About SmartOvertime

Our Mission

SmartOvertime exists to help workers understand and verify their overtime pay. Millions of Americans work overtime every week, but many don't know exactly how their pay should be calculated — especially with different rules across 50 states. We built SmartOvertime to make overtime pay calculations free, instant, and accurate for everyone.

Whether you are an hourly employee checking your paycheck or a small business owner ensuring compliance, our calculators apply federal defaults and state rule data from our published datasets — see how we calculate for tool-by-tool limits (not every calculator models daily overtime or exempt-status tests).

Time Off & PTO Payout

Paid time off and vacation payout rules are just as confusing as overtime — especially at job separation. Our PTO payout calculator estimates gross pay and an optional 22% federal withholding estimate (IRS supplemental rate — not final tax) when you leave with unused hours. The PTO accrual calculator shows how you earn time off per pay period or per hour worked. State payout requirements vary widely; our PTO by state directory summarizes each jurisdiction. Payout law often applies only when your employer offers paid vacation and you have earned unused time.

We focus on clear math, official sources, and plain-language summaries — not legal advice. See how we calculate for formulas and limitations.

Our Data Sources

All overtime rules and calculations on SmartOvertime are based on publicly available federal and state labor regulations:

• U.S. Department of Labor — Overtime Pay — The authoritative source for federal FLSA overtime rules, including the 40-hour weekly threshold and 1.5× rate.
• DOL Overtime Pay Fact Sheet — Detailed guidance on exemptions, salary thresholds, and the duties tests for executive, administrative, and professional exemptions.
• State labor department websites — Each state page references the applicable state labor agency for state-specific rules (e.g., California DLSE, Texas Workforce Commission, New York DOL).

We review our rules data regularly to reflect the latest regulatory changes. However, SmartOvertime is an educational tool — it is not a substitute for legal advice. For authoritative guidance, consult the DOL Wage and Hour Division or a qualified employment attorney.

PTO & Time Off Data Sources

PTO payout and accrual rule summaries are maintained in our state dataset and validated against public labor-agency guidance where available:

• U.S. Department of Labor — Vacation Leave — FLSA does not require paid vacation; state law and employer policy govern payout.
• Paylocity — 2026 PTO Payout Laws by State — Secondary industry article used alongside state statutes and agency FAQs when building our state dataset (initial cross-check referenced Paylocity's January 2026 update; mandatory-state lists differ by source — we follow our statute-backed pto-states.ts categories).
• State labor department websites — PTO state calculator pages show agency links via our rules UI (e.g., California DLSE vacation FAQ, Illinois DOL vacation FAQ).
• IRS Publication 15 — Default 22% federal supplemental withholding estimate on PTO payout (Section 7).

Editorial Process

We publish calculators and guides intended for education and estimation. Content is written in-house, tied to version-controlled data files, and reviewed against primary sources (DOL, IRS, state labor agencies). When statutes or withholding tables change, we update rule data and note the revision date on key pages.

Corrections: If you believe a state rule, formula, or citation is wrong, email hello@smartovertime.com with the state, the official source URL, and what should change. We prioritize fixes that affect calculator output or legal summaries shown to users.

What We Offer

Contact

Have questions, feedback, or suggestions? We would love to hear from you. Reach out at hello@smartovertime.com.