What is time and a half pay?
Time and a half is the overtime rate most hourly workers are paid: 1.5 × your regular hourly rate for every hour worked beyond the overtime threshold. It is the standard under the US Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for hours over 40 in a workweek, and it is also common in Canada, Australia and many other countries.
If your normal rate is $20 per hour, your time and a half rate is $30 per hour. Work 45 hours that week and the extra 5 hours are paid at $30 instead of $20 — an extra $50 in your pocket compared with straight time.
How do you calculate time and a half? (Formula)
Two lines of math are all you need:
- Overtime rate = regular hourly rate × 1.5
- Overtime pay = overtime rate × overtime hours worked
- Gross pay = (regular rate × regular hours) + overtime pay
Example — $25/hour, 40 regular hours and 8.5 overtime hours:
- Time and a half rate: $25 × 1.5 = $37.50/hour
- Overtime pay: 8.5 × $37.50 = $318.75
- Regular pay: 40 × $25 = $1,000.00
- Total gross: $1,318.75
Time and a half example chart
Quick reference for common hourly rates. Overtime pay shown for a typical overtime block:
| Regular rate | Time and a half rate | OT pay (8h) |
|---|---|---|
| $15.00/hr | $22.50/hr | $180.00 (8h) |
| $18.00/hr | $27.00/hr | $175.50 (6.5h) |
| $20.00/hr | $30.00/hr | $150.00 (5h) |
| $25.00/hr | $37.50/hr | $318.75 (8.5h) |
| $30.00/hr | $45.00/hr | $450.00 (10h) |
When does overtime start?
In the United States, the federal rule is over 40 hours in a workweek. But many places add daily rules on top of that:
- Weekly threshold: hours over 40 in the week → 1.5×
- Daily threshold (e.g. California): hours over 8 in a single day → 1.5×, hours over 12 in a day → 2× (double time)
- Seventh consecutive day: some states pay 1.5× for the first 8 hours and 2× beyond
- Contract or union rules: may be more generous than the legal minimum — always check yours
Time and a half vs double time
Time and a half = 1.5× your rate. Double time = 2× your rate, often triggered on holidays, a seventh consecutive workday, or after 12 hours in a day in states like California. Our calculator supports both — switch the multiplier between 1.5× and 2× to compare. Some contracts also use 1.25× as a lower overtime tier.
How do you figure time and a half on a night shift?
Overtime is based on the number of hours worked, not the time on the clock, so a shift that crosses midnight simply continues to accumulate hours toward your threshold. The real problem is tooling: many time-tracking apps break the shift at 00:00 and lose hours or apply the wrong rate. ShiftWorkLog treats an overnight shift as one entry and applies your overtime multiplier automatically.
Let the app do the 1.5× math automatically
Doing this once is fine. Doing it every week for every shift — with breaks, night shifts and tax — is where mistakes happen and money gets lost. ShiftWorkLog calculates time and a half, double time, break deductions and take-home pay as you clock in and out, then exports a payroll-ready PDF or CSV timesheet.
Related reading: how overtime pay is calculated, tracking overnight shifts across midnight, and exporting clean PDF timesheets.