Work out your UK overtime pay after tax, NI, student loan and pension for 2026/27. Free calculator for time and a half, double time and custom rates.
Overtime Calculator UK
Overtime pay, tax, NI and what you actually keep
Estimates using 2026/27 HMRC rates. Not personal tax advice.
Why you can trust these figures. The overtime calculator above uses the 2026/27 rates published on GOV.UK: HMRC's employer rates and thresholds, the Scottish income tax bands and the minimum wage that began on 1 April 2026. We tested the sums against published worked examples, and the See the working button shows every step so you can check it yourself. Last checked October 2026.
In this guide
- What counts as overtime in the UK
- How to use this overtime calculator
- How overtime pay is calculated
- Time and a half, double time and other rates
- Is overtime taxed more than normal pay?
- Worked examples with real numbers
- Student loan, pension and tax code
- Bank holiday, weekend and night overtime
- Unpaid overtime: what it costs you
- Working time rules and holiday pay
- Mistakes that skew overtime figures
- Frequently asked questions
- Add this tool to your website
Anyone who has worked an extra Saturday shift knows the feeling. You do the sums on the way home, five hours at time and a half, and then the payslip arrives a little lighter than the number in your head. Nothing has gone wrong. The gap is tax, National Insurance and sometimes a student loan, all taken from the extra money at once.
The overtime calculator UK workers can use above closes that gap before payday. Put in your hourly rate or salary, the hours you worked and the rate your employer pays, and it shows your overtime pay, your gross pay and, once you switch on the Tax & take-home tab, what really lands in your bank account. It works as an overtime pay calculator for the plain gross figure, an overtime tax calculator for the deductions and an overtime take home pay calculator for the bottom line, all in one box. Every rate is for the 2026/27 tax year, so the results match what payroll is using right now.
The rest of this page explains how to get the most out of it, how overtime is actually paid and taxed, and the rules that sit behind it. If you only want the buttons explained, jump to the how-to section.
What counts as overtime in the UK
Overtime is work done outside the hours in your contract. If your contract says 37.5 hours a week and you put in 42, those extra 4.5 hours are overtime. Whether they are paid, and how generously, depends entirely on what you agreed with your employer.
That surprises a lot of people. No UK law says overtime must be paid at time and a half, or at double time on a Sunday, or even at a premium at all. Those rates come from your contract, a collective agreement or a long-standing habit at your workplace. The one legal floor is the minimum wage, which still applies to the hours you are paid for. From 1 April 2026 it is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20, and £8.00 for under 18s and apprentices.
So before you type anything in, find out how your employer treats extra hours. The usual places to look are:
- Your contract or written statement of terms, normally under hours of work
- The staff handbook or an overtime policy
- Your last few payslips, where overtime normally appears as its own line with hours, a rate and an amount
Some employers pay a flat rate for extra hours. Many pay time and a quarter or time and a half for weekday overtime, and double time for bank holidays. Plenty of salaried roles pay nothing extra and expect reasonable additional hours as part of the job, and others offer time off in lieu (TOIL) instead of cash. All of these overtime pay rates in the UK are perfectly normal, which is why the calculator lets you set the multiplier yourself.
How to use this overtime calculator
This is the part worth reading once, because the calculator does more than it first appears to. It works from top to bottom and updates as you type, so you can watch the numbers move while you experiment.
Pick how often you are paid
Under You're paid every, choose Week, 2 weeks, Month or Year. Match it to your payslip, because the hours you enter next are treated as hours for that pay period. The results panel follows your choice, so a monthly payslip gives you monthly figures straight away. You can switch the results to another period later without retyping anything.
Enter your hourly rate or your salary
The box starts as Hourly rate. If you know your annual salary instead, tap Salary and type that in. The calculator works out your hourly rate by dividing the salary by your normal hours across the year. Switching between the two converts the figure for you, so you do not lose what you typed.
Add your normal hours
Enter the hours your contract covers for the pay period, 37.5 for a standard full-time week, for example. These hours are paid at your basic rate and form the base the overtime sits on top of.
Add your overtime
Enter the overtime hours and pick the rate your employer pays. The list runs from flat rate through time and a quarter, time and a third, time and a half, 1.75, double time, 2.5 and triple time, and there is a custom option for anything unusual such as 1.8. Hours can be typed as decimals (7.5) or as hours and minutes (7:30 or 7h30). One thing to watch: 7.30 means seven and three tenths of an hour, not seven hours thirty minutes. Beside the rate, the pay for that line updates live.
Add more rates for weekends and bank holidays
Plenty of people work overtime at more than one rate in the same pay period, say two hours on a weekday at time and a quarter and six on a Sunday at double time. Press Add another rate and each one gets its own row with its own hours, rate and live pay. Remove a row with the cross at the end of it.
Switch on tax and take-home pay
Open the Tax & take-home tab and turn on Include tax, NI and deductions. This is what makes the tool an overtime calculator after tax as well as a pay calculator. Then fill in whatever applies to you:
- Where you pay tax: England and Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland. Scotland has its own six income tax bands and the calculator applies them for you.
- Tax code: it starts on 1257L, the standard code. Type yours from a payslip if it is different. Scottish (S) and Welsh (C) prefixes work, and so do BR, D0, D1, K codes, 0T and NT. A small note beside the box tells you how the code was read.
- Your age: this drives the minimum wage check and removes National Insurance for people over State Pension age.
- Student loan: Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5, plus a tick box for a postgraduate loan, because some people repay both.
- Pension: your contribution as a percentage, and how your scheme takes it: salary sacrifice, net pay arrangement or relief at source. They treat tax and National Insurance differently, so the type matters.
Read your results
The big number at the top is your overtime pay, or your take-home pay once tax is on. The Week, 2 wks, Month and Year buttons above it change the period you are looking at. Under it sit three quick figures. Without tax they show gross pay, your average overtime rate and the share of your pay that comes from overtime. With tax on they show the overtime before deductions, how much of it you keep, and your take-home per hour worked. The payslip box underneath breaks everything into lines: basic pay, overtime pay, gross pay, then pension, income tax, National Insurance, any student loan and finally net pay. A coloured bar shows where each pound goes.
Use the extras
- Calculate overtime pay scrolls you back to the top of the tool, which helps on a phone.
- See the working lays out every sum step by step, with the 2026/27 rates used, so you can compare it with your own payslip.
- Copy summary puts your figures on the clipboard, handy for a message to your manager or payroll team.
- Reset clears every field so you can start again.
- If your basic hourly rate is below the legal minimum for your age, a warning appears under the main number.
You never need to open the tax tab if all you want is a quick gross figure. Hourly rate, normal hours, overtime hours and the rate is everything it takes.
How overtime pay is calculated
The sum itself is short. Overtime pay is your hourly rate, multiplied by the overtime rate, multiplied by the hours you worked. Gross pay for the period is basic pay plus overtime pay.
Overtime pay = hourly rate × overtime rate × overtime hours
Gross pay = basic pay + overtime pay
Take someone on £15 an hour who works five hours at time and a half. Time and a half means 1.5 times the normal rate, so each overtime hour pays £22.50 and the five hours come to £112.50. That is the answer to how do you calculate time and a half pay, and the method is identical for every other multiplier.
On a salary you need the hourly rate first. Divide the annual salary by 52 for a weekly figure, then divide by your weekly contracted hours. £28,000 over 52 weeks is £538.46 a week, and at 37.5 hours that is £14.36 an hour. If you would rather skip the arithmetic, our UK salary to hourly rate converter does it in one step.
Two things catch people out. First, some contracts base the overtime rate on basic pay only, while others include regular allowances such as shift pay. The calculator uses whatever hourly rate you enter, so enter the rate your employer really applies. Second, overtime is often paid a pay period late. Hours worked in March may turn up on the April payslip, which is why a payslip and a timesheet do not always line up. That is normal, but worth knowing before you suspect an error.
This is also how overtime pay on a payslip usually looks: a separate line showing hours, rate and amount, added to basic pay to reach gross pay before anything is deducted.
Time and a half, double time and other rates
Time and a half is the most common premium in the UK. Double time is rarer and tends to be saved for bank holidays, Sundays or very unsociable hours. The table shows what each rate pays per hour at a few base rates, rounded to the nearest penny. The £12.71 row is the national living wage for people aged 21 and over.
| Base rate | 1.25x | 1⅓x | 1.5x | 2x |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £12.71 | £15.89 | £16.95 | £19.07 | £25.42 |
| £15.00 | £18.75 | £20.00 | £22.50 | £30.00 |
| £18.00 | £22.50 | £24.00 | £27.00 | £36.00 |
| £20.00 | £25.00 | £26.67 | £30.00 | £40.00 |
| £25.00 | £31.25 | £33.33 | £37.50 | £50.00 |
Overtime pay per hour at common multipliers, before tax.
What one overtime hour pays at £15 an hour
So what is time and a half pay in the UK in practice? It is a contractual premium of 50 percent on top of your normal rate. Nothing in the law forces it, but once it is written into your contract your employer has to honour it, and the same goes for double time. If you want a quick time and a half calculator UK employees can trust, choose 1.5x in the overtime rate list. For a double time calculator UK shift workers can use, choose 2x, or add it as a second row next to your time and a half hours.
Is overtime taxed more than normal pay?
No. HMRC does not have a special overtime rate. Your overtime is added to your basic pay and the total is taxed in the normal way through PAYE, with National Insurance on top. So how is overtime taxed in the UK? Exactly like the rest of your wages.
Then why does it feel as though it is taxed more? Because the extra pounds are taxed at your highest rate, not your average one. The first £12,570 of the year is tax free, so your average rate is low, but each extra pound lands on top of everything else and is taxed at the rate for the band you are in. That is your marginal rate, and it decides how much of an overtime payment you keep.
For most people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland the marginal rate is 20 percent income tax plus 8 percent National Insurance, so you keep 72p of every pound. Once total pay goes above £50,270 a year, income tax rises to 40 percent while National Insurance drops to 2 percent, leaving you with 58p. Here is the picture for every £100 of overtime in 2026/27.
| Band | Tax | NI | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rate | 20% | 8% | £72 |
| Higher rate | 40% | 2% | £58 |
| £100k-125k | about 60% | 2% | about £38 |
| Additional | 45% | 2% | £53 |
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, per £100 of overtime.
Scotland has its own income tax bands, which changes the picture. The higher rate is 42 percent and it starts earlier than in the rest of the UK, so someone in the Scottish higher band keeps noticeably less of each overtime pound than a colleague on the same pay in England.
| Band | Tax | NI | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 19% | 8% | £73 |
| Basic | 20% | 8% | £72 |
| Intermediate | 21% | 8% | £71 |
| Higher | 42% | 8% / 2% | £50 / £56 |
| Advanced | 45% | 2% | £53 |
| Top | 48% | 2% | £50 |
Scotland, per £100 of overtime. In the Higher row, NI is 8% until total pay reaches £50,270 and 2% after that.
Where each £100 of overtime goes, 2026/27
The unlucky zone sits between £100,000 and £125,140. Your personal allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 you earn above £100,000, which adds an effective extra 20 percent on top of the 40 percent rate. Overtime in that band keeps roughly £38 in every £100, before any student loan. If you are near £100,000, it is worth checking whether the extra hours are worth it, or whether a higher pension contribution would bring your income back down.
One more detail explains why a single payslip can look odd. Income tax is worked out cumulatively through the tax year, while National Insurance is worked out on each pay period by itself. The calculator estimates income tax on a full-year basis and National Insurance on the pay period, which is how payroll sees them, so a one-off heavy week can show a little more tax on your real payslip than it does here.
Worked examples with real numbers
These examples come straight from the calculator, so you can type the same figures in and get the same answers. Each is one week with five hours of overtime at time and a half, using 2026/27 rates and tax code 1257L.
| Case | Overtime | You keep | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rate | £112.50 | £81.00 | 72% |
| Scotland | £112.50 | £79.93 | 71% |
| Higher rate | £211.54 | £122.69 | 58% |
| Plan 2 loan | £112.50 | £72.00 | 64% |
| £105k salary | £403.85 | £155.93 | 39% |
Overtime before deductions, the amount that reaches your pocket, and the share kept.
- Basic rate: £15 an hour, 37.5 normal hours, living in England. The overtime is worth £112.50 and lifts take-home pay from £472.71 to £553.71, so £81.00 reaches you.
- Scotland: the same pay under Scottish bands. Take-home with overtime is £553.40 and the overtime adds £79.93, a little less than in England.
- Higher rate: a £55,000 salary, which is £28.21 an hour. Time and a half is £42.31 an hour, so five hours is £211.54, and £122.69 of it is yours.
- Plan 2 loan: the basic rate case with a Plan 2 student loan. Without overtime, weekly pay of £562.50 sits under the £565.09 threshold, so there is no repayment. The overtime lifts it to £675.00 and the loan takes £9.00, which is why only £72.00 is kept.
- £105k salary: in the shrinking-allowance zone, only £155.93 of £403.85 survives.
Student loan, pension and tax code
A student loan is the deduction people forget most often. Repayments are 9 percent of pay above your plan's threshold, or 6 percent above £21,000 for a postgraduate loan, and they are taken on each pay period. Overtime that lifts one payslip over the line can start a repayment that was not there the month before.
| Plan | Per year | Per month | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | £2,241.66 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | £2,448.75 | 9% |
| Plan 4 | £33,795 | £2,816.25 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | £2,083.33 | 9% |
| Postgraduate | £21,000 | £1,750.00 | 6% |
Student loan repayment thresholds for 2026/27.
To see how long a plan will take to clear, try our student loan repayment calculator.
Pension contributions change the maths too, and how your scheme takes them matters:
- Salary sacrifice takes the contribution off your pay before both income tax and National Insurance, so it saves the most.
- Net pay arrangement takes it off before income tax only. National Insurance is still worked out on the full pay.
- Relief at source takes it from your take-home pay and your provider claims basic rate tax relief. Higher rate taxpayers claim the rest through their tax return.
Whether overtime counts as pensionable pay depends on your scheme rules, so check before assuming the percentage applies to the extra hours.
Your tax code controls how much pay is tax free. 1257L is the standard one. A K code adds to your taxable pay instead of reducing it, which can make overtime look harshly taxed. A BR, D0 or D1 code, often given to a second job, taxes every pound at one flat rate. If your overtime is in a second job, check that job's code first. To see your ordinary take-home pay before any overtime, our UK take-home salary calculator gives it in a click.
Bank holiday, weekend and night overtime
Most employers pay a bigger premium for hours that cut into your free time. The table shows what is common, not what is required, so always check it against your contract.
| Situation | Common rate | At £15/hr |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday evening | 1.25x-1.5x | £18.75-£22.50 |
| Saturday | 1.5x | £22.50 |
| Sunday | 1.5x-2x | £22.50-£30.00 |
| Bank holiday | 2x | £30.00 |
| Night shift | 1⅓x | £20.00 |
Typical premiums. They come from contracts and custom, not from the law.
Bank holiday overtime is where the Add another rate button earns its place. Enter your weekday hours on one row, then the bank holiday hours on a second row at double time, and the calculator adds them together. To see how many bank holidays land inside a pay period, our UK date calculator with bank holidays shows the dates for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and counts working days too.
If your employer offers time off in lieu instead of money, the calculator can still help. Enter the extra hours at the flat 1x rate to see what the time off is worth in cash, then decide which you would rather have.
Unpaid overtime: what it costs you
Not every extra hour is paid. Many salaried people stay an extra few hours most weeks with nothing to show for it on the payslip. You can use this page as an unpaid overtime calculator UK employees can run in a minute. Tap Salary, enter your annual salary, enter your contracted hours as the normal hours, and add your extra hours as overtime at the flat 1x rate. The overtime pay figure is the value of the time you gave away.
| Salary | Hourly | 5 hrs a week | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| £24,000 | £12.31 | £61.54 | £3,200 |
| £28,000 | £14.36 | £71.79 | £3,733 |
| £35,000 | £17.95 | £89.74 | £4,667 |
| £45,000 | £23.08 | £115.38 | £6,000 |
Value of five unpaid hours a week on a 37.5 hour contract, before tax.
On £28,000 and a 37.5 hour contract, five unpaid hours a week are worth about £71.79 a week, or £3,733 a year. Spread that salary across a 42.5 hour week and your real hourly rate drops from £14.36 to £12.67.
Whether you can claim for the hours depends on your contract and on what your employer has agreed. A sensible first step is to keep a simple log of the hours and raise it with your manager. If you think you are owed money, ACAS offers free advice. This page is general information and not legal advice.
Working time rules and holiday pay
Overtime sits inside the Working Time Regulations, which set limits so that extra hours do not wear people out. The main points for adults are:
- An average of no more than 48 hours a week, normally measured over 17 weeks, unless you agree in writing to opt out
- A rest break of at least 20 minutes if you work more than six hours
- 11 hours of rest between working days
- One uninterrupted day off a week, or two days off a fortnight
Workers under 18 have stricter limits: no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, with no opt-out. An opt-out removes the 48 hour average only. Breaks, rest periods and holiday still apply.
Overtime also affects holiday pay. Holiday pay is meant to reflect your normal earnings, so regular overtime is generally included when the first four weeks of your annual leave are paid. Compulsory overtime counts, and voluntary overtime counts when it is regular enough to be part of your normal pay. How your employer calculates this is worth a quick question to payroll if you work a lot of overtime.
Mistakes that skew overtime figures
Most overtime sums go wrong in the same few places:
- Mixing a monthly salary with weekly hours. Set the pay period first, then enter hours for that period.
- Typing 7.30 when you mean 7 hours 30 minutes. Use 7:30 or 7.5.
- Using 1.33 for time and a third. The true multiplier is one and a third, and the calculator has it ready in the list.
- Forgetting that overtime is often paid a pay period late.
- Judging take-home pay from a single busy week. Tax is spread across the year, so one large payslip can overstate the deductions.
- Leaving out a student loan or pension that comes off the same payslip.
- Using the wrong tax code, especially on a second job.
Figures on this page were last checked in October 2026 against GOV.UK for the 2026/27 tax year. They are estimates for guidance. Your payslip is the final word, and nothing here is tax or legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
How is overtime calculated in the UK?
Multiply your hourly rate by the overtime rate your employer pays, then by the overtime hours worked. At £15 an hour, five hours at time and a half is £15 × 1.5 × 5 = £112.50. If you are on a salary, divide it by 52 and then by your weekly hours to get the hourly rate first. The calculator above does both steps for you.
How do you calculate time and a half pay?
Time and a half means 1.5 times your normal hourly rate. Work out the new hourly figure, then multiply it by the hours of overtime. For example, £12 an hour becomes £18 an hour, and six hours of overtime pays £108 before tax. Pick 1.5x in the overtime rate list and the calculator shows the same result.
Is overtime taxed more than regular pay?
No. HMRC has no separate overtime rate. Overtime is added to your basic pay and taxed through PAYE like the rest of your wages. It can feel heavier because the extra money is taxed at your top rate, usually 20 percent tax plus 8 percent National Insurance, or 40 percent plus 2 percent once pay passes £50,270.
How is overtime taxed in the UK?
Overtime is part of your gross pay for the period. Income tax is applied using your tax code and the bands for where you live, and National Insurance is worked out on the pay for that period. Student loan repayments and pension contributions are then taken as well. Switch on the Tax & take-home tab to see each deduction.
Do employers have to pay time and a half in the UK?
No. There is no law that sets time and a half or any other premium for overtime. The rate comes from your contract, a collective agreement or company policy. If your contract promises time and a half, your employer has to pay it. If it says nothing, the extra hours may simply be paid at your normal rate.
Is overtime pay a legal requirement in the UK?
Not as such. The law protects the minimum wage and sets working time limits, but it does not say every extra hour must be paid at a higher rate, or in some salaried jobs paid at all. Your right to overtime pay depends on your contract and on what your employer has agreed in writing or by regular practice.
What is the minimum overtime rate in the UK?
There is no statutory minimum overtime rate. The only fixed floor is the national minimum wage, which still applies to your basic hours: £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026, £10.85 for 18 to 20, and £8.00 for under 18s and apprentices. Anything above that is a matter for your contract.
What is double time and when is it paid?
Double time pays twice your normal hourly rate. It is not a legal right, but many employers use it for bank holidays, Sundays or very late shifts. At £15 an hour, double time is £30 an hour. Choose 2x in the calculator, or add it as a separate rate beside your time and a half hours.
How much overtime can I legally work?
Most adults cannot be made to work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally measured over 17 weeks, unless they have agreed to opt out in writing. Under 18s are limited to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week and cannot opt out. Rest breaks and rest between shifts still apply.
Does overtime count towards holiday pay?
Often yes. Regular overtime generally has to be included when your holiday pay is worked out for the first four weeks of annual leave, because holiday pay should reflect your normal earnings. Compulsory overtime counts, and voluntary overtime counts if it is regular enough. Ask your payroll team how your employer calculates it.
Can I claim for unpaid overtime?
It depends on your contract. If it promises payment or time off for extra hours, you can ask for it. Many salaried contracts expect reasonable additional hours with no extra pay. Keep a record of the hours, raise it with your employer first, and speak to ACAS if you think you are owed money. Use the calculator on the flat 1x rate to see what the hours are worth.
Why does my overtime payslip look lower than the calculator?
The usual causes are a different tax code, a student loan or pension you forgot to enter, overtime paid a pay period late, or a single heavy month that pushed more tax and National Insurance into one payslip. Open See the working to compare each line with your payslip. Small differences of a few pence come from payroll rounding.
Does the calculator work for Scotland and Wales?
Yes. Pick Scotland, Wales or England & N. Ireland under Where you pay tax. Scotland uses its own six income tax bands, and Wales uses the same bands as England. If your tax code starts with S or C, the calculator reads that too.
Does overtime affect my student loan repayments?
It can. Repayments are 9 percent of pay above your plan's threshold, or 6 percent above £21,000 for a postgraduate loan, and they are worked out on each pay period. A week or month with a lot of overtime can lift you over the threshold and start a repayment that you did not pay the month before.
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