Overtime Pay Calculator UK — Time & a Half, Double Time 2026/27

This calculator takes your base hourly rate and multiplies it by your chosen overtime multiplier to find your overtime hourly rate. For example, if you earn £15 per hour and your employer pays time and a half (1.5x), your overtime rate is £22.50 per hour.

Your weekly overtime pay is calculated by multiplying the overtime hourly rate by the number of overtime hours you work each week. The annual figure simply multiplies the weekly overtime by 52 weeks. The calculator also shows your standard base pay (hourly rate × standard hours × 52) so you can see the complete picture.

The total annual pay combines your standard earnings and overtime earnings for the full year. The percentage increase shows how much extra income overtime adds compared to your base pay alone, making it easy to see whether those extra hours are worthwhile.

All inputs update results instantly. Use the sliders for quick adjustments or type precise values directly into the number fields. The overtime rate multiplier dropdown covers the most common UK overtime structures: standard rate (1x), 1.25x, time and a half (1.5x) and double time (2x).

There is no legal right to overtime pay in the UK beyond the requirement that your average hourly rate must not fall below the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for your age group. Any overtime premium — time and a half, double time or other enhanced rates — is a contractual arrangement between you and your employer, not a legal requirement.

The Working Time Regulations 1998 limit the average working week to 48 hours, calculated over a 17-week reference period. This includes overtime. Workers aged 18 and over can opt out of this limit voluntarily by signing a written agreement, but employers cannot force you to opt out or treat you unfairly for refusing.

Overtime pay is taxed as normal earnings through PAYE. It is added to your gross pay for the period and taxed at whatever Income Tax band applies. If overtime pushes your total earnings above £50,270, the portion above that threshold is taxed at the 40% higher rate. National Insurance contributions also apply to overtime earnings above the primary threshold of £12,570.

If you regularly work overtime, your employer should factor it into your holiday pay calculation for the first four weeks of statutory annual leave. This was established through a series of UK employment tribunal rulings. Voluntary overtime that follows a regular pattern should also be included.

Under auto-enrolment pension rules, overtime counts as qualifying earnings between £6,240 and £50,270. Both employee and employer pension contributions increase when overtime pushes your total pay higher within that band, which can boost your retirement savings over time.

UK employers are not required by law to pay a premium rate for overtime, but most choose to do so in order to attract workers for additional hours. The rate and structure are set entirely by your employment contract. Understanding the most common arrangements helps you check whether you are being paid correctly.

Time and a half (1.5x) is the most widely used overtime rate in the UK. If your base hourly rate is £14.00, your overtime rate under this arrangement would be £21.00 per hour. It is common across retail, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics and many office environments.

Double time (2x) is typically reserved for bank holidays, Sundays or unsociable hours such as overnight shifts. At a base rate of £14.00 per hour, double time pays £28.00. Not all employers offer double time; it is more common in unionised sectors and emergency services.

TOIL — Time Off in Lieu is an alternative to cash payment. Rather than receiving extra pay, you accrue compensatory time off to take at a later date. TOIL is common in professional services, public sector roles and flexible-working arrangements. The terms — how much TOIL accrues per overtime hour and how quickly it must be taken — must be set out in your contract.

Flat rate premium is less common but used by some employers. Instead of a multiplier, a fixed amount (for example £5 per overtime hour) is added on top of your regular hourly rate. This is simpler to administer but may be less generous than time and a half at higher base rates.

Regardless of the rate your employer uses, the legal floor is clear: your average pay across all hours worked — including overtime — must never fall below the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for your age group. For workers aged 21 and over in 2026/27, that floor is £12.71 per hour.

Overtime income is treated by HMRC as regular employment income. It is added to your other earnings for the tax year and taxed at the same Income Tax rates that apply to your salary. There is no separate overtime tax rate.

The 2026/27 Income Tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are: 20% basic rate on income between £12,570 and £50,270; 40% higher rate on income between £50,270 and £125,140; and 45% additional rate above £125,140. Your overtime is taxed at whichever rate applies to that slice of income.

To illustrate: an employee with a base salary of £48,000 who earns an additional £5,000 in overtime has a total gross income of £53,000. The first £2,270 of overtime (bringing total pay up to £50,270) is taxed at 20%. The remaining £2,730 crosses into the higher rate band and is taxed at 40%. This is not a penalty on overtime — it is simply the progressive tax system applying to all income.

National Insurance contributions work similarly. You pay 8% NI on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270. Above £50,270 the NI rate drops to 2% — so unlike Income Tax, crossing that threshold actually reduces the marginal rate of NI you pay.

Your employer deducts PAYE on a monthly basis using your tax code and cumulative earnings for the year. In a high-overtime month, more tax may be withheld because HMRC's monthly PAYE tables project your income forward. If this over-deduction occurs, it is corrected automatically over subsequent months as the cumulative figures balance out. You do not need to take any action. If you want to check your year-to-date position, log in to your HMRC Personal Tax Account at gov.uk.

This is one of the most common misconceptions about overtime pay. Overtime is not taxed at a higher rate as a category. HMRC does not have a separate “overtime tax” — the only reason overtime can sometimes attract a higher tax rate is because it increases your total income, which may push some of that income into a higher band.

For most UK employees earning below £50,270 per year (including overtime), every pound of overtime is taxed at 20% basic rate, exactly the same as their regular salary. The perception that overtime is “taxed more” often arises from seeing a larger deduction on a high-overtime payslip, which simply reflects higher gross earnings that month rather than a higher rate being applied.

Your employer uses your tax code to deduct PAYE each pay period. If a particularly heavy overtime month pushes your projected annual income into a higher band, the PAYE calculation will deduct more that month. However, the PAYE system is cumulative — if the projection was too aggressive, the excess tax is returned to you automatically in subsequent payslips. At the end of the tax year, HMRC reconciles your total earnings and tax paid. If you have overpaid, HMRC will issue a refund automatically or via a P800 tax calculation notice.

Understanding your legal rights around overtime helps you protect yourself and ensures your employer meets their obligations.

Working hours limit: Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, employers cannot require you to work more than an average of 48 hours per week, calculated over a 17-week reference period. This limit covers all hours, including overtime. You can voluntarily agree to exceed 48 hours by signing an opt-out agreement, but your employer cannot force you to sign one or treat you detrimentally for refusing.

Minimum wage floor: All overtime hours must be paid at a rate that, when averaged across all hours worked in the pay reference period, meets or exceeds the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage. Paying a flat overtime rate that drags your average below the minimum wage threshold is unlawful.

Compulsory vs voluntary overtime: Your contract of employment should clearly state whether overtime is compulsory, voluntary, or both. If it is not mentioned in your contract, you are generally entitled to refuse any additional hours requested. Read your contract carefully before agreeing to regular overtime.

Bank holidays: There is no automatic legal right to enhanced pay for working on a bank holiday. Whether you receive double time, time and a half, TOIL or simply your regular rate on bank holidays depends entirely on what your contract states.

Self-employed workers: The Working Time Regulations do not protect the genuinely self-employed. Your overtime rate — or absence of one — is governed solely by the terms agreed with your client.

If overtime pay is withheld: Raise the matter formally with your employer in writing first. If the issue remains unresolved, you can contact ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) on 0300 123 1100 for free impartial advice, or submit a claim to an employment tribunal for unauthorised deductions from wages.

To illustrate the real-world impact of regular overtime, consider an employee on a £30,000 annual salary working a standard 40-hour week. Their base hourly rate is £14.42 (£30,000 ÷ 52 weeks ÷ 40 hours). Their employer pays time and a half for overtime, giving an overtime rate of £21.63 per hour.

This employee works 5 hours of overtime every week throughout the year. Over 52 weeks, that is 260 overtime hours × £21.63 = £5,623.80 additional gross pay. Their total gross income for the year becomes £35,623.80.

Because total earnings remain below the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, all taxable income above the personal allowance is taxed at 20% basic rate. National Insurance applies at 8% on earnings above £12,570 and below £50,270. The figures below are simplified illustrations — use the calculator above for your precise figures.