Gross Pay Calculator

Understanding Gross Pay: Your Earnings Before Deductions

Gross pay is the total amount of money an employee earns before any deductions are taken out. This includes regular wages, overtime pay, bonuses, commissions, and any other compensation received. It's a crucial figure because it represents your total earning power and is the starting point for calculating your net pay (the amount you actually take home).

Why is Gross Pay Important?

Financial Planning: Knowing your gross pay helps you understand your overall income level, which is essential for budgeting, saving, and making major financial decisions.
Loan Applications: Lenders often look at your gross income when assessing your ability to repay loans, such as mortgages or car loans.
Tax Calculations: While taxes are deducted from gross pay, your gross income is the basis for calculating your tax liability.
Benefit Eligibility: Eligibility for certain government benefits or employer-sponsored programs might be based on your gross income.

How is Gross Pay Calculated?

The calculation of gross pay depends primarily on whether you are paid hourly or on a salary basis.

For Hourly Employees:

Hourly gross pay is calculated by multiplying your hourly rate by the number of hours worked. If you work overtime, those hours are typically paid at a higher rate (e.g., 1.5 times your regular hourly rate, often called "time and a half").

Gross Pay = (Regular Hours × Hourly Rate) + (Overtime Hours × Overtime Rate × Hourly Rate)

For example, if you earn $20 per hour, work 40 regular hours, and 5 overtime hours at time and a half (1.5x):

Regular Pay: 40 hours × $20/hour = $800
Overtime Pay: 5 hours × 1.5 × $20/hour = $150
Total Gross Pay for the week: $800 + $150 = $950

For Salaried Employees:

Salaried employees receive a fixed amount of pay over a specific period (e.g., annually, monthly, bi-weekly), regardless of the exact number of hours worked. To find the gross pay for a specific pay period, you simply divide your annual salary by the number of pay periods in a year.

Gross Pay per Period = Annual Salary / Number of Pay Periods per Year

For example, if your annual salary is $60,000 and you are paid bi-weekly (26 pay periods per year):

Gross Pay per Bi-Weekly Period: $60,000 / 26 = $2,307.69

Some salaried positions may also offer bonuses or commissions, which would be added to the base salary to determine total gross pay.

What's NOT Included in Gross Pay?

It's important to remember that gross pay does not account for deductions. Common deductions that reduce your gross pay to net pay include:

Federal, state, and local income taxes
Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA)
Health insurance premiums
Retirement plan contributions (e.g., 401(k))
Union dues
Wage garnishments

Use our Gross Pay Calculator below to quickly determine your earnings before any of these deductions are applied.

Enter your pay details to calculate your gross earnings per pay period and annually.

Pay Type:
Hourly Salaried

Hourly Rate ($):

Regular Hours Per Week:

Overtime Hours Per Week:

Overtime Multiplier (e.g., 1.5 for time and a half):

Annual Salary ($):

Pay Frequency:
Weekly Bi-Weekly Semi-Monthly Monthly Annually

Calculation Results:

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