Texas Overtime Regulations: No Daily Premium Explained
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The Core Texas Overtime Formula
Formula: OT Pay = MAX(0, Hours Worked − 40) × Regular Rate × 1.5
Texas has no state overtime law of its own. It defaults entirely to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): 1.5× the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a defined workweek. No daily trigger, no double-time mandate, no seventh-day rule.
The Texas minimum wage is also the federal $7.25/hr, and tipped employees follow the federal $2.13/hr tipped minimum with tip credit rules.
Texas Overtime Laws
Texas overtime laws mirror the federal FLSA exactly: 1.5× the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, with no daily overtime and no double-time mandate. The Texas minimum wage matches the federal $7.25/hour, and the state adds no extra wage rules on top. For official state guidance, the Texas Workforce Commission publishes wage and hour resources for Texas employers and workers.
Step-by-Step: Calculating Texas Overtime
Let’s say you earn $18/hr in Texas and worked 46 hours this week.
- Find regular hours. 40 (everything up to the 40-hour line).
- Find OT hours. 46 − 40 = 6 OT hours.
- Calculate regular pay. 40 × $18 = $720.
- Calculate OT rate. $18 × 1.5 = $27/hr.
- Calculate OT pay. 6 × $27 = $162.
- Weekly gross. $720 + $162 = $882.
The texas-overtime-calculator runs this straight through with no daily-tier logic to worry about. For just the premium rate, the time-and-a-half-calculator gives you the 1.5× number directly.
2026 Real Case: Long Days, No Daily Premium
Derek works at an Austin manufacturing plant at $19/hr. In one week he worked four 10-hour days and one 8-hour day — 48 hours total, spread across five days.
- Regular pay: 40 × $19 = $760
- OT hours: 48 − 40 = 8
- OT pay: 8 × $28.50 = $228
- Weekly gross: $988
Here’s the part that threw him: even though he worked 10-hour days, none of those daily hours qualified for overtime on their own. The overtime only kicked in once his weekly total crossed 40. If he’d instead worked five 8-hour days (40 hours) plus a 6-hour Saturday shift, the math would be identical — 6 OT hours at 1.5×. The distribution across days doesn’t matter in Texas, only the weekly total.
Derek mentioned he’d moved from California a year earlier and kept instinctively expecting daily OT. Took him a couple pay periods to stop calculating tiers that didn’t exist in Texas. Once he internalized “weekly only,” the math got a lot easier.
So what does that mean for you? If you’re coming from California, New York, or another daily-OT state, reset your expectations. In Texas, an 11-hour day with no other hours that week is just 11 hours of straight time — no premium at all.
Texas vs. Daily-OT States: Same Hours, Different Pay
Same worker, $20/hr, working four 10-hour days and one 8-hour day (48 hours). Look how the pay shifts by state.
| State | Daily OT? | Weekly OT | Weekly Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | No | 8 hrs at 1.5× | $1,040 |
| California | Yes (over 8/day) | Complex tiering | ~$1,180+ |
| New York | No (weekly only) | 8 hrs at 1.5× | $1,040 |
| Federal FLSA baseline | No | 8 hrs at 1.5× | $1,040 |
California is the outlier. Texas, New York (outside hospitality), and most other states all land on the same $1,040 for this schedule — straight time for the 10-hour days, 1.5× only on the 8 weekly OT hours. The Texas vs. New York vs. California overtime comparison breaks down these differences in more detail.
What Texas Overtime Does Not Include
Worth being explicit, since these are the things workers (and some employers) wrongly assume exist:
| Overtime Feature | Required in Texas? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly OT after 40 hrs | Yes (federal) | 1.5× regular rate |
| Daily OT after 8 hrs | No | Not in Texas law or federal FLSA |
| Daily OT after 12 hrs | No | No 2× trigger |
| Double time | No | Never required by Texas law |
| 7th consecutive day premium | No | Federal rule only (40-hr weekly) |
| Holiday premium pay | No | Only if employer policy offers it |
| Sunday premium | No | Only if employer policy offers it |
Anything beyond the 40-hour weekly rule in Texas is voluntary — a company handbook, a union contract, or an employer’s choice. If your employer promises holiday double time in the handbook, that’s a policy you can enforce, but it’s not a Texas legal mandate.
An overtime calculator handles the weekly math, and the Texas overtime threshold reference covers exempt/non-exempt classification and the salary basis test in detail.
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt in Texas
Texas uses the federal exemption tests. In 2026, the FLSA salary threshold for white-collar exemption was restored to $684/week ($35,568/year) on May 15, 2026 — the 2024 rule that had pushed it to $844 and then $1,128/week was vacated and rescinded. The highly compensated employee threshold sits at $107,432/year.
So a salaried employee in Texas earning below $684/week who doesn’t meet the duties test is non-exempt and entitled to overtime, even though they’re salaried. Being on salary does not automatically make someone exempt — the duties test matters too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Texas require daily overtime after 8 hours?
No. Texas follows federal FLSA only, which means overtime is based on the 40-hour workweek, not daily hours. There is no daily overtime premium in Texas, even if you work a 12-hour shift.
What is the overtime rate in Texas in 2026?
1.5 times your regular hourly rate for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Texas does not add any state-specific multiplier, so the federal FLSA rate is the rate that applies.
Does Texas require double time pay?
No. Texas does not require double time pay under any circumstances. Any 2x pay would come only from an employer policy or union contract, not state law.
Are salaried employees in Texas entitled to overtime?
Only if they are non-exempt. Salaried employees who meet the FLSA duties test and earn above the $684/week federal threshold are exempt and not entitled to overtime in Texas.
What are Texas’s overtime laws in 2026?
Texas follows federal FLSA only: 1.5× pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. There is no state daily overtime, no double-time mandate, and the Texas minimum wage matches the federal $7.25/hour.
Is there daily overtime in Texas?
No. Texas has no daily overtime rule. Only the weekly 40-hour federal threshold applies, so an 8-hour or 12-hour day does not trigger premium pay by itself.
The Bottom Line
Texas overtime is the federal FLSA rule, full stop: 1.5× your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, no daily premium, no double time, no seventh-day rule. If you’re tracking hours, only the weekly total matters. Run your real hours and rate through the texas-overtime-calculator to confirm the OT split before each payday.