How to use the Weekly Pay Calculator
This calculator turns an hourly rate and hours worked into a weekly paycheck estimate, then projects that pay across the year. Enter your hourly rate, your regular hours, any overtime hours and the overtime multiplier that applies, and an estimated combined tax and deduction rate. The calculator applies the standard wage formula to produce gross weekly pay, an estimated net weekly pay, and gross and net annual projections.
The gross pay formula
Gross weekly pay = (hourly rate × regular hours) + (hourly rate × overtime multiplier × overtime hours). Regular pay and overtime pay are calculated separately and then added together. Under the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), most non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay of at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek; some states set stricter daily thresholds or higher multipliers, so check your state's rules if they differ from the federal minimum.
Gross vs. take-home pay
Gross pay is what you're quoted. Take-home (net) pay is what hits your bank account after federal income tax, FICA (Social Security 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%), state and local taxes, health insurance premiums, and retirement contributions. Because every filer's withholding is different, this calculator uses a single combined "tax & deduction rate" you supply to approximate net pay — for most earners in median-tax states, that combined rate commonly falls somewhere between 20% and 30% of gross pay, though your actual figure depends on your income level, filing status, and location.
Converting between pay periods
- Weekly → annual: multiply gross weekly pay by the number of weeks actually worked (up to 52)
- Annual → hourly (no overtime): divide annual salary by 2,080 (52 weeks × 40 hours)
- Hourly → annual (no overtime): multiply hourly rate by 2,080
- Semi-monthly vs. bi-weekly: these aren't the same — bi-weekly gives 26 paychecks/year vs. 24 for semi-monthly, so two months a year have three bi-weekly checks
Comparing job offers
Normalize competing offers to annual take-home including benefits: add employer 401(k) match, health insurance value (often $6,000–$15,000/year), and any equity at fair value. A $10,000 higher base salary may be outweighed by a superior benefits package at the lower-paying offer. Running each offer's hourly rate and expected hours through this calculator gives you a consistent weekly and annual figure to compare side by side.