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Texas Overtime Pay Laws & Calculator

How overtime works for hourly employees in Texas, 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.
  • Texas 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 Texas earning $20.00/hour who works 45 hours in one workweek (nine hours a day, Monday through Friday). Applying Texas'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 Texas tax withholding.

Texas minimum wage and exempt-salary rules

Minimum wage
$7.25/hour -- Texas has never set its own minimum wage above the federal floor, and this rate has been unchanged since it took effect nationally on July 24, 2009. (Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Minimum Wage Law)
Tipped employees
Texas has no separate state tipped-wage rate, so the federal tip credit applies: employers may pay as little as $2.13/hour in direct cash wages, as long as tips bring total pay up to at least $7.25/hour for every hour worked. If they don't, the employer owes the difference. (U.S. Department of Labor, Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees)
Exempt (salaried) employee salary threshold
Texas 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. (Texas Workforce Commission, Salary Test for Exempt Employees)

Common mistake: Because Texas has no state minimum wage, no state overtime law, and no daily-overtime rule of its own, employers sometimes assume Texas has looser overtime requirements generally -- it doesn't. The federal FLSA's 40-hour weekly standard applies in full; Texas simply hasn't layered anything extra on top of it, in either direction.

Example: biweekly confusion in Texas

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 Texas is calculated per workweek, not by averaging the pay period. See the biweekly overtime calculator for more examples.

Example: 3x12 vs. 4x12 schedules in Texas

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.

Texas-specific FAQ

Does Texas have its own overtime law?

No. Texas has no state overtime statute for private employers -- the federal FLSA applies directly: 1.5x your regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, with no daily-overtime rule.

Why is the Texas minimum wage still $7.25?

Texas ties its minimum wage to the federal rate rather than setting its own, and Congress hasn't raised the federal minimum wage since 2009. Some Texas cities and employers pay more voluntarily, but there's no state-law floor above $7.25/hour.

Can a Texas employer pay tipped workers less than $7.25/hour?

Yes, down to $2.13/hour in direct cash wages under the federal tip credit, as long as tips bring total pay to at least $7.25/hour for every hour worked. If a slow shift's tips don't cover the gap, the employer must make up the difference.

Is overtime taxed differently in Texas?

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. Texas has no state income tax on wages, so overtime pay is only reduced by federal income tax and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) withholding.

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 Texas's labor department.

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