Free hourly paycheck calculator
Hourly Paycheck Calculator (Free & Accurate)
Estimate what your hours may be worth before payday. Add your rate, regular hours, overtime, and a rough deduction percentage to see a clear gross-pay and take-home estimate.
- Regular and overtime pay
- Taxes and deductions explained
- Free—no bank login needed
Free to start · No bank connection required · Estimates only
Interactive estimate
Hourly paycheck estimate
Enter one week of regular and overtime hours, then use a rough withholding percentage to see how gross and take-home estimates differ.
Estimated gross earnings
$855.00
- $720.00 regular pay
- $135.00 overtime pay
- $701.10 rough take-home after 18%
Estimate only. Actual pay, overtime eligibility, taxes, expenses, deductions, and employer rules may differ. WageSpring does not provide payroll, tax, or legal advice.
How hourly pay works
Hourly pay starts with a straightforward idea: you earn a set amount for each paid hour. Your paycheck can still change from period to period because hours, breaks, overtime, taxes, and deductions all affect the final amount.
For a basic gross-pay estimate, multiply your hourly rate by the number of paid hours. If you earn $18 per hour and work 36 paid hours, your estimated gross wages are $648. Paid hours may be lower than the time between clock-in and clock-out when you take an unpaid meal break.
Hourly rate × paid hours = estimated regular gross pay
Your pay period matters too. A weekly check usually covers one week, while a biweekly check often combines two weeks. Add the hours from the dates included in that pay period rather than assuming every check represents the same amount of work.
Gross pay is not take-home pay
Gross pay is what you earned before withholding and deductions. Take-home pay is what remains after federal, state, and local withholding and any workplace deductions. A free hourly paycheck calculator can help you plan, but your payroll system determines the actual check.
Add overtime to your hourly paycheck estimate
Overtime can make a meaningful difference, but it should be calculated separately from regular hours.
A common overtime rate is time-and-a-half, or 1.5 times the regular rate. At $20 per hour, the time-and-a-half rate is $30 per hour. If you work 40 regular hours and 5 overtime hours, the gross estimate is $800 plus $150, for a total of $950.
| Example | Calculation | Estimated result |
|---|---|---|
| $16/hour | 40 regular hours + 4 hours at $24 | $736 gross |
| $20/hour | 40 regular hours + 5 hours at $30 | $950 gross |
| $24/hour | 40 regular hours + 8 hours at $36 | $1,248 gross |
Eligibility and thresholds vary by job and location. Some workers receive daily overtime, double time, or a special rate under a union agreement. Confirm the rules that apply to you before treating an estimate as final.
Understand taxes and paycheck deductions
Your gross estimate answers what the work is worth before anything comes out. Your deposited amount can be lower for several reasons.
Taxes and withholding
Employers may withhold federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state or local taxes. Withholding depends on your earnings, location, and tax forms, so a single percentage is only a planning shortcut.
Workplace deductions
Health insurance, retirement contributions, union dues, garnishments, and other elections may also appear. Some are pre-tax and some are after-tax. Review each line on your pay statement instead of assuming every difference is a tax.
How to make your paycheck estimate more accurate
A calculator becomes more useful when the information going into it matches the way you actually work.
- Use paid hours. Subtract unpaid meal breaks and any unpaid time away.
- Separate rates. Track shifts at the rate that applied, especially after a raise or across multiple jobs.
- Separate overtime. Do not multiply every hour by the overtime rate.
- Match the pay-period dates. A shift outside the payroll cutoff may land on the next check.
- Use recent deductions. Benefits and withholding can change over time.
WageSpring lets you record each shift instead of reconstructing the entire pay period from memory. That creates a practical running estimate you can compare with the paycheck that arrives.
A calculator gives one answer; a tracker follows the whole pay period
A one-time calculation is helpful before or after a shift. A paycheck tracker is better when schedules change throughout the week.
With WageSpring, you can log individual shifts, unpaid breaks, different pay rates, and overtime settings. You can then see an estimated paycheck alongside upcoming bills and savings goals. This does not replace payroll; it gives you an independent record built from the details you enter.
Start with the calculator above, then create a free account to keep your shifts together. You can also use the dedicated overtime pay calculator, read the step-by-step paycheck guide, or explore the full hourly pay tracker.