How to use the time and a half calculator
- For the rate alone, type your pay into the Hourly rate box in the result card. The same row shows × 1.5 = and your time and a half rate.
- To price a week, set the Overtime rule selector: Over 40 hrs/week (federal) for most workers, Over 8 hrs/day + 40/week where your state has a daily trigger, or California (8/12 daily, 7th day).
- Under the weekly rule, type the week's total in Hours worked this week as a decimal. Under either daily rule that box becomes seven, one per day.
- The big number shows total hours until both hours and a rate are in, then switches to gross pay for the week.
- Read the ledger beneath it: Regular hours, Overtime hours, Double-time hours (California only), Regular pay and Overtime pay.
The time and a half formula, and how to do it in your head
Time and a half is the regular hourly rate multiplied by 1.5, so $20 an hour becomes 20 x 1.5 = $30 for each overtime hour. Double time uses 2 in place of 1.5 and turns the same $20 into $40.
The mental shortcut: take half of your rate and add it back. Half of $20 is $10, and 20 + 10 = 30. Half of $24 is $12, so time and a half at $24 is $36. Half of $13 is $6.50, so the overtime rate is $19.50.
Non-round wages need one more step. At $17.35 an hour, half the rate is 17.35 / 2 = 8.675, and 17.35 + 8.675 = 26.025. Currency stops at two decimal places, so that reads as $26.03. Payroll systems usually keep the full 26.025 when multiplying by hours and round once at the end, as this page does.
Time and a half rate chart
The middle column is the wage times 1.5, the right column times 2. Multiply the middle figure by your overtime hours for the week's overtime pay.
| Hourly rate | Time and a half (1.5x) | Double time (2x) |
|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | $15.00 | $20.00 |
| $12.00 | $18.00 | $24.00 |
| $15.00 | $22.50 | $30.00 |
| $18.00 | $27.00 | $36.00 |
| $20.00 | $30.00 | $40.00 |
| $22.00 | $33.00 | $44.00 |
| $25.00 | $37.50 | $50.00 |
| $30.00 | $45.00 | $60.00 |
| $35.00 | $52.50 | $70.00 |
| $40.00 | $60.00 | $80.00 |
| $45.00 | $67.50 | $90.00 |
| $50.00 | $75.00 | $100.00 |
A wage missing from the chart sits between two rows, and so does its overtime rate. $23 falls between $22 and $25, so its time and a half rate lands between $33 and $37.50: 23 x 1.5 = $34.50.
What time and a half covers, and what it does not
The federal rule attaches the 1.5x rate to hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek, a set span of seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It counts hours, not days or dates, and there is no federal daily overtime, so a long single shift earns the premium only if it pushes the week past 40.
Weekends and holidays are the common misunderstanding. Nothing in federal law makes a Saturday, a Sunday or a holiday shift worth more than any other shift; those hours count toward the 40 like any others. Many employers do pay a holiday premium, and a union contract or employment agreement may guarantee time and a half or double time on certain days, but that is a term of the job rather than a legal floor, so read the handbook before assuming it exists.
Some states add a daily trigger, listed on the overtime rules by state page. California is the most involved, with 1.5x past 8 hours in a day and 2x past 12, so California weeks belong on the California overtime calculator. The overtime calculator page goes further into daily rules, the seventh day and salaried overtime. None of this is legal advice.
Worked example: 46 hours at $17.35
Federal rule, 46 hours in the week, $17.35 an hour. Typed into the calculator, the ledger reads like this.
| Ledger row | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Regular hours | first 40 of the 46 | 40 hours |
| Overtime hours | 46 - 40 | 6 hours |
| Time and a half rate | 17.35 x 1.5 | $26.03 (26.025 carried) |
| Regular pay | 40 x 17.35 | $694.00 |
| Overtime pay | 6 x 26.025 | $156.15 |
| Gross pay | 694.00 + 156.15 | $850.15 |
At the straight rate those six hours would be worth 6 x 17.35 = $104.10, so the premium added $52.05 to the week. Pricing the extra half on its own gives the same figure: half of $17.35 is $8.675, and 6 x 8.675 = $52.05.
Frequently asked questions
What is time and a half for $15 an hour?
$22.50 an hour. Half of 15 is 7.50, and 15 + 7.50 = 22.50. Ten overtime hours at that rate come to $225.00, which is $75.00 more than the same ten hours at the base rate.
Is time and a half the same thing as overtime?
Time and a half is the rate; overtime is the hours it applies to. Federal overtime is paid at time and a half, so the words overlap, but an employer can also pay time and a half for hours that are not legally overtime, such as a holiday shift.
Do I get time and a half on holidays or weekends?
Not because of federal law. A holiday, Saturday or Sunday shift is paid at your normal rate unless it takes the week past 40, or unless your employer's policy or your contract promises a premium for that day. If a Saturday takes you from 38 hours to 46, the first 2 Saturday hours are regular and the remaining 6 are time and a half.
Why does the rate row show $26.03 when 17.35 x 1.5 is 26.025?
Because dollars are displayed to the cent and 26.025 rounds up. The pay figures underneath still use the full 26.025, so overtime pay for six hours shows $156.15 rather than the $156.18 you would get from the rounded rate.
How much more is double time than time and a half?
Another half of the base rate. At $20 an hour, time and a half is $30 and double time is $40, so each double time hour pays $10 more than a time and a half hour. Federal law never requires double time; it comes from state rules or a contract.
Can I type hours and minutes instead of a decimal?
The hours boxes expect decimals, so 42 hours 30 minutes goes in as 42.5 and 38 hours 20 minutes as 38.33. If your week is written in clock format, run it through the decimal hours calculator first.