Original planning tool
Paycheck Scenario Planner
Compare a normal schedule with a second work pattern without pretending that overtime, unpaid weeks, and recurring hours are the same thing. All calculations stay in your browser.
Set the pay assumptions
Gross-pay comparison
| Scenario | Weekly | Annual | Average monthly |
|---|
Worked example: two unpaid weeks and recurring overtime
Use $25/hour, 40 regular hours, 5 overtime hours at 1.5×, and 50 paid working weeks. Regular gross is $1,000/week; the five premium hours add $187.50. The combined $1,187.50 × 50 gives $59,375 annually. Dividing by 12 gives $4,947.92 average monthly gross—not the amount of any particular paycheck.
| Change one assumption | Annual gross | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 50 weeks, no overtime | $50,000 | Baseline regular schedule |
| 50 weeks, 5 premium hours/week | $59,375 | $9,375 from assumed recurring overtime |
| 52 weeks, same 5 premium hours/week | $61,750 | $2,375 from two additional paid weeks |
| 50 weeks, 35 regular hours, no overtime | $43,750 | Comparison schedule, not a pay cut in the hourly rate |
If overtime is occasional, do not multiply one busy week by 50. Estimate ordinary and premium weeks separately, then add their annual totals. Paid vacation, holiday pay and irregular bonuses require their own treatment; “paid weeks” here assumes the same entered work pattern for each week.
Use a schedule range instead of a best-case paycheck
At $20/hour and 50 weeks, a 30-hour schedule is $30,000 gross, 35 hours is $35,000, and 40 hours is $40,000, before any premium. Those scenarios answer a different question from changing the rate. Record the lowest reliable schedule first, then treat additional shifts as uncertain income.
Save the CSV with its input assumptions. Recalculate after a schedule change; a result without hours, multiplier and paid-week assumptions cannot explain why two estimates differ. Check pay frequency before turning annual estimates into a spending plan.
Calculation method
Regular weekly pay equals hourly rate multiplied by regular hours. Overtime is calculated separately as hourly rate multiplied by the overtime multiplier and overtime hours. Annual gross pay multiplies that weekly result by paid weeks, and average monthly pay divides the annual figure by 12.
The comparison schedule intentionally removes overtime and substitutes the comparison-hours input. This makes the cost of a schedule change visible instead of mixing it with the overtime premium.
What the result excludes
These are gross arithmetic estimates. They exclude taxes, deductions, bonuses, shift differentials, commissions, employer benefits, jurisdiction-specific overtime rules, and rounding performed by payroll systems. Overtime eligibility is a legal classification question; this planner only applies the multiplier you enter.
How to use the comparison responsibly
- Use a normal recent schedule, not an unusually busy or quiet week.
- Count only weeks for which that work pattern is realistically paid.
- Compare the gross result with an actual pay stub before budgeting.
- Evaluate benefits and predictable deductions separately.
- Keep the downloaded CSV with the assumptions used for the comparison.