Calculating your weekly pay is a fundamental aspect of personal finance. Whether you're a salaried employee or paid hourly, understanding the components of your paycheck is crucial for budgeting, financial planning, and ensuring you're being compensated correctly. This calculator helps demystify the process for hourly workers, considering regular and overtime pay.
The Basic Formula for Hourly Pay
At its core, calculating weekly pay for an hourly worker is straightforward. The basic formula is:
Regular Pay = Hourly Rate × Regular Hours Worked
For example, if you earn $20 per hour and work 40 hours in a week, your regular pay is $20/hour * 40 hours = $800.
Incorporating Overtime Pay
Many jobs offer overtime pay for hours worked beyond a standard workweek (often 40 hours). Overtime is typically compensated at a higher rate, commonly known as "time-and-a-half" (1.5 times your regular hourly rate). The calculation involves two parts:
Regular Pay: This is calculated for the standard hours worked (e.g., the first 40 hours).
Regular Pay = Hourly Rate × Regular Hours Worked
Overtime Pay: This is calculated for the hours exceeding the standard workweek, at the increased rate.
Overtime Pay = (Hourly Rate × Overtime Rate Multiplier) × Overtime Hours Worked
Your total weekly pay is the sum of your regular pay and your overtime pay.
Total Weekly Pay = Regular Pay + Overtime Pay
Example Calculation:
Let's say you have an hourly rate of $22.00 and you worked 45 hours this week. Your company offers overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40.
This calculator automates these steps, providing a quick and accurate estimate of your weekly earnings.
Other Considerations:
Keep in mind that this calculator estimates your gross pay (your total earnings before taxes and deductions). Your net pay (the amount you actually receive in your bank account) will be lower after deductions for federal, state, and local taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and any other voluntary deductions (like health insurance premiums or retirement contributions).
For salaried employees, the calculation is different and usually involves dividing the annual salary by the number of pay periods in a year (e.g., 52 for weekly, 26 for bi-weekly).
function calculateWeeklyPay() {
var hourlyRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById("hourlyRate").value);
var hoursWorked = parseFloat(document.getElementById("hoursWorked").value);
var overtimeHours = parseFloat(document.getElementById("overtimeHours").value);
var overtimeRateMultiplier = parseFloat(document.getElementById("overtimeRateMultiplier").value);
var resultValueElement = document.getElementById("result-value");
resultValueElement.textContent = "$0.00"; // Reset to default
// Validate inputs
if (isNaN(hourlyRate) || hourlyRate <= 0 ||
isNaN(hoursWorked) || hoursWorked < 0 ||
isNaN(overtimeHours) || overtimeHours < 0 ||
isNaN(overtimeRateMultiplier) || overtimeRateMultiplier 0) {
// Using the provided overtimeHours input as the definitive overtime hours
// If the user only fills hoursWorked and not overtimeHours, we calculate it based on standardWorkWeek
var effectiveOvertimeHours = (isNaN(document.getElementById("overtimeHours").value) || document.getElementById("overtimeHours").value === "") ? actualOvertimeHours : overtimeHours;
if (effectiveOvertimeHours > 0) {
var overtimeRate = hourlyRate * overtimeRateMultiplier;
overtimePay = overtimeRate * effectiveOvertimeHours;
}
}
// Calculate total weekly pay
totalWeeklyPay = regularPay + overtimePay;
// Display the result, formatted to two decimal places
resultValueElement.textContent = "$" + totalWeeklyPay.toFixed(2);
}