Summary
Time and a half means pay at 1.5 times an employee's regular hourly rate. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act it is the minimum overtime rate for non-exempt employees for every hour worked over 40 in a workweek. An employee paid $20 an hour earns $30 for each overtime hour. The rate is applied to the regular rate of pay, which includes nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials and commissions, not just the base wage. Federal law does not require time and a half for weekends, nights or holidays as such; those premiums come from state law, union contracts or company policy. California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado add daily overtime, and California also requires double time beyond 12 hours in a day. Since 2025 the overtime premium is also the part of pay eligible for the federal qualified overtime deduction.
Time and a half is only right if the hours behind it are right. E-Monitor's time tracking records actual hours per workweek and flags overtime as it accrues, so the premium is calculated on real time, not reconstructed time. Start free →
Time and a Half Meaning
Time and a half is a pay rate equal to one and a half times an employee's regular rate. If the regular rate is $18 an hour, time and a half is $27. The phrase almost always refers to overtime pay, because the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal wage law, sets 1.5 times the regular rate as the minimum premium for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek by non-exempt employees. Employers may pay more than time and a half, and some contracts and state laws require double time in defined situations, but 1.5 is the federal floor.
Two words in that definition carry most of the legal weight. Regular rate is not always the hourly wage printed in the offer letter; it is a calculated figure that includes most other compensation earned in the week, which is covered below. And non-exempt limits the entitlement to employees the FLSA covers; salaried staff who pass the exemption tests are not owed overtime at any rate. Our guide to exempt vs non-exempt employees explains who falls on which side, and what overtime is covers the rules in full. This page is about the rate itself: how to calculate it, when it applies and when people assume it applies but it does not.
How to Calculate Time and a Half
For an hourly employee with no other pay, the calculation has three steps.
- Find the regular rate. For a straight hourly worker this is the hourly wage: $20.
- Multiply by 1.5. $20 × 1.5 = $30 per overtime hour.
- Multiply by overtime hours. Hours over 40 in the workweek, say 6: 6 × $30 = $180 overtime pay, on top of 40 × $20 = $800 regular pay, for $980 gross.
Payroll systems often express the same thing as the straight-time pay for all hours plus a half-time premium on the overtime hours: 46 × $20 = $920, plus 6 × $10 = $60, which is the same $980. The second form matters for the qualified overtime deduction below, because only the premium half is deductible.
| Regular hourly rate | Time and a half rate | 5 OT hours | 10 OT hours | Double time rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $22.50 | $112.50 | $225.00 | $30.00 |
| $18.00 | $27.00 | $135.00 | $270.00 | $36.00 |
| $20.00 | $30.00 | $150.00 | $300.00 | $40.00 |
| $22.50 | $33.75 | $168.75 | $337.50 | $45.00 |
| $25.00 | $37.50 | $187.50 | $375.00 | $50.00 |
| $30.00 | $45.00 | $225.00 | $450.00 | $60.00 |
| $35.00 | $52.50 | $262.50 | $525.00 | $70.00 |
| $40.00 | $60.00 | $300.00 | $600.00 | $80.00 |
Our time card calculator does the arithmetic from start and end times, including the weekly split and an optional daily threshold.
The Regular Rate: Why the Base Wage Is Often Not Enough
The FLSA requires overtime to be calculated on the regular rate of pay, defined as all remuneration for employment in the workweek divided by the hours worked, with specific exclusions. In practice that means the following must be folded in before the 1.5 multiplier is applied:
- Nondiscretionary bonuses: production, attendance, quality and retention bonuses promised in advance.
- Shift differentials for nights, weekends or hazardous work. See what a shift differential is.
- Commissions earned in the period.
- On-call pay and certain premiums that are not themselves overtime premiums.
Excluded are discretionary bonuses, gifts, paid time off, expense reimbursements, premium pay for hours already over 8 a day or 40 a week, and most benefit contributions. A worked example: an employee earns $20 an hour, works 46 hours, and receives a $92 attendance bonus for the week. Total straight-time pay is 46 × $20 + $92 = $1,012; regular rate is $1,012 ÷ 46 = $22.00; overtime premium is 6 × $11.00 = $66, not the $60 that using the $20 base would give. Across a workforce and a year, that difference is the most common source of overtime underpayment claims.
Salaried non-exempt employees also receive time and a half. The regular rate is the weekly salary divided by the hours the salary is intended to cover (usually 40). A $900 weekly salary for 40 hours gives a $22.50 regular rate and $33.75 for each overtime hour.
When the Law Requires Time and a Half
| Trigger | Rule | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| More than 40 hours in a workweek | 1.5× regular rate (FLSA) | All non-exempt employees nationwide |
| More than 8 hours in a day | 1.5× (California, Alaska; Nevada for lower-paid employees) | Non-exempt employees in those states; alternative workweek elections can modify |
| More than 12 hours in a day | 2× in California; 1.5× in Colorado | Non-exempt employees in those states |
| Seventh consecutive day in a workweek | California: 1.5× for the first 8 hours, 2× beyond | Non-exempt employees in California |
| Sundays and certain holidays | Rhode Island still requires 1.5× for many retail and service employees; Massachusetts phased its premium out by 2023 | Covered employees in Rhode Island |
| Hours over a lower weekly threshold | Some union contracts and public-sector rules set 35 or 37.5 hours | Per the agreement |
The workweek is a fixed, recurring 168-hour period chosen by the employer. Overtime is calculated within it and cannot be averaged across two weeks, even on a biweekly payroll. Our guide to biweekly vs semi-monthly pay explains how pay periods and workweeks interact, and compressed workweeks covers the California election process that allows 10-hour days without daily time and a half.
When Time and a Half Is Not Required
Several widely held beliefs about time and a half are not law in most of the country.
- Holidays. Federal law does not require premium pay for working on a holiday, nor does it require holidays off. Holiday time and a half is a matter of company policy or contract, outside Rhode Island's retail rules. Paid holidays that are not worked do not count as hours worked toward the 40-hour threshold.
- Weekends and nights. No federal premium. Weekend and night differentials are voluntary unless a state or contract says otherwise.
- More than 8 hours in a day in the 46 states without daily overtime. A 12-hour shift followed by two days off creates no overtime if the week stays at or under 40 hours.
- Exempt employees. Salaried staff who pass the executive, administrative, professional, computer or outside-sales tests are not owed time and a half regardless of hours.
- Comp time instead of pay in the private sector. Private employers generally cannot substitute time off for overtime pay owed under the FLSA; public employers can under specific rules. See what comp time is.
An employer may always choose to pay time and a half in these situations, and many do for retention. The point is that the obligation, where it exists, comes from policy or state law rather than the FLSA, so it should be written down.
Time and a Half and the Qualified Overtime Deduction
From tax year 2025 through 2028, employees can deduct the premium portion of FLSA-required overtime from federal taxable income, up to annual caps. Only the half in time and a half qualifies: for the $20-an-hour employee earning $30 in overtime, $10 of each overtime hour is deductible, and only for overtime required by the FLSA, not for voluntary holiday premiums or state-only daily overtime. Employers report the qualifying amount separately on the W-2. Our qualified overtime tracking guide explains what has to be recorded and reported.
Getting Time and a Half Right in Payroll
- Classify correctly. Time and a half is owed only to non-exempt staff; misclassifying a non-exempt employee as exempt means every overtime hour is underpaid.
- Record actual hours by workweek. The FLSA requires daily and weekly records of hours worked; scheduled hours and auto-deducted breaks are not records.
- Calculate the regular rate each week where bonuses, differentials or commissions are paid, and pay the premium on it.
- Apply state rules for daily, seventh-day and double-time overtime where employees work in those states.
- Write down any voluntary premiums for holidays, weekends or nights so they are applied consistently.
- Keep the records: at least two years for time cards and three for payroll records under federal rules, longer in several states.
E-Monitor's attendance tracking records hours automatically per employee and per workweek, separates active from idle time, and flags the point at which an employee crosses the weekly or daily threshold, so the hours that time and a half is calculated on are observed rather than remembered. For hourly teams specifically, see monitoring part-time and hourly workers.
Related reading: FLSA Salary Threshold 2026, What Is a Split Shift?, What Is a Notice Period?.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does time and a half mean?
Pay at 1.5 times the employee's regular rate. It is the federal minimum overtime rate for non-exempt employees for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. At a $20 regular rate, time and a half is $30 an hour.
2. How do you calculate time and a half?
Multiply the regular rate by 1.5, then by the number of overtime hours. The regular rate must include nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials and commissions earned in the week, divided by hours worked, not just the base wage.
3. How much is time and a half for $20 an hour?
$30 an hour. Ten overtime hours at that rate pay $300 in addition to regular wages.
4. Is time and a half required on holidays?
Not under federal law. Holiday premium pay comes from company policy, union contracts or, in a few cases, state law such as Rhode Island's retail rules. Paid holidays not worked do not count toward the 40-hour overtime threshold.
5. Do salaried employees get time and a half?
Salaried non-exempt employees do: the regular rate is the weekly salary divided by the hours it covers, and overtime hours are paid at 1.5 times that. Salaried exempt employees who pass the FLSA duties and salary tests do not receive overtime.
6. What is the difference between time and a half and double time?
Time and a half is 1.5 times the regular rate; double time is 2 times. Federal law never requires double time. California requires it after 12 hours in a day and after 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of a workweek; some contracts require it on holidays.
7. Is time and a half calculated daily or weekly?
Weekly under federal law, on hours over 40 in a fixed workweek. California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado add daily thresholds. Hours cannot be averaged across weeks even on a biweekly payroll.
8. Is overtime pay at time and a half tax-free?
Partly, from 2025 through 2028. The premium half of FLSA-required overtime is deductible from federal taxable income up to annual caps; the straight-time portion and any voluntary premiums are not.
The right rate on the right hours. E-Monitor records actual hours per workweek and per day, separates active from idle time and flags overtime as it accrues, so time and a half is paid on real time and the FLSA record exists without reconstruction. 7-day free trial, no credit card. Sign up →