How Much Is Overtime Pay? Real Numbers at $15, $20, and $25 an Hour

The basic rule: time and a half over 40 hours

The FLSA requires overtime at 1.5 times your regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. A workweek is a fixed, recurring 7-day cycle your employer sets — it doesn't have to be Monday through Sunday, but it can't slide around to avoid paying overtime.

The formula is simple: overtime rate = regular rate × 1.5. At $15 an hour, overtime is $22.50. At $20, it's $30. At $25, it's $37.50. Every hour past 40 in that fixed week earns the higher rate.

How much do you make on overtime? Weekly totals by wage

At $15 per hour (overtime rate $22.50): a 45-hour week pays $600 regular + $112.50 overtime = $712.50. A 50-hour week pays $600 + $225 = $825. A 60-hour week pays $600 + $450 = $1,050.

At $20 per hour (overtime rate $30): 45 hours = $800 + $150 = $950. 50 hours = $800 + $300 = $1,100. 60 hours = $800 + $600 = $1,400. Notice the leverage — going from 40 to 60 hours raises your hours 50% but your pay 75%.

At $25 per hour (overtime rate $37.50): 45 hours = $1,000 + $187.50 = $1,187.50. 50 hours = $1,000 + $375 = $1,375. 60 hours = $1,000 + $750 = $1,750. If you want to check your own numbers, the overtime calculator linked below does this math instantly.

Double-time: when overtime pays 2x

Federal law never requires double-time, but some states do. California is the big one: hours over 12 in a single day pay 2 times the regular rate, and hours over 8 on the seventh consecutive workday in a workweek also pay double. A few other states — Alaska, Colorado, and Nevada — have daily overtime rules of their own, but the triggers differ (Colorado's kicks in after 12 hours in a day, and Nevada's depends on the employee's wage rate), so confirm the specifics with your state labor department.

Example: a $20-per-hour employee in California works a 14-hour day. The first 8 hours pay $160 (regular), hours 9 through 12 pay $120 (4 hours at $30), and hours 13 and 14 pay $80 (2 hours at $40). That one day pays $360 — compared to $280 if only federal rules applied and the week stayed under 40 hours.

Bonuses raise your overtime rate — most people miss this

Your 'regular rate' isn't just your hourly wage. Nondiscretionary bonuses — production bonuses, attendance bonuses, anything promised in advance — must be folded into the regular rate before overtime is calculated. That means a bonus week pays more overtime per hour.

Example: you earn $15 an hour, work 50 hours, and earn a $100 production bonus that week. Your straight-time pay is 50 × $15 + $100 = $850, so your regular rate is $850 ÷ 50 = $17 per hour. You're owed an overtime premium of half that rate for each of the 10 overtime hours: 10 × $8.50 = $85. Total: $935. An employer who pays $825 in wages plus the $100 bonus ($925) has shorted you $10 — small per week, but it adds up across a crew and a year, and it's a common wage claim.

Getting the hours right is half the battle

Overtime disputes usually aren't about the math — they're about the hours. Off-the-clock work, rounded-down punches, and missed split shifts are where pay goes missing. If you're an employee, keep your own record of start and stop times. If you're an employer, use a time clock that timestamps every punch and totals hours against the workweek automatically.

Kloqk's free time clock does exactly that: it tracks hours against your fixed workweek and flags overtime as it accrues, so neither side is surprised on payday.

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