How to Calculate Time and a Half Pay

You just got your paycheck. The total hours look right, 46 hours, but the overtime line is lower than you expected. Before you call payroll, you need to know how to calculate time and a half by hand. The math is straightforward, but the devil is in the regular rate, which is not just your hourly wage. Here is the formula, three worked examples, and the common mistakes that eat into your overtime pay.

Federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires overtime at 1.5 times your regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek (29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1)). Your regular rate includes your base hourly wage plus nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions, piece-rate earnings, and shift differentials divided by total hours worked that week (29 CFR 778.108). That distinction matters because it is the most common reason paychecks come up short.

The core formula for overtime pay at time and a half is:

Overtime Pay = Overtime Hours × (Regular Rate × 1.5)

Total gross pay adds regular pay to that:

Total Gross Pay = (Regular Hours × Regular Rate) + (Overtime Hours × Regular Rate × 1.5)

The regular rate is the per-hour value that includes all nondiscretionary compensation. For an hourly employee paid $18.50 per hour with no bonus, the regular rate is $18.50. For someone who receives a weekly production bonus, the regular rate is (total weekly earnings) ÷ (total hours worked). The multiplier 1.5 comes from the FLSA's minimum standard (DOL Fact Sheet #23).

This formula applies to most non-exempt employees. Exempt employees, executives, administrators, professionals, outside sales, and computer employees who meet salary and duties tests under 29 CFR Part 541, do not get federal overtime. If your job title sounds exempt but you earn below the salary threshold ($35,568 per year under the 2019 rule, which is the current floor as of 2026-10-01), you may still be entitled to overtime; check the duties test on the DOL's Fact Sheet #17A.

Your regular rate is not always your hourly wage. It is your total weekly pay from all nondiscretionary sources divided by the total hours you worked that week (29 CFR 778.109). Nondiscretionary pay includes base hourly wages, commissions, piece-rate earnings, attendance bonuses, production bonuses, referral bonuses (if not tied to hiring), shift differentials, and longevity pay (DOL Fact Sheet #56A). Discretionary bonuses, given at the employer's sole discretion with no prior promise, do not count.

Hourly employee, no bonus: If you earn $20 per hour and work 46 hours, your regular rate is $20.00.

Hourly employee with a weekly production bonus: You earn $20 per hour for 46 hours, plus a $100 production bonus. Your total weekly pay is (46 × $20) + $100 = $1,020. Your regular rate is $1,020 ÷ 46 = $22.17 per hour.

Salaried non-exempt employee: Your regular rate is your weekly salary divided by the number of hours you actually worked that week. If you earn $800 per week and work 50 hours, your regular rate is $800 ÷ 50 = $16.00 per hour. This rule comes from 29 CFR 778.113 (salary for fixed hours) and 29 CFR 778.114 (fluctuating workweek).

One more key point: overtime is calculated per workweek, not per pay period (29 CFR 778.105). If you are paid biweekly, your employer cannot average hours across two weeks to avoid overtime in the first week. Each 168-hour workweek stands alone.

Once you have the correct regular rate, multiply it by 1.5 to get the overtime rate. If your regular rate is $20.00, your overtime rate is $20.00 × 1.5 = $30.00 per hour. If your regular rate is $22.17 (from the bonus example), your overtime rate is $22.17 × 1.5 = $33.26 per hour. This is the key step in any overtime pay formula.

Some employees mistakenly use the base hourly wage for this calculation. If you received a bonus or commission that week, the base wage understates the regular rate, and using it will produce an overtime pay that is too low. For example, asking "what is time and a half of $15" gets you $22.50, but if you also earned a commission that week, your regular rate is higher and $22.50 is not the correct overtime rate.

Multiply the overtime hours by the overtime rate. Then add regular pay (non-overtime hours × regular rate). The sum is your total gross pay for the workweek.

Formula: Total Gross Pay = (Regular Hours × Regular Rate) + (Overtime Hours × Regular Rate × 1.5)

Double-check: regular hours are the first 40 hours in a standard workweek. Overtime hours are anything over 40 (29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1)). If you work 46 hours, you have 40 regular hours and 6 overtime hours.

Scenario: Maria works 46 hours in one workweek. Her base hourly wage is $18.50. She received no bonus or commission that week.

• Regular rate: $18.50 per hour
• Regular pay: 40 hours × $18.50 = $740.00
• Overtime rate: $18.50 × 1.5 = $27.75 per hour
• Overtime pay: 6 hours × $27.75 = $166.50
• Total gross pay: $740.00 + $166.50 = $906.50

If Maria works a week with a $50 attendance bonus, her regular rate becomes ($18.50 × 46 + $50) ÷ 46 = ($851 + $50) ÷ 46 = $901 ÷ 46 = $19.59 per hour. Her overtime pay is then 6 × ($19.59 × 1.5) = 6 × $29.385 = $176.31. Total gross pay: (40 × $19.59) + $176.31 = $783.60 + $176.31 = $959.91.

Scenario: John is a salaried non-exempt employee. His weekly salary is $800. He works 46 hours in a workweek.

• Regular rate: $800 ÷ 46 = $17.39 per hour (rounded to two decimal places)
• Regular pay (for the first 40 hours): 40 × $17.39 = $695.60
• Overtime rate: $17.39 × 1.5 = $26.09 per hour
• Overtime pay: 6 hours × $26.09 = $156.54
• Total gross pay: $695.60 + $156.54 = $852.14

Note: John's total gross pay ($852.14) is higher than his base salary ($800) because he earned overtime. This is correct. The regular rate must be recalculated each week when hours vary, as per 29 CFR 778.114 for the fluctuating workweek method.

Payroll systems often use a shortcut called the "half-time" method. Instead of paying 1.5× for overtime hours and 1× for regular hours, they pay straight time for all hours and then add an extra 0.5× the regular rate for overtime hours.

Formula: Total Gross Pay = (Total Hours × Regular Rate) + (0.5 × Regular Rate × Overtime Hours)

For Maria's example (no bonus): (46 × $18.50) + (0.5 × $18.50 × 6) = $851 + $55.50 = $906.50. Same result, less arithmetic. This method is used because it is easier to calculate and less error-prone for large payrolls.

The half-time method is also how the fluctuating workweek (FWW) works under 29 CFR 778.114. For FWW, the employee receives a fixed salary regardless of hours, and overtime is paid at 0.5× the regular rate. That method requires a clear mutual agreement and a genuine fluctuation in hours.

Here is what most often goes wrong when someone tries to calculate time and a half manually or when an employer miscalculates overtime.

Averaging Hours Over Two Weeks

Your employer cannot average 40 hours in week one with 50 hours in week two and call it 45 hours per week with no overtime. Each workweek stands alone (29 CFR 778.105). If you work 50 hours in one week and 30 in the next, you are owed 10 hours of overtime in the first week. The only exception is the 8/80 hospital system under 29 CFR 778.601.

Excluding Bonuses From the Regular Rate

Nondiscretionary bonuses, production, attendance, referral, must be included in the regular rate for the week they are earned (DOL Fact Sheet #56A). If a quarterly bonus covers 13 weeks, the employer must retroactively recalculate overtime for each of those weeks. Many employers fail to do this, which is a common FLSA violation.

Using the Wrong Regular Rate for Salaried Workers

Salaried non-exempt employees have a regular rate that changes every time their hours change. Dividing the weekly salary by 40 (or by a fixed number) instead of actual hours worked will produce a regular rate that is too high or too low. Use the actual hours from the time sheet.

Flat Tax Deduction Is Not a Rule

It is not. Tax withholding depends on your W-4, filing status, and total wages across the year (IRS Publication 15). Do not subtract a default 22% from your gross pay. If your employer deducts exactly 22% from overtime pay, that is a red flag, verify withholding with payroll.

Rounding Errors

Keep the regular rate to two decimal places throughout the calculation. Round only at the very end. If you round the overtime rate before multiplying by hours, the small difference can compound. Use a calculator for accuracy.