Monthly pay is weekly pay times 52 divided by 12. Pay every two weeks is weekly pay times 2, and twice-a-month pay is yearly pay divided by 24. It does not use four weeks per month because that leaves out about four weeks of pay a year.
What is the difference between a weekly and a daily overtime threshold?
A weekly threshold, such as 40 hours, makes any hours past that total overtime. A daily threshold, such as 8 hours, makes the hours past it on a single day overtime. Some states and employers use both. When you set both, the calculator counts each hour only once so it never pays overtime twice for the same hour.
Can I use the calculator for a different currency?
Yes. US dollars are the default, and you can switch to Canadian dollars, British pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Indian rupees or Pakistani rupees. The calculator only changes the symbol and number format. It does not convert between currencies or apply any country's tax or overtime rules.
Does the calculator store my pay information?
No. All calculations happen in your browser. The numbers you enter are not sent to our server and are not saved after you close or reload the page.
Sources and review
Overtime and tax information on this page is general and was last reviewed on November 5, 2026. Rules change, so check the official sources before you rely on them.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA
- U.S. Department of Labor, Overtime pay overview
- Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 751: Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
PayHour is not affiliated with these agencies. See our disclaimer and terms of use. If a result looks wrong, send us the details. Learn more about PayHour and how we review the calculator.