Flat amount per hour
A common setup adds a fixed premium to each qualifying hour. With a $20.00 base rate and a $2.00 night premium, those hours carry an effective rate of $22.00 before any separate overtime is worked out.
Free U.S. shift pay calculator
Shift Differential: work out the premium on each shift
Figure evening, night, weekend, or other shift premiums as a flat amount per hour or as a percentage of the base rate. You’ll see the premium itself, the effective rate for each shift, total straight-time pay, and — if the week runs past 40 hours — a federal regular-rate overtime view.
Runs in your browser. Base rates, premiums, hours, and the pay figures it produces stay on this page while you work.
Lay out the week’s shifts
Type a single base hourly rate, then add the hours and premium for each kind of shift. Give regular day hours a zero premium if you want the whole week included.
Shift premium totals
Shift premium for the week—
The extra pay produced by the flat-dollar and percentage premiums you entered, not counting the separate federal overtime premium shown below when it applies.
Hours, all shifts—
Pay at the base rate—
Straight-time pay with premiums—
Blended straight-time rate—
Hours past 40—
Federal regular rate—
Added overtime premium—
Modeled gross pay—
How the figures were reached
—What the result assumes
Each shift, line by line
Stays in your browserThe rates and hours you enter never leave the calculator.
Just the arithmeticTotals the shift premiums and effective rates you supply.
Federal starting point onlyThe overtime view leaves out state, industry, contract, and collective-bargaining rules.
The key shift-pay formulasFlat premium pay = qualifying hours × premium per hour
Percentage premium per hour = base hourly rate × premium %
Effective shift rate = base hourly rate + premium per hour
Percentage premium per hour = base hourly rate × premium %
Effective shift rate = base hourly rate + premium per hour
What a shift differential calculation really measures
Shift differential pay is extra compensation tied to a particular shift or schedule. A pay policy might set it as a fixed amount for each qualifying hour — “$2.00 an hour on nights,” for instance — or as a share of the base rate, such as a “10% evening premium.” The calculator turns either kind into the dollar amount owed for the hours you enter and shows the effective hourly rate on each line.
That split helps when reading an earnings statement. One statement may print the premium on its own line, another may fold it into the hourly rate, and a third may roll several shift types into one total. Separating base pay from premium pay makes those layouts easier to reconcile, without assuming every employer prints the line the same way.
Typical premium setups
Premiums for evenings, nights, weekends, and special shifts
“Shift differential” describes a kind of pay, not one standard percentage or dollar figure. Employers set their own schedules, qualifying hours, and premium structures, so enter whichever rule applies to the situation you are checking.
Percentage of the base rate
Some policies express the premium as a percentage. Ten percent of a $20.00 base rate comes to $2.00 an hour, and when the base rate changes, the dollar value of a percentage premium changes with it.
Several shift types in one week
A worker might have regular, evening, and night hours in the same week. Put each type on its own line so the calculator can show the premium for each and the blended effect across every hour.
A shift premium can change the federal overtime regular rate
The U.S. Department of Labor explains that pay for hours worked, shift differentials included, generally goes into the regular rate unless a specific statutory exclusion applies. So multiplying only the base rate by 1.5 can understate the federal overtime rate in some situations. When the week passes 40 hours, this page feeds the shift-adjusted rates into the same weighted regular-rate math as PayStubCheck’s Weighted Overtime Calculator.
This calculator does not decide FLSA coverage, overtime exemption, or whether a premium can legally be left out, and it doesn’t apply state daily overtime, double time, prevailing wage, collective-bargaining, or special-industry rules that could change the answer.
On an earnings statement
Where shift premiums show up on pay records
There is no single standard label for shift premiums on a pay stub. The same idea might print as its own earnings line, a premium code, an adjusted hourly rate, or one combined figure. Knowing the arithmetic lets you compare the hours and rates underneath, not just the label.
Premium on its own line
A statement could show “Regular 40.00 × $20.00” and, below it, “Night Diff 16.00 × $2.00.” Laid out that way, the $32 premium sits apart from the $800 of base pay.
Premium folded into the rate
A different payroll system might print night hours at $22.00 instead of a $20.00 base plus a $2.00 premium. The line-by-line breakdown here shows both views so the math still lines up.
Different percentages by shift
Some employers pay one percentage for evenings and another for nights or weekends. Give each premium structure its own line; every percentage is converted to dollars per hour before the premiums are added up.
How the federal method works, with official sources
The optional overtime view follows the basic federal regular-rate framework set out by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. DOL Fact Sheet #56A explains that the regular rate generally begins with the week’s total compensation that must be counted, divided by total hours worked. DOL Fact Sheet #54 gives shift-differential examples and treats shift differential pay as part of the regular rate in those federal examples.
Sources last checked: August 30, 2026. Recheck the official guidance whenever payroll rules, regulations, or their interpretation change.
Common questions
Shift Differential: questions answered
How the calculator does its math, and where it stops.
What counts as shift differential pay?
It is extra pay for working a particular shift, time of day, day of the week, or schedule — evening, night, weekend, near-holiday, hazard, or specialty-shift premiums are common examples. The employer’s own policy sets which hours qualify and how the premium is structured.
How do I work out a $2-an-hour shift premium?
Multiply $2 by the qualifying hours. Sixteen qualifying hours give a $32 premium. On a $20 base rate, those hours carry $22 an hour of straight-time pay before any separate overtime premium.
How do I work out a 10% shift premium?
Take 10% of the base hourly rate. On a $20 base, that is $2 an hour; multiply the $2 by the qualifying hours to get the premium.
Can a shift premium raise overtime pay?
It can change the federal regular-rate calculation. DOL guidance treats shift differentials paid for work as part of the regular rate in the federal examples it publishes, so this calculator includes your shift-adjusted rates in its basic federal overtime view whenever total hours pass 40.
Why does the overtime premium use just half the regular rate?
The shift lines already pay straight time for every hour you enter, including any past 40. With that setup, the basic federal model adds one more half of the regular rate for each overtime hour, bringing the total to time-and-a-half. Other pay arrangements may need a different analysis.
Can one week mix day shifts and night shifts?
Yes. Put regular or day hours on a line with a zero premium, then add separate evening, night, weekend, or other lines with their own flat-dollar or percentage premium.
Does it handle California daily overtime or double time?
No. The overtime view covers only the basic federal rule for hours beyond 40 in a workweek. State and local law, collective agreements, industry rules, and other pay requirements may work differently.
Does the result show that a pay stub is correct?
No. The tool checks the arithmetic of the situation you enter. It does not confirm employment, who the employer is, hours actually worked, pay policy, whether a document is genuine, exemption status, or legal compliance.
Are my rates and hours saved?
The math runs in your browser. The base rate, premiums, hours, and resulting pay amounts are not sent to a PayStubCheck server for calculation. Analytics only record usage details that aren’t pay figures, such as how many shift lines were used, the premium type, and whether the week went past 40 hours.