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Illinois Overtime Pay Laws & Calculator

How overtime works for hourly employees in Illinois, plus a free calculator to estimate your own pay.

The rules

Source: 29 U.S.C. § 207 (federal FLSA)

  • Overtime applies after 40 hours in a single workweek, paid at 1.5x your regular hourly rate.
  • Illinois has no separate state-law daily-overtime or double-time requirement -- only the weekly threshold above applies.

Worked example

Take a non-exempt hourly employee in Illinois earning $20.00/hour who works 45 hours in one workweek (nine hours a day, Monday through Friday). Applying Illinois's rules above:

Regular pay (40 hrs)$800.00Overtime pay (5 hrs @ 1.5x)$150.00Total pay$950.00

Use the full calculator to plug in your own rate, hours, and pay period — including estimated federal and Illinois tax withholding.

Illinois minimum wage and exempt-salary rules

Minimum wage
$15.00/hour statewide for workers 18 and older, unchanged since January 1, 2025 (the final step of a phased increase that started in 2020). Cook County sets its own higher rate, rising to $15.40/hour on July 1, 2026; Chicago's is higher still. (Illinois Department of Labor, Minimum Wage Law)
Tipped employees
Employers may take a tip credit of up to 40% of the minimum wage, paying as little as $9.00/hour (60% of $15.00) in direct cash wages -- as long as tips bring total pay up to the full $15.00/hour for every hour worked. (Illinois Department of Labor, Minimum Wage Law)
Exempt (salaried) employee salary threshold
Illinois hasn't set its own higher exempt-salary threshold -- the federal minimum of $684/week ($35,568/year) applies for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions. (Illinois Department of Labor, Minimum Wage Law)

Common mistake: Workers and employers in the Chicago area often apply the statewide $15.00/hour rate when a higher local rate actually applies -- Cook County (rising to $15.40/hour on July 1, 2026) and Chicago itself both set their own minimum wages above the state floor, and the higher local rate controls for work performed there.

Example: biweekly confusion in Illinois

Same hourly rate ($20.00/hour), 35 hours in week 1 and 45 hours in week 2 — 80 hours total either way:

WeekRegularOvertimeWeek 1 (35 hrs)35 hrs0 hrsWeek 2 (45 hrs)40 hrs5 hrsBiweekly total$1,650.00

Week 2 still owes 5 overtime hours even though the two-week total is a plain 80 hours — overtime in Illinois is calculated per workweek, not by averaging the pay period. See the biweekly overtime calculator for more examples.

Example: 3x12 vs. 4x12 schedules in Illinois

Two common 12-hour-shift schedules, same $20.00/hour rate:

ScheduleOT hoursTotal pay3 days × 12 hrs (36 hrs/week)0 hrs$720.004 days × 12 hrs (48 hrs/week)8 hrs$1,040.00

Want to compare your own rate, days, and shift differential? Use the schedule comparison tool.

Illinois-specific FAQ

Is Chicago's minimum wage different from the rest of Illinois?

Yes. Chicago and Cook County both set minimum wages above the $15.00/hour state rate -- Cook County rises to $15.40/hour on July 1, 2026. Which rate applies depends on where the work is actually performed.

Does Illinois have daily overtime?

No. Illinois follows the federal FLSA standard: overtime after 40 hours in a single workweek, at 1.5x your regular rate, with no separate daily-overtime rule.

How much of a tip credit can an Illinois employer take?

Up to 40% of the minimum wage, meaning a cash wage as low as $9.00/hour at the current $15.00/hour minimum -- as long as tips make up the rest. If tips fall short in a given pay period, the employer must cover the gap.

Is overtime taxed differently in Illinois?

No -- overtime pay isn't taxed at a different rate than your regular wages. It's simply added to your gross pay for that period and withheld the same way as any other pay. Illinois has a flat 4.95% state income tax on wages (Tax Foundation, 2026 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets), so overtime pay is withheld at the same rate as regular pay.

Who this applies to

  • This estimate assumes a non-exempt hourly employee. Executive, administrative, professional, and certain other roles may be exempt from overtime entirely under state and federal law.

This is an estimate for general informational purposes only, not legal, tax, or payroll advice. For your specific situation, consult your employer's payroll department, a licensed tax professional, or Illinois's labor department.

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