Quick answer
- Time and a half is 1.5 times an employee’s regular rate of pay. At $18 an hour it is $27 an hour; at $20 it is $30.
- Federal law requires it for non-exempt employees for every hour worked over 40 in a workweek. It does not require it for weekends, nights or holidays as such.
- Double time (2×) is never required by federal law. California requires it after 12 hours in a day and after 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day.
Time and a half means pay at 1.5 times your regular hourly rate. It is the overtime rate the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets for non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, and it is the premium most US employers use for holiday shifts even where no law requires it. Enter an hourly rate below to see the 1.5× rate, the 2× rate and the pay for a given number of overtime hours. If you want weekly pay from total hours worked, including bonuses, use the weekly overtime calculator instead.
Time and a half calculator
$27.00 an hour
That is 1.5 × $18.00. Double time (2×) is $36.00 an hour.
What is time and a half?
Time and a half is an hourly rate equal to the regular rate multiplied by 1.5. The name says it: you get your normal time, plus half as much again. The formula is overtime rate = regular rate × 1.5, and the pay for overtime hours is overtime hours × regular rate × 1.5.
Three examples, all gross pay before taxes:
- Maya Torres earns $17.50 an hour at Northfield Coffee. Her 1.5× rate is $17.50 × 1.5 = $26.25. If she works 44 hours in the workweek, she is paid 40 × $17.50 = $700.00 plus 4 × $26.25 = $105.00, or $805.00.
- At the federal minimum wage of $7.25, the 1.5× rate is $10.875 an hour, which payroll usually shows as $10.88. Eight overtime hours at that rate come to exactly $87.00.
- At $30 an hour, 1.5× is $45 and 2× is $60.
Two words in the definition carry weight. “Regular rate” is not always the base hourly wage: under the FLSA it includes shift differentials, commissions and non-discretionary bonuses earned in the week, so the overtime rate can be higher than base × 1.5. And “overtime” federally means hours over 40 in a workweek, not hours over 8 in a day. Both are covered below.
Time and a half rate chart: $7.25 to $35 an hour
Look up the 1.5× and 2× rate for every whole-dollar wage from the federal minimum to $35, with the pay for 4 and 8 overtime hours at 1.5×. Every figure is exact; the only rate that does not land on a cent is $7.25, where 1.5× is $10.875.
| Hourly rate | Time and a half (1.5×) | Double time (2×) | 4 overtime hours | 8 overtime hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $7.25 | $10.875 | $14.50 | $43.50 | $87.00 |
| $8.00 | $12.00 | $16.00 | $48.00 | $96.00 |
| $9.00 | $13.50 | $18.00 | $54.00 | $108.00 |
| $10.00 | $15.00 | $20.00 | $60.00 | $120.00 |
| $11.00 | $16.50 | $22.00 | $66.00 | $132.00 |
| $12.00 | $18.00 | $24.00 | $72.00 | $144.00 |
| $13.00 | $19.50 | $26.00 | $78.00 | $156.00 |
| $14.00 | $21.00 | $28.00 | $84.00 | $168.00 |
| $15.00 | $22.50 | $30.00 | $90.00 | $180.00 |
| $16.00 | $24.00 | $32.00 | $96.00 | $192.00 |
| $17.00 | $25.50 | $34.00 | $102.00 | $204.00 |
| $18.00 | $27.00 | $36.00 | $108.00 | $216.00 |
| $19.00 | $28.50 | $38.00 | $114.00 | $228.00 |
| $20.00 | $30.00 | $40.00 | $120.00 | $240.00 |
| $21.00 | $31.50 | $42.00 | $126.00 | $252.00 |
| $22.00 | $33.00 | $44.00 | $132.00 | $264.00 |
| $23.00 | $34.50 | $46.00 | $138.00 | $276.00 |
| $24.00 | $36.00 | $48.00 | $144.00 | $288.00 |
| $25.00 | $37.50 | $50.00 | $150.00 | $300.00 |
| $26.00 | $39.00 | $52.00 | $156.00 | $312.00 |
| $27.00 | $40.50 | $54.00 | $162.00 | $324.00 |
| $28.00 | $42.00 | $56.00 | $168.00 | $336.00 |
| $29.00 | $43.50 | $58.00 | $174.00 | $348.00 |
| $30.00 | $45.00 | $60.00 | $180.00 | $360.00 |
| $31.00 | $46.50 | $62.00 | $186.00 | $372.00 |
| $32.00 | $48.00 | $64.00 | $192.00 | $384.00 |
| $33.00 | $49.50 | $66.00 | $198.00 | $396.00 |
| $34.00 | $51.00 | $68.00 | $204.00 | $408.00 |
| $35.00 | $52.50 | $70.00 | $210.00 | $420.00 |
For a wage that is not on the chart, multiply by 1.5 or type it into the calculator above. If your hours come from a paper time card with minutes, total them first with the time card calculator, which handles unpaid lunch breaks and shows the weekly split.
When the FLSA requires time and a half
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division states the rule in Fact Sheet #23: covered, non-exempt employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rate of pay. Four details decide most questions.
- The trigger is 40 hours worked in one workweek. A workweek is a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It can start on any day and at any hour, and different groups of employees can have different workweeks, but once set it stays put.
- Each week stands alone. Fact Sheet #23 says plainly that averaging hours over two or more weeks is not permitted. An employee who works 48 hours one week and 32 the next is owed 8 hours of overtime for the first week, even though the biweekly pay period totals 80.
- Only hours actually worked count. Paid holidays, PTO and sick days are not hours worked, so they do not push the week past 40 unless the employer’s policy counts them.
- There is no cap on hours. The FLSA sets no limit on the hours an employee aged 16 or older may work in a week. It only requires the premium once hours pass 40.
Overtime pay is normally due on the regular payday for the pay period in which the wages were earned. Most states follow the federal rule exactly; a few add daily overtime, covered below.
When time and a half is not required
Most of the confusion about overtime premiums comes from pay practices that feel like law but are not. Under federal law, none of the following requires a premium rate on its own:
- Holidays. Fact Sheet #23 says the FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays or regular days of rest, as such. An employee who works 8 hours on Thanksgiving and 32 other hours that week is owed straight time for all 40. Many employers pay 1.5× on holidays anyway, and a handful of states regulate work on specific holidays; our holiday pay guide covers the rules and the math.
- Weekends. Saturday and Sunday shifts are ordinary hours federally. They earn the premium only if they take the week past 40.
- Nights and evenings. A night shift earns no federal premium. Where a shift differential is paid, it comes from policy or a union contract, and it then becomes part of the regular rate. See our guide to shift differential pay.
- Long days. A 12-hour shift triggers no federal overtime by itself. Daily overtime exists only in a few states, listed below.
- Working through a scheduled day off or being called in. Call-in pay and minimum-shift guarantees are state or policy rules, not FLSA overtime.
When an employer does pay a premium rate for a holiday or weekend by policy, the FLSA treats that premium kindly: under 29 CFR 778.203, a premium of at least 1.5 times the regular rate for work on those days can be excluded from the regular rate and credited toward overtime owed in the same week.
Who is exempt from overtime
Overtime pay applies to non-exempt employees, which is nearly every hourly worker and a good share of salaried ones. An employee is exempt from overtime only when all three tests are met:
- Salary basis. A fixed salary that does not drop when hours or output drop.
- Salary level. Under the federal rule in effect on November 12, 2026, at least $684 a week ($35,568 a year). The 2024 rule that would have raised the threshold was vacated by a federal court, and the Department of Labor published a technical amendment on May 15, 2026 restoring the 2019 levels in the regulations. Several states set higher floors, including California, New York, Washington, Colorado and Alaska.
- Duties. The job’s main duties must fit an exemption: executive, administrative, professional, computer or outside sales. A title does not decide it.
A “shift supervisor” on $760 a week who spends most of the day on the register or the line usually fails the duties test and is owed overtime regardless of the salary. The federal threshold is also only a floor; in states with a higher salary level, an employee under that level is non-exempt even above $684. Our exempt vs non-exempt guide walks through each test and the 2026 state thresholds.
How to calculate time and a half
For an hourly employee with no extras, multiply the hourly rate by 1.5 and then by the overtime hours. The cases below are where mistakes happen. For the complete method with commissions, two pay rates and the fluctuating workweek, read how to calculate overtime; this section covers the two cases that come up most.
With a bonus or shift differential: use the regular rate
The FLSA requires time and a half on the regular rate, which is all pay for the workweek that the law does not exclude, divided by all hours worked. Non-discretionary bonuses (attendance, production, safety), shift differentials and commissions go in. Discretionary bonuses, gifts, expense reimbursements and pay for time not worked stay out.
Sam Rivera works in the Northfield Coffee kitchen at $18.00 an hour. In one workweek he works 45 hours and earns a $45.00 attendance bonus that was promised in advance.
- Straight-time pay: 45 × $18.00 = $810.00.
- Regular rate: ($810.00 + $45.00) ÷ 45 hours = $19.00 an hour.
- Overtime rate: $19.00 × 1.5 = $28.50, not $27.00.
- Overtime premium owed: 5 hours × ($19.00 × 0.5) = $47.50. The 5 hours were already paid at straight time in step 1, so only the extra half is added.
- Week total: $810.00 + $45.00 + $47.50 = $902.50.
Paying 1.5 times the $18.00 base instead would give $900.00, short by $2.50. Small per week, but it is the single most common overtime error and it compounds across every employee and every bonus week.
Salaried non-exempt: convert the salary to an hourly rate
A salary does not cancel time and a half. Under 29 CFR 778.113, the regular rate of a salaried non-exempt employee is the weekly salary divided by the hours the salary is meant to cover. Take a shift lead at Northfield Coffee paid $760.00 a week for a 40-hour schedule. The salary clears the $684 federal level but the job fails the duties test, so overtime is owed. In a 46-hour week:
- Regular rate: $760.00 ÷ 40 = $19.00 an hour.
- Overtime rate: $19.00 × 1.5 = $28.50.
- Overtime pay: 6 hours × $28.50 = $171.00.
- Week total: $760.00 + $171.00 = $931.00.
Because the salary covers only 40 hours, all six extra hours are paid at the full 1.5× rate. If the salary is understood to cover more hours, only the half-time premium is owed on hours already paid at straight time; Fact Sheet #23 uses a $405 salary for a 45-hour week, giving a $9.00 regular rate and $22.50 of overtime pay. For other pay frequencies, convert to a weekly figure first with the salary to hourly calculator.
Double time pay: when 2× applies
Double time pay is 2 times the regular rate. The FLSA never requires it. Everything above 40 hours federally is time and a half, whether it is hour 41 or hour 70, and the Department of Labor’s overtime guidance does not mention double time at all.
Double time comes from two places:
- California law. The California Department of Industrial Relations requires double time for hours over 12 in a workday and for hours over 8 on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek. The 1.5× rate applies after 8 hours in a day (up to 12), after 40 in a week, and for the first 8 hours on that seventh day. Our California overtime law guide shows how to split a long shift without counting the same hour twice.
- Policy or union contract. Some employers pay double time for major holidays, for a seventh consecutive day, or for hours past a set daily limit. That is allowed anywhere, since paying more than the minimum is always permitted, but it is a promise, not a legal requirement outside California.
Double time uses the same regular rate as the 1.5× premium, so a bonus or differential raises both. At $18.00 an hour with no extras, 1.5× is $27.00 and 2× is $36.00; the chart above lists both for every rate from $7.25 to $35.
State daily overtime: California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado
Federal law is the floor. Where a state rule is more generous, the employer follows whichever pays the employee more. Four states add daily overtime on top of the 40-hour week:
- California: time and a half after 8 hours in a workday and for the first 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek; double time after 12 hours in a workday and after 8 hours on the seventh day.
- Alaska: overtime after 8 hours in a day as well as after 40 in a week, for covered employers. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development applies the rule to employers with four or more employees, and allows voluntary flexible work hour plans it approves.
- Nevada: daily overtime after 8 hours in a 24-hour period for employees earning less than 1.5 times the state minimum wage, unless an alternative schedule applies, such as an agreed four-day, ten-hour week.
- Colorado: overtime after 12 hours in a workday or 12 consecutive hours, as well as after 40 in a week, whichever pays more.
Here is why it matters. Jordan Lee earns $18.25 an hour and works three 12-hour shifts in a week, 36 hours in total. Under federal law and in most states that is 36 × $18.25 = $657.00 with no overtime. In California the same week owes 24 regular hours at $18.25 ($438.00) plus 12 daily overtime hours at $27.375 ($328.50), or $766.50. Exemptions, alternative workweek schedules and wage thresholds change these results, so confirm the details with your state labor department before you schedule 12-hour shifts.
What employers should do
Most overtime disputes are about records and classification, not multiplication. A short checklist:
- Classify on tests, not titles. Review every salaried role against the $684 federal level, your state’s level and the duties test. Anyone who fails any test is owed overtime.
- Fix your workweek in writing and apply it consistently. Northfield Coffee runs Sunday through Saturday and pays biweekly; overtime is still counted week by week inside each pay period.
- Build bonuses and differentials into the overtime rate. Set payroll to compute the regular rate each week rather than multiplying base pay by 1.5.
- Decide holiday and weekend premiums on purpose. Write them into the handbook with the rate, the days and who qualifies. A premium of at least 1.5× can be credited against overtime; a smaller one must be added to the regular rate.
- Pay for all hours worked, approved or not. If an employee worked the time and you knew or should have known, the overtime is owed. Discipline for breaking an approval rule is allowed; withholding pay is not.
- Keep the records. The FLSA requires payroll records for at least three years and time cards for at least two.
- Watch the week while it is open. A time clock app that counts punches against 40 hours lets a manager move Thursday’s shift instead of discovering the overtime on payday. Our payroll guide shows where the overtime line lands in the pay run.
Frequently asked questions
What is time and a half for $15 an hour?
It is $22.50 an hour ($15 × 1.5). Five overtime hours at that rate pay $112.50, and a 45-hour week pays 40 × $15 plus 5 × $22.50, or $712.50 before taxes. If a bonus or shift differential was earned that week, the overtime rate is 1.5 times the higher regular rate.
Is time and a half required on holidays?
Not under federal law. The FLSA does not require extra pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays or regular days of rest as such. Holiday hours count toward overtime only as ordinary hours worked. Many employers pay a holiday premium by policy, and a few states regulate work on specific holidays, so check your handbook and state law.
Do salaried employees get time and a half?
Yes, unless they are exempt. A salaried employee is exempt only if the salary is at least $684 a week under federal rules, any higher state minimum is met, and the job passes a duties test. A salaried non-exempt employee earns 1.5 times the weekly salary divided by the hours it covers, usually 40.
What is the difference between time and a half and double time?
The first is 1.5 times the regular rate; the second is 2 times. Federal law requires only the 1.5× rate, after 40 hours in a workweek. Double time is required in California after 12 hours in a workday and after 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek. Elsewhere it is a policy or union contract choice.
Do you get time and a half after 8 hours in a day?
Not under federal law, which counts only hours over 40 in the workweek. California, Alaska and some Nevada employees get time and a half after 8 hours in a day, and Colorado pays it after 12 hours in a day. Everywhere else a 12-hour shift earns overtime only if the week passes 40 hours.