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Overtime pay calculator
Enter your week and see the honest number: base pay, differential pay, and overtime premium computed on your differential-included rate — the way the FLSA says it must be, and the way many paychecks aren't.
Overtime is computed on your differential-included rate — that's what the FLSA requires, and what many paychecks get wrong.
How it works — a worked week
Take a nurse on $30.00/hr who works 48 hours this week, 24 of them on nights that carry a $4.00/hr differential. Step one is straight time: 48 × $30.00 = $1,440.00 base pay, plus 24 × $4.00 = $96.00 differential pay, for $1,536.00 before any overtime is considered.
Step two is the regular rate. The FLSA does not let payroll pay overtime on the $30.00 alone: the regular rate is total straight-time pay divided by hours worked, and it must include shift differentials (29 CFR 778.108 and 778.207). Here that is $1,536.00 ÷ 48 = $32.00/hr.
Step three is the premium. The hours past 40 — 8 here — have already been paid once at straight time, so what overtime adds is the extra half: 8 × $32.00 × 0.5 = $128.00. Time and a half on those hours is really $48.00 an hour, not $45.00.
Week total: $1,664.00. The shortcut some payrolls take — 1.5× on the base rate with the differential added flat — lands at $1,656.00, short by $8.00. Small per week; over 52 weeks like this one it is $416.00 you earned and never saw.
Twelve-hour schedules make this concrete. Three 12s are 36 hours: no federal overtime, however the shifts fall. Four 12s are 48 hours: 8 overtime hours, worth $1,560.00 at $30.00 with no differential, against $1,080.00for the 36-hour week. Rotating patterns like 2-2-3 alternate between the two — or between 24 and 60 hours, depending on which day your employer's workweek starts. The threshold applies to the workweek, a fixed and recurring 168-hour period your employer defines, never to the pay period: two 48-hour weeks in a biweekly period are 16 overtime hours even though the average is also 48. Working twelves? Read how overtime works on 12-hour shifts — weekly vs daily rules and the hospital 8/80 exception — or check a single rate with the time and a half calculator.
FAQ
Is overtime calculated on my base rate or with differentials?
With differentials. Under the FLSA, overtime is 1.5 times your regular rate, and the regular rate is all straight-time pay for the workweek divided by hours worked. Shift differentials are non-discretionary premiums, so 29 CFR 778.108 and 778.207 require them in that calculation. A $30 base with a $4 night differential on every hour makes the overtime rate $51.00, not $45.00.
Does overtime start after 8 hours a day or 40 a week?
Federal law uses the workweek only: hours past 40 in a fixed seven-day period, with no daily limit. A few states add daily rules. California pays 1.5× after 8 hours in a day and 2× after 12; Alaska and Nevada also have over-8 rules, and Colorado's daily overtime starts after 12 hours. Union contracts sometimes add daily overtime where the state does not.
Do PTO or holiday hours count toward the 40?
Not under the FLSA. Only hours actually worked count toward the 40-hour threshold, so a week with 8 hours of PTO and 36 hours on the floor is 36 hours for overtime purposes. Some employers and many union contracts voluntarily count paid holidays or vacation as hours worked; check your handbook, because the difference is a full overtime shift in a holiday week.
What is the 8/80 rule for hospitals?
It is an FLSA exception in 29 U.S.C. 207(j) for hospitals and residential care facilities. With an agreement in place, the employer can use a 14-day period instead of a 7-day workweek and pay overtime for hours over 8 in any day or over 80 in the 14 days, whichever is greater. It suits 8-hour shifts; on 12-hour shifts it usually costs the employer more than the 40-hour rule.
How is overtime calculated on a 12-hour shift schedule?
Add up the hours in your employer's workweek and subtract 40. Three 12-hour shifts are 36 hours, so no federal overtime. Four are 48 hours, so 8 overtime hours at 1.5 times your differential-included rate. Rotating patterns alternate: a 2-2-3 gives 36 and 48 one way and 24 and 60 the other, depending on which day the workweek starts. Daily-overtime states change this.
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