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Time and a half calculator

Enter your hourly rate to see your time and a half, your double time, and what a block of premium hours actually pays against the same hours at straight time.

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Paid at

Only time and a half is federal. The other two come from a state rule or a contract.

Enter your hourly rate to see your time and a half, and what those hours are worth.

The 1.5x floor comes from 29 CFR 778.107, read on 3 September 2026. See all free tools

The formula

How to calculate time and a half

Multiply your regular hourly rate by 1.5, then multiply by the number of premium hours. At $15 an hour that is $22.50, and 8 hours at it pays $180.

The more useful way to read that number is the difference. Those 8 hours were already worth $120 at your ordinary rate, so what the premium actually added is $60. Half your rate, per premium hour, is the whole of what overtime pays you. Everything else you were owed anyway.

What the multiple does and does not cover
The rate

1.5x is the federal floor

Time and a half is the minimum for overtime hours, not a favour. The multiple never changes; only the threshold you have to pass varies by state.

The premium

Half your rate is the gain

Those hours were already worth your ordinary rate. What overtime adds is half of it again per hour, and that gap is the number worth tracking.

The exceptions

Double time is contractual

Neither double time nor holiday premium pay is required by federal law. Where you get them, they come from a state rule, a union agreement, or company policy.

Time and a half at every hourly rate

Find your rate and read across. Only the first premium column is federal law; double time and double time and a half are shown because contracts and a few state rules use them, not because you are entitled to them by default.

Regular hourly rateTime and a half (1.5x)Double time (2x)Double time and a half (2.5x)
$12.00$18.00$24.00$30.00
$13.00$19.50$26.00$32.50
$14.00$21.00$28.00$35.00
$15.00$22.50$30.00$37.50
$16.00$24.00$32.00$40.00
$17.00$25.50$34.00$42.50
$18.00$27.00$36.00$45.00
$20.00$30.00$40.00$50.00
$22.00$33.00$44.00$55.00
$25.00$37.50$50.00$62.50
$28.00$42.00$56.00$70.00
$30.00$45.00$60.00$75.00
$35.00$52.50$70.00$87.50
$40.00$60.00$80.00$100.00

What a block of overtime hours pays

Total pay for those hours at time and a half, before tax. Overtime is easy to underestimate in the moment and easy to overestimate across a month, so this is the table to check before agreeing to cover a stretch of extra shifts.

Hourly rate4 hrs at 1.5x8 hrs at 1.5x10 hrs at 1.5x15 hrs at 1.5x20 hrs at 1.5x
$12.00$72$144$180$270$360
$13.00$78$156$195$293$390
$14.00$84$168$210$315$420
$15.00$90$180$225$338$450
$16.00$96$192$240$360$480
$17.00$102$204$255$383$510
$18.00$108$216$270$405$540
$20.00$120$240$300$450$600
$22.00$132$264$330$495$660
$25.00$150$300$375$563$750
$28.00$168$336$420$630$840
$30.00$180$360$450$675$900
$35.00$210$420$525$788$1,050
$40.00$240$480$600$900$1,200

Is holiday pay time and a half?

Not automatically. Federal law requires no premium for working a holiday, a weekend or a night shift. Those hours count towards the weekly threshold like any others, and if they push you past it the premium is owed for that reason, not because of the day. Any holiday rate above that is company policy or a contract term, which is why two people on the same wage in the same town can be paid very differently for the same public holiday.

Here is what a 8-hour holiday shift is worth under each arrangement, so you can check yours against the handbook.

Hourly rate8-hr shift, straight timeAt time and a halfAt double timeMost it can add
$12.00$96$144$192$96
$13.00$104$156$208$104
$14.00$112$168$224$112
$15.00$120$180$240$120
$16.00$128$192$256$128
$17.00$136$204$272$136
$18.00$144$216$288$144
$20.00$160$240$320$160
$22.00$176$264$352$176
$25.00$200$300$400$200
$28.00$224$336$448$224
$30.00$240$360$480$240
$35.00$280$420$560$280
$40.00$320$480$640$320

When the rate is not the whole answer

Multiplying by 1.5 works when your pay is a single steady rate. Three common situations break that assumption, and each one usually works in your favour: a non-discretionary bonus in the same week raises the rate the premium is built on, two different rates in one week are blended into a weighted average, and a salary does not by itself remove your right to overtime. The overtime pay calculator handles all three and works out the whole week rather than the rate.

And if the premium is the main reason the job still adds up, that is worth looking at squarely. Check the base rate against the market with our free salary benchmark, and see what a raise would need to be to replace the hours with the pay raise calculator.

Frequently asked questions

The questions people ask once they know the number.

Time and a half is your regular hourly rate multiplied by 1.5. Federal law sets it as the minimum for hours past the overtime threshold (29 CFR 778.107), so it is an entitlement rather than something an employer chooses to offer. At $15 an hour it is $22.50, at $18 it is $27.00, at $20 it is $30.00, and at $25 it is $37.50.

Multiply the hourly rate by 1.5, then multiply by the number of premium hours. Splitting it in two makes the value obvious: the rate itself, and then the extra those hours earn over ordinary hours. The extra is always half the regular rate per hour, so at $20 an hour every time-and-a-half hour puts $10 more in the week than a normal hour does.

$22.50 an hour. Eight hours at that rate pays $180, which is $60 more than the same 8 hours at straight time.

$30.00 an hour, so a 10-hour block of overtime pays $300 against $200 at straight time. The $20 rate is a useful one to memorise because the premium is a clean $10 an hour.

Double time is twice the regular rate. Federal law does not require it at any point: the federal floor stops at time and a half. Double time comes from a state rule, a union agreement, or company policy, most often for very long days, a seventh consecutive day, or certain holidays. If your employer pays it, the terms will be in the contract or handbook rather than in federal law.

Two and a half times the regular rate, so $15 an hour becomes $37.50 and $20 becomes $50. It is rare, and it is always contractual rather than statutory. Where it appears, it is usually for working a public holiday, or for hours beyond an already-elevated daily threshold.

Not automatically, and this surprises people. Federal law requires no premium at all for working a holiday, a weekend, or a night shift; those hours only trigger overtime if they push you past the weekly threshold. Any holiday premium you receive is company policy or a contract term. Check the handbook, because whether a holiday shift pays straight time, time and a half or double time is entirely down to what your employer has agreed.

Federally, to hours past 40 in a single workweek. Several states add a daily threshold, commonly after 8 hours in a day, and a few add a rule for the seventh consecutive day worked. The threshold is the part that varies; the 1.5 multiple is the part that does not.

In the private sector, generally no. Compensatory time off in place of overtime pay is available to public-sector employers under specific conditions, not to private ones. A private employer offering a day off next month instead of the premium this week is usually not a lawful substitute, though rearranging hours within the same workweek so you never pass the threshold is different and is allowed.

No. Premium hours are ordinary income taxed at the same rates as the rest of your pay. A big overtime cheque can have more withheld than usual, because withholding treats that cheque as though every cheque looked like it, but that is a timing effect that settles when you file rather than a higher rate on overtime itself.

Each workweek is counted on its own and hours cannot be averaged across two or more of them (29 CFR 778.104), whatever your pay frequency. Thirty hours one week and 50 the next owes premium pay on the 10 hours in the second week, even though the fortnight averages 40. If you are paid biweekly, work out each week separately and add them.

Not the rate you happened to be on when you passed the threshold. Where you work at two or more rates in one week, the premium is built on the weighted average of everything you earned that week. Our overtime pay calculator does that blending, along with the salaried and bonus cases.

Sources

Time and a half is a good rate for hours you would rather not be working.

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For information and inspiration only. This tool is not financial, tax, legal, or career advice, and MyPassion.AI accepts no liability for decisions made using it. Every figure and template is an estimate that can differ from your circumstances, so confirm anything important with an employment lawyer or your state labor department before you act. Use of this tool and its content is subject to our Terms of Service.