Overtime Calculator: Work Out Your Time and a Half Pay

Start with your numbers

Use the overtime calculator above. Pop in your standard hourly rate, the number of overtime hours, and the rate your contract pays for them - time and a half, double time, or a custom multiplier. You'll get your overtime pay and a take-home estimate in seconds. The sections below explain exactly how the figure is reached, so you can sense-check your next payslip.

How overtime pay works

Overtime is any time you work beyond your normal contracted hours. There is no single legal overtime rate in the UK - the multiplier comes entirely from your employment contract. Some employers pay a premium such as time and a half; others pay your plain hourly rate for extra hours; a few offer time off in lieu instead of cash. The only hard legal floor is that your average pay must not drop below the National Minimum Wage once the extra hours are counted, and your average working week generally must not exceed 48 hours unless you've opted out.

The arithmetic itself is simple once you know your inputs. In plain words:

Overtime pay = normal hourly rate × overtime multiplier × overtime hours.

Your total gross for the period is then your normal pay plus that overtime pay:

Total gross = (normal hours × normal rate) + overtime pay.

If you're salaried rather than paid by the hour, you first need to convert your salary to an hourly figure before any of this works. Divide your annual salary by your contracted hours for the year - a common shortcut is annual salary ÷ 52 ÷ weekly hours. Our hourly rate calculator does that step for you, and the salary calculator shows the full breakdown of a salaried wage if you want the bigger picture first.

Time and a half, double time and custom rates

The multiplier is the part people search for most, so it's worth being precise about what each one means.

• Time and a half (1.5×): your normal rate plus half again. On £12 an hour, time and a half is £18 an hour. This is the most common premium for evenings, Saturdays or hours beyond a standard week.
• Double time (2×): twice your normal rate. On £12 an hour that's £24 an hour. Often reserved for Sundays, bank holidays or unsociable shifts.
• Time and a third (1.33×) or time and a quarter (1.25×): smaller premiums some sectors use - enter the exact multiplier as a custom rate.
• Plain time (1×): extra hours paid at your normal rate, with no premium at all. Perfectly legal in the UK.

If your contract quotes overtime as a flat hourly figure rather than a multiple, just divide it by your normal rate to find the multiplier - £27 overtime on a £18 base is a multiplier of 1.5.

How the overtime calculator works step by step

Behind the scenes the overtime calculator runs four steps:

• Step 1 - Overtime rate: normal rate × multiplier. This is what each overtime hour is worth.
• Step 2 - Overtime pay: overtime rate × overtime hours.
• Step 3 - Total gross: normal pay for the period plus overtime pay.
• Step 4 - Estimated take-home: total gross minus the Income Tax and National Insurance due on it.

The first three steps are exact - they're just multiplication and addition. Step four is an estimate, because the tax taken from a single payslip depends on your tax code, your earnings across the whole year, and how your payroll runs the figures. More on that next.

Worked example: a warehouse worker on £12 an hour

Say Priya works in a distribution centre on £12 an hour for a standard 37.5-hour week. One busy week she works her normal hours plus 8 hours of overtime paid at time and a half.

• Normal rate: £12.00
• Overtime rate (time and a half): £12.00 × 1.5 = £18.00 an hour
• Overtime pay: £18.00 × 8 hours = £144.00
• Normal pay: £12.00 × 37.5 = £450.00
• Total gross for the week: £450.00 + £144.00 = £594.00

So the 8 hours of overtime added £144 to Priya's gross pay. That £144 isn't all hers to keep, though. As a basic-rate taxpayer she pays 20% Income Tax and 8% National Insurance on earnings in that band - a combined 28% - so roughly £144 × 0.28 = £40.32 is deducted, leaving her with about £103.68 extra in her pocket from the overtime. The exact figure depends on her tax code, but that's the realistic shape of it.

A second example: double time on a bank holiday

Now take Daniel, a hospital porter on £14 an hour, who works a 10-hour bank holiday shift at double time.

• Overtime rate (double time): £14.00 × 2 = £28.00 an hour
• Overtime pay: £28.00 × 10 hours = £280.00

That single shift is worth £280 gross. If Daniel's total earnings keep him within the basic-rate band, he again loses about 28% to tax and NI, so roughly £201.60 reaches his bank. If that overtime tips part of his pay over the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, the slice above it is taxed at 40% Income Tax with NI dropping to 2% on that part - a 42% combined marginal rate. That's the point where overtime starts feeling much less generous, which is exactly why the next section matters.

Tax and National Insurance on overtime

Overtime is ordinary earned income. There is no special "overtime tax" - it's taxed at the same rates as the rest of your wage, stacked on top of what you've already earned. What trips people up is the marginal rate: because tax is banded, your overtime is taxed at the rate that applies to your highest slice of income, not your average rate.

For 2026/27 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Personal Allowance is £12,570, the basic rate of 20% runs up to £50,270 of total income, and 40% applies above that. National Insurance for employees is 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above £50,270. So:

Figures are for the 2026/27 tax year - see HMRC's Income Tax rates and Personal Allowance guidance for the official thresholds, and gov.uk's overtime rights page for the employment-law side.

If you live in Scotland

Scotland sets its own Income Tax rates and bands. The Personal Allowance is still £12,570 UK-wide, but Scottish taxpayers move through starter (19%), basic (20%), intermediate (21%), higher (42%), advanced (45%) and top (48%) rates at different thresholds. National Insurance is the same across the whole UK, but because the Scottish income-tax bands differ, the tax taken from the same overtime can differ north of the border. If you're a Scottish taxpayer, our Scotland tax calculator reflects those bands.

Things to watch with overtime

A few real-world quirks catch people out:

• Emergency tax codes. If you've recently changed jobs or your code is wrong, a chunk of overtime can be over-taxed for a month or two. It usually corrects itself once HMRC updates your code, and you can reclaim any genuine overpayment - it isn't lost.
• The marginal-rate jump. Overtime that pushes part of your earnings past £50,270 is taxed at 42% combined on that slice, not 28%. Doing a lot of overtime in one period can also briefly inflate the tax taken if payroll annualises your pay.
• The £100,000 trap. If overtime takes your income over £100,000, your Personal Allowance starts to taper away by £1 for every £2 above that, creating an effective 60% marginal rate on that band. Rare, but brutal when it bites.
• Holiday pay. Regular, settled overtime should usually be included when your employer calculates your holiday pay. If yours isn't, it's worth questioning.
• Pension and student loan deductions. Overtime counts as pensionable pay in many schemes and as income for student loan repayments, so the deduction from extra hours can be a touch higher than tax and NI alone.

Common mistakes when calculating overtime

• Applying the multiplier to the wrong base. Time and a half means 1.5× your normal rate, not 1.5× some already-enhanced rate. Always start from your plain hourly figure.
• Forgetting salaried hours. If you're on a salary, you must convert to an hourly rate first - using a rough guess here is the single biggest source of wrong answers.
• Assuming overtime is taxed at a special rate. It isn't. It's just earned income at your marginal rate - the surprise is the banding, not a separate tax.
• Confusing gross with take-home. The headline overtime figure is before deductions. Always look at the net estimate to know what actually arrives.
• Ignoring rounding on the payslip. Real payroll rounds to the penny per period and uses your cumulative tax position, so a calculator estimate may differ by a pound or two. That's normal.

For a fuller picture of what reaches your account across all your pay, not just overtime, the take-home pay calculator and the wage calculator are the natural next steps.

These figures are estimates for general guidance only and are not personal tax or financial advice. Your exact deductions depend on your tax code and full annual earnings - check your payslip or speak to HMRC for your own position.

Who should use this calculator

Works out what overtime is worth at time and a half, double time or a plain hourly rate. The figure people usually want is not the gross but what actually reaches them — and the answer is often less than expected, because overtime is paid on top of your normal earnings and is taxed at your marginal rate.

There is a further wrinkle for employees: National Insurance is charged per pay period, not annually. A large chunk of overtime in one month can push that month’s earnings into a band where more NI is due, and unlike Income Tax that does not even out later in the year.

What this calculator assumes

• Overtime pay is hourly rate × hours × multiplier.
• The multiplier is whatever your contract provides — there is no legal right to enhanced overtime pay in the UK.
• Overtime is taxed as ordinary earnings at your marginal rate.
• The figures are for a single period of overtime rather than an annual pattern.

Limitations — what it does not cover

• Per-period National Insurance, which makes concentrated overtime more expensive than the same money spread evenly.
• Whether enhanced rates apply at all — many contracts pay plain time, and some salaried roles pay nothing.
• Holiday pay implications. Regular voluntary overtime must be included in holiday pay calculations, which many employers still get wrong.
• Working Time Regulations, including the 48-hour average week unless you have opted out.
• Time off in lieu arrangements instead of payment.
• Benefit tapers. Extra earnings can reduce Universal Credit at 55p in the pound.

Related calculators

Carry on with a few tools that pair naturally with this one: convert any wage with the hourly rate calculator, break down a full salary with the salary calculator, and see your net pay with the take-home pay calculator.