This guide shows how to use the Hourly + OT variant to mirror your paystub with minimal inputs.
Wrap‑up
Use your latest paystub as ground truth, then adjust Fed % / State % until net matches closely. Save the page and reuse next pay period.
A simple frame for hourly workers
Hourly pay is wonderfully transparent: rate × hours. The moment overtime enters the picture, clarity can wobble because you’re suddenly dealing with multiple pay rates in the same week. The fastest way to get back to clarity is to separate the hours you worked into three piles—regular, time‑and‑a‑half, and double‑time—then let the calculator apply the right multipliers.
When you open the Hourly + OT view, enter your base rate and your regular hours first. Only after that add the overtime buckets. This order matters because it gives you a quick sense check: the regular portion should already look familiar when you compare it to your last check. The overtime portion simply stacks on top.
Treat overtime like a feature, not a surprise bill. If you plan to take on extra shifts, pre‑fill the calculator and see how the extra pay changes your net. You’ll make better choices when you see dollars, not just hours.
How to enter hours (without second‑guessing)
Pick one workweek. If your employer’s week resets on Sunday night, mirror that. Count up the hours that were paid at your base rate—those go in Regular. Hours that your employer paid at 1.5× go in the OT box. If your job uses any 2.0× periods (long shifts, holidays, seventh day), put those hours in the DT box.
A quick gut‑check: multiply your rate by regular hours; that subtotal should match the regular earnings line on your check. If it doesn’t, re‑check meal breaks, unpaid time, or shift differentials. It’s fine to be approximate here, but try to be systematically approximate.
Don’t blend different pay periods. If you worked OT in two different weeks in the same pay period, run them as separate passes. You’ll learn more from two clean runs than from one soup of numbers.
Turn percentages into something useful
The Fed % and State % sliders are not tax law; they’re shortcuts that let you match reality quickly. Grab your last paystub and compute each percentage as withholding ÷ gross. Start with those and nudge by half‑percent steps until the net matches within a few dollars.
If your net is consistently lower than your paystub, you may be missing pre‑tax deductions (401k, HSA, commuter). Those reduce taxable wages. You can mimic that by trimming the percentages slightly, or by subtracting the deduction from gross before you compare.
On weeks with a lot of overtime, your withholding rate may look higher. That’s not the calculator being wrong—it’s how per‑check tables treat spikes in income. The yearly total settles when the dust clears at tax time.
A worked example you can copy
Suppose your base rate is $24/hour. You worked 36 regular hours, 6 hours at 1.5×, and 2 hours at 2.0×. Regular pay: 36 × $24 = $864. Overtime: 6 × $24 × 1.5 = $216. Double‑time: 2 × $24 × 2.0 = $96. Gross for the week: $1,176.
From a recent check you see federal withholding at 13% and state at 4.8%. Set Fed % to 13 and State % to 4.8. Your estimated net will land in the neighborhood of your real take‑home. If the last check included a pre‑tax $50 transit deduction, lower the percentages a hair or subtract the $50 mentally and compare again.
The point is not to memorize these numbers; it’s to create a small habit. Snapshot the percentages that match your real check and reuse them next time. Small, repeatable wins beat heroic precision that you can’t maintain.
When the numbers don’t make sense
If your gross feels off, check the hours bins. The most common mistake is slipping 1.5× or 2.0× hours into Regular. A second common mistake is forgetting that your employer counts the week from a different day than you do; align your week boundary and try again.
If your net is drifting, confirm pay frequency. Switching the toggle from weekly to biweekly can swing per‑check withholding. The yearly total is the same, but the per‑check math changes with period size.
Still off? Look at your benefits lines. Pre‑tax deductions move the goalposts; post‑tax deductions show up after taxes. Treat the percentages as dials and adjust them to match what your paycheck is actually doing.
Takeaways you can act on today
Enter regular hours first, then add OT/DT. Verify the regular subtotal against your check before moving on.
Compute Fed % and State % from your paystub and save them somewhere. Nudge when your situation changes.
Use the view as a planning tool. Before accepting a long shift, plug it in and see the net effect on your next check.