Free Tool · Payroll Math Suite
Overtime is not just 1.5 times the hourly rate. Bonuses and second pay rates change the math, and most employers get it wrong. Enter the week and see the correct regular rate and overtime owed, plus where you might be underpaying. No email required.
Nothing you enter leaves your browser. This tool covers the federal 40-hour workweek rule plus state daily-overtime flags; it does not replace a full wage-and-hour review.
The regular rate is the basis for overtime. It equals all straight-time compensation for the week, including hourly wages, shift differentials, and nondiscretionary bonuses, divided by the total hours worked. Overtime is then 1.5 times that rate for hours over 40.
A production or attendance bonus raises the regular rate, which raises every overtime hour that week. Employers who pay overtime on the base rate alone underpay each affected check. Across a team and many pay periods, that becomes significant back pay and penalties.
When an employee earns two different rates in one week, you use a weighted average. Add all straight-time earnings, divide by total hours to get the blended regular rate, then pay half that rate as the premium on hours over 40.
Overtime is 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The regular rate is all straight-time pay, including nondiscretionary bonuses, divided by all hours worked, not just the base hourly rate.
Yes. Nondiscretionary bonuses and commissions must be added into the regular rate before overtime is figured. Forgetting this underpays overtime and is one of the most common wage-and-hour violations.
When an employee works at two rates in one week, the regular rate is the weighted average: total straight-time earnings divided by total hours. Overtime premium is then half that blended rate for hours over 40.
California, Alaska, Colorado, and Nevada apply daily overtime in addition to the 40-hour week. California pays 1.5x after 8 hours and 2x after 12 hours in a single day, so weekly math alone can understate what is owed.
More Free Payroll Tools
Get Overtime Right Every Run
BEG fully managed payroll runs at $25 to $45 PEPM, all-inclusive, and calculates regular-rate, blended-rate, and bonus overtime correctly on every cycle so you avoid back-pay and penalties. See your exact price in 90 seconds.
