Formulas
From an hourly rate: yearly pay = rate × hours a week × paid weeks a year (the same formula the rent calculator uses for hourly income).
With federal overtime: yearly pay = rate × hours × paid weeks + rate × 0.5 × hours over 40 × weeks worked (paid weeks − paid weeks off). Paid weeks off count at the straight rate, with no overtime.
From a paycheck: yearly pay = weekly pay × paid weeks, pay every two weeks × 26, pay twice a month × 24, or monthly pay × 12.
Per paid hour = yearly pay ÷ (hours a week × paid weeks). Per month = yearly ÷ 12; every two weeks = yearly ÷ 26; twice a month = yearly ÷ 24. Per day = yearly ÷ paid weeks ÷ 5.
Per hour you actually work = yearly pay ÷ ((hours a week + unpaid hours) × (paid weeks − paid weeks off)).
On a 2,080-hour year = yearly pay ÷ 2,080 (40 hours × 52 weeks), for comparison only.
Scope, assumptions, and limitations
All amounts are before tax and deductions. The calculator doesn’t estimate income tax, Social Security, Medicare or take-home pay.
Every paid week has the same hours. Federal overtime is counted week by week, and hours can’t be averaged across weeks.
The overtime option applies the federal rule to hourly pay only. State rules, employer policies, shift premiums and bonuses aren’t modeled, and the calculator doesn’t decide whether a job is exempt.
Pay every two weeks, twice a month and per month are averages of the yearly pay; real paychecks can differ when hours or paid weeks change.
Amounts keep full precision until display and are rounded to the cent.
The 2,080-hour line is a comparison only. Federal pay uses 2,087 hours (OPM, 5 U.S.C. 5504(b)); this calculator divides by the hours and paid weeks you enter.
Confidence and precision
Calculations retain precision until display formatting. The input-quality indicator is based on your classification of the source groups, not whether a field happens to contain a value. It does not measure the probability that a future outcome will match the estimate.
Example inputs are for learning the tool. Replace them with your own values, and compare a less favorable scenario to understand sensitivity.
Primary sources
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: Overtime Pay ↗
Current page (undated); Fair Labor Standards Act · Checked October 4, 2026
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: Earnings thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional exemption ↗
Current page (undated) · Checked October 4, 2026
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: Fact Sheet #17A: Exemption for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer & Outside Sales Employees ↗
Revised September 2019 · Checked October 4, 2026
U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Computing Hourly Rates of Pay Using the 2,087-Hour Divisor ↗
Current fact sheet (undated); 5 U.S.C. 5504(b) · Checked October 4, 2026
Internal Revenue Service: Tax Withholding Estimator ↗
Page last reviewed or updated June 27, 2026 · Checked October 4, 2026
Methodology version 1.0 · Reviewed September 27, 2026.