Overtime Calculator UK: See What Your Overtime Is Really Worth After Tax
- 2026/27 tax year
- 12 min read
You keep per overtime hour
£16.62
from £23.08 gross (1.5× your £15.38 basic rate). That's 72p of every overtime pound.
- Income tax 20%
- National Insurance 8%
- You keep 72%
- Gross overtime (per month)
- £230.77
- Income tax
- −£46.15
- National Insurance
- −£18.46
- Overtime take-home
- £166.16
Over a year that's £1,993.86 extra take-home from £2,769.23 of overtime.
Your monthly payslip (monthly pay, 12 pay periods a year)
| Each month | Without overtime | With overtime | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £2,500.00 | £2,730.77 | +£230.77 |
| Income tax | −£290.50 | −£336.65 | −£46.15 |
| National Insurance | −£116.16 | −£134.62 | −£18.46 |
| Take-home pay | £2,093.34 | £2,259.50 | +£166.16 |
Regular overtime is spread evenly across your 12 pay periods. Assumes tax code 1257L, no other income or benefits in kind, and 2026/27 rates. Relief at source pensions are shown at the 80% you pay; any higher-rate relief is claimed separately.
Use this free UK overtime calculator to work out exactly how much of your overtime pay lands in your bank account after income tax, National Insurance, and student loan deductions.
Enter your salary or hourly rate, your overtime hours, and your overtime rate, and the calculator shows your gross overtime pay, every deduction, and the number that really matters: how much you keep from each extra hour you work.
You'll also see a full pay-period summary showing what your whole payslip looks like with the overtime included, and you can print or save your results as a PDF. Overtime often looks great on paper and disappointing on your payslip; that gap is exactly what this tool explains. Updated for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027).
How to Calculate Overtime Pay in the UK
The basic overtime formula is simple:
Overtime pay = hourly rate × overtime multiplier × overtime hours
So if you earn £15 per hour and your employer pays time and a half (1.5x), each overtime hour is worth £22.50 before deductions. Ten hours of overtime in a month adds £225 to your gross pay.
Common overtime rates in the UK are:
| Overtime rate | What it means | £15/hour becomes |
|---|---|---|
| 1x (flat rate) | Same as your normal rate | £15.00 |
| 1.25x | Time and a quarter | £18.75 |
| 1.5x | Time and a half | £22.50 |
| 2x | Double time | £30.00 |
Overtime is normally calculated on your basic pay, not your gross pay. Bonuses, shift allowances and other extras usually don't count towards the hourly rate your overtime is based on, though your contract has the final say.
If you're salaried rather than hourly, first work out your hourly rate: divide your annual salary by 52, then by your contracted weekly hours. The calculator does this conversion for you automatically when you enter an annual salary. If you only need the hourly rate rather than the after-tax result, you can read your multiplied hourly rate straight from the calculator's breakdown before tax is applied.
£30,000 a year, 37.5-hour week
£30,000 ÷ 52 ÷ 37.5 = £15.38 per hour
How Many Hours Count as Overtime?
There's no single legal definition of overtime in the UK. Overtime is simply any time you work beyond the hours in your contract, whether your contract says 35, 37.5, or 40 hours a week. So the answer to “is it 40 hours or 37.5 hours?” is whatever your contract says.
Two legal points are worth knowing:
There is no legal right to extra pay for overtime.
Your employer doesn't have to pay a premium rate or pay for overtime at all, as long as your average pay for the total hours you work doesn't fall below the National Minimum Wage. Your contract sets out what you're entitled to. You can check the official rules on overtime and your rights at GOV.UK.
You can't normally be forced to work more than 48 hours a week on average.
The Working Time Regulations cap the average working week at 48 hours (usually averaged over 17 weeks), unless you've signed an opt-out. So working 60 or 70 hours in a single busy week isn't illegal, but a sustained pattern of more than 48 hours requires your written agreement.
Do You Pay 40% Tax on Overtime? (The Big Myth)
This is the question everyone asks, so let's clear it up: overtime is not taxed at a special or higher rate. There is no “overtime tax” in the UK.
Your overtime pay is simply added to your other income and taxed through the same bands as the rest of your pay. What confuses people is marginal tax: because overtime sits on top of your salary, it's taxed at your highest rate, the rate that applies to your last pound of income, not your average rate.
Crucially, crossing a threshold does not mean your whole income is taxed at the higher rate. If your salary is £48,000 and overtime takes you to £52,000, only the £1,730 above £50,270 is taxed at 40%. Everything below is taxed exactly as before.
Here are the income tax bands for 2026/27 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (Scotland has different bands, see below):
| Band | Income | Tax rate |
|---|---|---|
| Personal allowance | Up to £12,570 | 0% |
| Basic rate | £12,571 – £50,270 | 20% |
| Higher rate | £50,271 – £125,140 | 40% |
| Additional rate | Over £125,140 | 45% |
These figures come from the official income tax rates at GOV.UK.
The full picture: tax + National Insurance + student loan
Income tax isn't the only deduction on overtime. National Insurance and student loan repayments come out too, and it's the combination that makes overtime feel heavily taxed.
For 2026/27, most employees pay National Insurance at 8% on monthly earnings between £1,048 and £4,189 and 2% above that. Student loan repayments are 9% of income above your plan's threshold (6% for postgraduate loans).
Basic-rate earner on £30,000 with a Plan 2 student loan
- Income tax20%
- National Insurance8%
- Student loan9%
Total deduction on each overtime pound: 37%, you keep 63p in the pound
Higher-rate earner on £55,000 with a Plan 2 loan
- Income tax40%
- National Insurance2%
- Student loan9%
Total deduction on each overtime pound: 51%, you keep 49p in the pound
That second example is why higher earners often say overtime “isn't worth it”. A £20/hour overtime rate becomes £9.80/hour in your pocket. Whether that's worth your evening is your call, but at least now you know the real number. The calculator above works this out for your exact situation, and our take-home pay calculator shows the same picture for your full salary.
Different National Insurance rates
Not everyone pays the standard 8% NI. If you've reached state pension age, you pay no employee National Insurance at all, which makes overtime noticeably more rewarding.
A small number of married women still hold the pre-1977 reduced-rate election (1.85%), and if you've deferred NI on a second job, that job is charged at just 2% throughout. The calculator lets you pick your NI category (it's the letter shown on your payslip) or enter custom rates if your situation is unusual.
What about Scotland?
Scotland sets its own income tax bands, with six bands instead of three, including a 42% higher rate that starts at £43,663, almost £7,000 earlier than in the rest of the UK. National Insurance and student loan rules are the same UK-wide. Use the Scotland toggle in the calculator to apply Scottish bands.
£43,663
Scottish 42% rate starts (GOV.UK)
Why One Big Overtime Month Looks Over-Taxed (PAYE Explained)
This catches almost everyone out. You do loads of overtime one month, and the tax deduction looks brutal, far worse than the rates above suggest. Then people conclude overtime pushed them “into the next bracket” permanently. It didn't. Here's what's actually happening.
- 1
PAYE works cumulatively
Each month you get 1/12th of your personal allowance (£1,047.50) and 1/12th of your basic-rate band. Your employer's payroll looks at everything you've earned so far this tax year and taxes the year-to-date total, minus what you've already paid.
- 2
A heavy month spills over
So in a heavy overtime month, your earnings for that month can spill into the 40% band for that month, even if your annual income will finish below £50,270.
- 3
It corrects itself
In the quieter months that follow, your allowance and basic-rate band keep accruing, the year-to-date maths rebalances, and the extra tax comes back through smaller deductions. If your total income for the year stays under the higher-rate threshold, you pay no 40% tax overall: no forms, no claims, and no waiting for a refund.
The same per-period logic applies to National Insurance and student loans, but with a difference: NI is not cumulative. It's assessed on each pay period in isolation and never rebalances.
A big overtime month means more of your pay sits in the 8% NI band for that month, and that's final. Student loans work per pay period too, though if your annual income ends up below the yearly threshold, you can ask the Student Loans Company for a refund of those deductions after the tax year ends.
Income tax
Cumulative: rebalances
National Insurance
Per period: final
Student loan
Per period: refund possible
Watch Out for These Tax Traps
A few income levels punish overtime much harder than the headline rates suggest:
£50,270
The higher-rate threshold
Deductions jump from 28% to 42% (or 37% to 51% with a student loan). If regular overtime keeps pushing you just over this line, it's worth checking whether pension contributions could keep you under it.
£60,000 – £80,000
Child Benefit charge
If you or your partner claims Child Benefit, adjusted income in this range triggers the High Income Child Benefit Charge, which claws back 1% of the benefit for every £200 over £60,000. With two children, this adds roughly 12% to your effective marginal rate.
£100,000
The 60% trap
Above £100,000 of adjusted income, you lose £1 of personal allowance for every £2 of income. The effect: income between £100,000 and £125,140 is taxed at an effective 60% (plus 2% NI, plus any student loan). Overtime in this zone can return less than 30p in the pound. This band also costs families their tax-free childcare and free childcare hours, a genuine cliff edge.
The calculator warns you automatically when your overtime lands in any of these zones.
Is Overtime Worth It? How to Decide
The healthiest way to think about overtime is net pay per hour: after all deductions, what does one hour of your evening or weekend actually pay? That's the headline figure our overtime calculator gives you.
A few principles from people who've done the maths:
More is still more.
Even at a 51% deduction rate, you keep 49% of something rather than 100% of nothing. Turning down overtime purely “because of tax” only makes sense if the net hourly rate genuinely isn't worth your time.
Salary sacrifice changes the equation completely.
If your employer offers a salary sacrifice pension, redirecting overtime earnings into your pension avoids income tax, National Insurance and student loan deductions on that money.
£49
in your pocket
£100
in your pension
For a higher-rate earner, £100 of overtime becomes £49 in your pocket, or £100 in your pension. The calculator shows you this comparison whenever your deductions are heavy, and choosing “Salary sacrifice” as your pension type in the calculator models it in full for your own numbers.
Regular overtime may count towards holiday pay.
If you work overtime regularly enough that it forms part of your normal pay, UK case law says it should be reflected in at least four weeks of your holiday pay. Your holiday pay should reflect your average pay, including regular overtime; it's worth checking against your last few holiday payslips.
NHS Overtime Pay
NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts have specific overtime rules: staff in bands 1 to 7 receive time and a half for hours beyond 37.5 per week and double time for work on general public holidays. Staff in bands 8 and 9 don't normally qualify for overtime rates. Part-time NHS staff receive plain time until they exceed full-time hours (37.5), after which overtime rates apply.
Enter your NHS band's hourly rate with the 1.5x or 2x multiplier in the calculator above to see your NHS overtime pay after deductions, including your pension contribution if you enter your NHS pension rate.
Bands 1–7
1.5x beyond 37.5 hours, 2x on general public holidays
Bands 8–9
Not normally eligible, for overtime rates
Part-time
Plain time to 37.5 hours, overtime rates after that
Frequently Asked Questions
Is overtime taxed more in the UK?
No. There's no separate tax rate for overtime. It's added to your normal income and taxed through the same bands. It can feel taxed more because overtime sits on top of your salary, so it's taxed at your highest marginal rate rather than your average rate.
Do I legally have to be paid extra for overtime?
No. UK law doesn't require premium overtime rates, only that your average pay across all hours worked stays at or above the National Minimum Wage. Your contract determines your overtime rate.
Is overtime 1.5x or 2x in the UK?
It depends entirely on your employer and contract. Time and a half (1.5x) is common for weekday and Saturday overtime; double time (2x) is often reserved for Sundays and bank holidays. Some employers pay a flat rate (1x), and that's legal.
How much can I earn before paying 40% tax?
£50,270 in 2026/27 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland; the Scottish 42% rate starts at £43,663). Only income above the threshold is taxed at the higher rate; your income below it is unaffected.
Will I get my overtime tax back?
If a heavy overtime month temporarily pushes you into a higher band but your annual income stays below the threshold, PAYE corrects it automatically over the following months, no claim needed. National Insurance doesn't rebalance, as it's calculated per pay period. Student loan deductions can be refunded after the tax year ends if your annual income was below your plan's yearly threshold.
Do I pay National Insurance on overtime after the state pension age?
No. Once you reach state pension age, you stop paying employee National Insurance entirely (your NI category changes to C), so overtime is only reduced by income tax. Select “over state pension age” in the calculator to see the difference: a basic-rate pensioner keeps 80p of every overtime pound instead of 72p.
Does overtime affect student loan repayments?
Yes. Student loan deductions are calculated per pay period, so a big overtime month can trigger repayments (or larger ones) that month: 9% of pay above your plan's monthly threshold.
What is £17.50 an hour of overtime worth after tax?
For a basic-rate taxpayer (no student loan), about £12.60 per hour after 20% tax and 8% NI. For a higher-rate taxpayer with a Plan 2 loan, about £8.58 per hour after the combined 51% deduction. Use the calculator above for your exact figure.
Work Out Your Real Overtime Pay Now
Overtime decisions are easier with real numbers. This overtime calculator shows you what each extra hour is genuinely worth for the 2026/27 tax year, after income tax, National Insurance, and student loans, along with your full pay-period picture, so you can decide whether the extra shift is worth your time; spot when a pension contribution would serve you better than cash; and print or save the results to compare against your payslip. Scroll back up, enter your figures, and see what you'd actually keep.
Results are estimates, not financial advice. See our Disclaimer. Questions or corrections: [contact email].