Hourly Paycheck Calculator

Hours × rate, the way payroll does it. Enter your hourly wage and the hours you work, set where overtime starts, pick how often you are paid — and the pay stub fills in with your gross pay per paycheck, the regular/overtime split and an estimated take-home. Flip to “Paycheck goal” to run it backwards: the hours, or the rate, a target paycheck needs.

an hour hours a week
× my rate
Your week on the timecard
8 Mon
8 Tue
8 Wed
8 Thu
8 Fri
0 Sat
0 Sun

week total 40 h · regular 40 h · overtime 0 h

Drag a day's bar up or down and the paycheck follows. Purple is regular time; once the week passes your overtime line, the rest turns pink.

22 %

A flat estimate for taxes and withholdings, not a tax calculation — it varies with where you live, your filing status and benefits. Most US hourly workers land between 20 % and 30 %; set 0 % for gross only.

Earnings statement Your paycheck
Gross pay per paycheck

 

  • Regular
  • Overtime
  • Gross pay
  • Est. deductions
  • Est. take-home
  • Hours this paycheck
  • Gross pay a year
  • Gross pay a month
  • Effective hourly rate
  • Overtime share of pay

Gross pay is before taxes and deductions. The take-home line is a flat estimate — your real withholding depends on where you live, your filing status, pre-tax benefits and your W-4.

How an hourly paycheck is calculated

An hourly paycheck is hours worked × hourly rate, summed over the pay period — with any hours past the overtime line paid at a higher rate, usually 1.5× (time and a half). That total is your gross pay: the number at the top of the pay stub, before taxes and deductions. What reaches your account is take-home (net) pay, and the gap between the two is what this page estimates with a flat percentage.

The calculator above is a gross pay calculator for hourly workers first: it takes your rate and your week, splits regular from overtime, and multiplies out to one paycheck at your pay frequency — weekly, every two weeks, twice a month or monthly. The timecard beside it is the honest version of “hours a week”: drag any day and the stub reprints.

How to calculate your hourly paycheck

Four steps — the calculator runs them as you type.

  1. Multiply regular hours by your rate. 40 hours × $20 = $800 for the week. Hours up to your overtime line count here — 40 a week in the US under the FLSA.

  2. Add overtime at the overtime rate. Hours past the line are paid at your rate × 1.5 (or whatever your employer's multiplier is): 5 overtime hours × $30 = $150.

  3. Scale the week to your pay period. Weekly pay is the week; biweekly is two weeks; twice-a-month is the annual total ÷ 24; monthly is ÷ 12. $950 a week is $1,900 every two weeks, $2,058.33 twice a month, $4,116.67 a month.

  4. Estimate take-home. Subtract a flat share for taxes and withholdings — or read the ratio off your last pay stub. $1,900 gross at 22 % estimated deductions is about $1,482 in hand.

Gross paycheck by hourly rate and pay frequency

Gross pay per paycheck at 40 hours a week, no overtime, before deductions. The first row follows your own rate and hours from the calculator above.

Hourly rate Weekly (40 h) Biweekly (80 h) Twice a month (86.67 h) Monthly (173.33 h)
$20.00 you40 h a week $800.00 $1,600.00 $1,733.33 $3,466.67
$15.00 $600.00 $1,200.00 $1,300.00 $2,600.00
$16.00 $640.00 $1,280.00 $1,386.67 $2,773.33
$17.00 $680.00 $1,360.00 $1,473.33 $2,946.67
$18.00 $720.00 $1,440.00 $1,560.00 $3,120.00
$20.00 $800.00 $1,600.00 $1,733.33 $3,466.67
$22.00 $880.00 $1,760.00 $1,906.67 $3,813.33
$25.00 $1,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,166.67 $4,333.33
$28.00 $1,120.00 $2,240.00 $2,426.67 $4,853.33
$30.00 $1,200.00 $2,400.00 $2,600.00 $5,200.00
$35.00 $1,400.00 $2,800.00 $3,033.33 $6,066.67

Twice-a-month and monthly paychecks are the annual total (rate × 2,080 hours) ÷ 24 and ÷ 12, so they cover 86.67 and 173.33 hours on average — that is why they are larger than two or four weekly checks.

Overtime on an hourly paycheck

Why the calculator splits hours by the week, not by the paycheck.

The 41st hour is overtime — in any workweek

Under the US Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt hourly employees earn at least 1.5× their regular rate for every hour past 40 in a workweek. The test is per workweek, never per pay period: a biweekly period of 45 hours then 35 hours is 80 hours total but still carries 5 overtime hours. That is why the calculator asks for your week and lets you set the line — 40 is the federal rule; some states add daily overtime (California after 8 hours in a day), and some contracts pay double time past a second threshold.

What overtime does to the paycheck

Every overtime hour is worth 1.5 regular hours of pay, so overtime lifts your effective hourly rate — gross pay ÷ all hours worked — above your base rate: 40 regular + 5 overtime hours at $20 is $950 for 45 hours, an effective $21.11 an hour. The stub shows the overtime line separately and the share of the paycheck it makes up, which is the number to watch if overtime is carrying your budget.

Gross pay vs. take-home pay

What sits between the top line of the stub and the amount that reaches your account.

At 22 % estimated deductions, $1,248.00 of every $1,600.00 paycheck stays with you.

Gross pay is everything you earned. From it, a US paycheck typically loses FICA (7.65 %: 6.2 % Social Security up to the annual wage base, 1.45 % Medicare), federal income tax withholding set by your W-4 and pay level, state and local income tax where they exist, and pre-tax deductions you chose — health premiums, 401(k) contributions, commuter benefits. Post-tax deductions (garnishments, Roth contributions, union dues) come off last.

That is why this page estimates take-home with one flat percentage instead of pretending to know your tax return: for most US hourly workers the total lands between 20 % and 30 % of gross, lower for part-time and low-rate work, higher in high-tax states or with heavy benefits. The best estimate is your own last pay stub — take-home ÷ gross — typed into the slider. Employers reading this: the calculator is gross pay; payroll software applies the actual tables.

Worked examples

Three common set-ups, calculated the way the stub does it.

Full-time · biweekly

$18 an hour, 40 hours a week

Week: 40 × $18 = $720. Paid every 2 weeks, that is $1,440 gross per paycheck (80 hours), $37,440 a year. At 22 % estimated deductions, about $1,123 take-home per check.

Overtime · weekly

$25 an hour, 46 hours this week

40 regular hours × $25 = $1,000; 6 overtime hours × $37.50 (1.5×) = $225. Gross for the week: $1,225 — overtime is 18 % of the check, and the effective rate is $26.63 an hour. At 25 % estimated deductions: about $919 in hand.

Part-time · twice a month

$16.50 an hour, 24 hours a week

Week: 24 × $16.50 = $396; a year: $20,592. Paid twice a month, each check is $20,592 ÷ 24 = $858 gross, covering 52 hours on average. Part-time, low-rate pay usually withholds less — at 15 % estimated deductions, about $729 take-home.

The paycheck is only as right as the hours behind it.

WebWork records clock-ins, breaks and overtime for every person on your team and hands payroll the exact hours for each pay period — weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly.

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From a typed week to payroll-ready timesheets

This calculator prices one week you typed in. WebWork's employee timesheet software builds the real one — tracked hours per person, overtime flagged, approved and exported per pay period — so the gross pay on every paycheck is the hours actually worked, not an estimate.

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One-tap clock in and out from desktop, mobile or a shared kiosk — exact times kept for you.

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Every working hour recorded automatically — regular, overtime and idle time, per person and per day.

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Hourly paychecks — FAQ

Multiply the hours you worked in each week by your hourly rate, pay any hours past the overtime line (40 a week in the US) at 1.5× your rate, then add the weeks the paycheck covers: one for weekly pay, two for biweekly. Twice-a-month and monthly checks are the annual total (your weekly pay × 52) ÷ 24 or ÷ 12. The result is gross pay; taxes and deductions come off it to give take-home pay.
It calculates gross pay exactly and estimates take-home with one flat percentage that you set — a deliberate choice, because real withholding depends on your W-4, state, local taxes and pre-tax benefits, and tax tables change every year. Use the ratio from your last pay stub (take-home ÷ gross) for the closest estimate; 20–30 % is typical for US hourly workers.
Hours over 40 in a workweek are paid at least 1.5× your regular rate under the FLSA — at $20 an hour, each overtime hour pays $30. Overtime is counted per workweek, not per pay period, so a biweekly paycheck can contain overtime even when the two-week total is 80 hours or less. Some states (California, for example) also require daily overtime after 8 hours, and some employers pay double time past a higher threshold; set the line and the multiplier in the calculator to match.
At 40 hours a week, $20 × 80 hours = $1,600 gross every two weeks, or $41,600 a year. With 5 overtime hours in each week, add 10 × $30 = $300 for $1,900. Take-home at 22 % estimated deductions would be about $1,248 and $1,482 respectively. The reference table on this page lists common rates; the first row follows whatever you type.
80 for a 40-hour week — two full weeks. A semi-monthly (twice-a-month) paycheck covers 86.67 hours on average (2,080 ÷ 24) and a monthly one 173.33 (2,080 ÷ 12), which is why those checks are larger than two or four weekly ones even though the yearly total is identical. Part-time hours scale the same way: 24 hours a week is 48 biweekly, 52 semi-monthly, 104 monthly.
Gross pay is hours × rate (plus overtime) — everything you earned in the period. Take-home, or net, pay is what is left after FICA (7.65 %), federal income tax withholding, state and local taxes and any pre-tax or post-tax deductions such as health premiums and retirement contributions. The calculator's top number is gross; the take-home line is an estimate at the percentage you choose.
Switch to “Paycheck goal”, enter the paycheck you want, how often you are paid and your hourly rate: the stub shows the weekly hours that reach it, with any hours past your overtime line counted at the overtime rate, plus the hourly rate that would get you there at the hours you already work. Choose “after deductions” to aim at a take-home amount instead of gross.
Yes — type any weekly hours, or drag the timecard bars to the real pattern (three 10-hour days, a 6-day week, a Saturday shift). Any week under the overtime line is all regular time. If your hours change week to week, calculate each week separately and add them up for a biweekly check; for twice-a-month or monthly pay the calculator averages a typical week over the year.
Yes. For hourly workers, gross pay per paycheck is exactly what the top line computes — regular hours × rate + overtime hours × overtime rate, scaled to your pay frequency — and the annual and monthly gross are shown beneath it. Salaried gross pay is simply annual salary ÷ paychecks a year (26 for biweekly, 24 for semi-monthly).
Run each one separately and add the gross amounts — overtime is owed per employer, so two 30-hour jobs carry no overtime. Within one job, a shift differential or a second rate for some hours is handled the same way: calculate the hours at each rate and add them, then apply the overtime premium to the blended (weighted average) rate for hours past the line.

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