Time Card Calculator

How overtime works (the short version)

Most US workers are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which requires non-exempt employees to be paid 1.5× their regular rate for every hour worked beyond 40 in a single workweek. The FLSA defines a workweek as any fixed 7-day period — it does not have to be Sunday through Saturday, but it has to be consistent.

On top of the federal rule, several states layer their own daily overtime rules. California is the strictest: anything over 8 hours in a day is overtime at 1.5×, anything over 12 in a day jumps to 2×, and the 7th consecutive workday gets 1.5× for the first 8 hours and 2× after that. Alaska, Nevada, Colorado, and a few other states apply variations on daily OT. Most other states follow the federal weekly-only rule.

A worked example

Suppose you work five 9-hour days (Mon–Fri) at $20/hour with a 30-minute unpaid lunch each day, in California (daily OT after 8h, weekly OT after 40h, 1.5× multiplier):

• • Each day: 9 hours clocked − 0.5 hour lunch = 8.5 worked hours
• • Daily regular: 8 hours. Daily OT: 0.5 hours.
• • Week total: 40 regular hours + 2.5 OT hours = 42.5 hours.
• • Pay: (40 × $20) + (2.5 × $20 × 1.5) = $800 + $75 = $875 gross.

In a federal-only state (no daily OT) the same schedule yields 42.5 regular hours and 0 overtime — all under the 40-hour weekly cap is regular, then 2.5 over the cap is OT at 1.5×. Same gross pay of $875 in this case, but the breakdown is different. The calculator handles both correctly.

Paid vs. unpaid breaks

A common source of paycheck confusion. Under federal law, short rest breaks (less than 20 minutes) are paid — those minutes are part of your worked time and shouldn't be subtracted. Meal periods of 30 minutes or more are usually unpaid, and only those should go in the Break column. Many states add their own meal-break rules; California, for example, requires a 30-minute unpaid meal break after 5 hours.

Related tools

If you're working out a budget or comparing job offers, the loan / EMI calculator, compound interest calculator, and time converter run in the browser too — no uploads, no signup, no quota.

Doing the math by hand instead? Our guide to calculating hours worked with a lunch break walks through decimal conversion, paid vs. unpaid breaks, and the 7-minute rounding rule with worked examples.

This calculator is a planning aid. For official overtime rules in your state, see the US Department of Labor overtime guidance. Always confirm with your employer's payroll team or a qualified payroll professional before acting on a calculated figure.