US overtime pay is purely contractual — there’s no statutory minimum rate. The calculator above multiplies your regular hourly rate by your contractual overtime multiplier and adds it to regular weekly pay.
Common overtime multipliers
- 1.0× (flat rate): rare — usually counts as ‘additional hours’ rather than overtime
- 1.25× (time and a quarter): some retail and hospitality
- 1.5× (time and a half): standard for most office and manual roles, evenings/weekends
- 2.0× (double time): bank holidays, Sundays in some contracts, emergency callouts
- 2.5× or 3×: rare premium rates for unusual conditions
What US law actually requires
The Working Time Regulations cap your AVERAGE weekly hours at 48 (over a 17-week reference period). They don’t require any specific overtime pay rate. You can opt out of the 48-hour limit individually.
Employees ARE entitled to: - 28 days paid statutory leave (5.6 weeks pro-rata) - 11 hours’ rest between working days - 24 hours’ rest per week (or 48 hours per fortnight) - 20-minute break after 6 hours
None of these mandate paid overtime — they cap total work time.
Overtime tax treatment
Overtime is taxed at your marginal rate. $100 of overtime:
| Your salary band | Take-home from $100 overtime |
|---|---|
| Below $48,475 (12% federal bracket, single) | ~$72 net per $100 OT |
| $50,270 - $100,000 (higher rate) | $58 (42%) |
| $100,000 - $125,140 (PA taper) | $40 (60% effective) |
| $250,525+ (32% federal bracket) | ~$53 net per $100 OT |
For weekly W-2 wages calculations, big overtime spikes can sometimes withhold at ‘emergency’ rates which get reconciled at year-end. Net annual outcome is the same as if it had been spread evenly.
When overtime makes financial sense
Do the maths before agreeing to extra hours:
- Basic-rate territory: ~72p kept per $1 of overtime. Acceptable for short-term saving goals.
- Higher-rate territory: ~58p kept. Your time may be worth more elsewhere (side hustle below $50,270 stacking, learning, family).
- PA taper territory: 40p kept. Almost never worth it — pension contributions are far more tax-efficient.
What this calculator doesn’t model
- Income tax and NI (gross output only)
- Working Time Regulations limits
- Multi-week tax-band stacking
- Pension treatment of overtime (scheme-dependent)
For net take-home estimate, run your annualised pay (regular + overtime) through the Take Home Pay calculator.