Kentucky Overtime Pay Laws & Calculator

The rules

Source: Ky. Rev. Stat. § 337.050

• Overtime applies after 40 hours in a single workweek, paid at 1.5x your regular hourly rate.
• Working all 7 days of one workweek triggers an extra premium on the 7th day, but only if that week's total already exceeds the weekly threshold.

Worked example

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

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

Is overtime taxed differently in Kentucky?

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. Kentucky has a flat 3.5% 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

• If all 7 days of a workweek are worked, and total hours that week exceed 40, all hours worked on the 7th day are paid at 1.5x -- but this rule does not apply at all if the week's total is 40 hours or fewer.
• 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 Kentucky's labor department.