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When you were hired, you should have been notified of your pay rate. If you do not know your hourly rate, you should ask your supervisor or the company human resources director. Since July 24, 2009, the federal minimum hourly wage in the United States is $7.25. As of January 1, 2017: thirty states or territories had minimum hourly wage rates greater than the federal rate. twenty-one states or territories apply minimum hourly wage rates equal to the federal rate. You can look up your individual state at https://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm. Every company or employer will have a different system for you to record the hours you work. In some places, you may punch a time clock when you enter and leave. Others may have you record tasks on time slips and enter them into a computer system. Whichever system your employer uses, make sure you know how to record your time. You may want to keep a private record in addition, to compare with your paycheck. If you receive different pay rates for different working times, you should keep separate records. For example, if you earn one rate for weekdays and a higher rate for weekends, you should count your weekday hours and your weekend hours separately. If your contract allows you to earn a higher overtime rate after a certain number of hours, you should keep track of the hours that qualify for overtime. For example, if you get overtime after 40 hours each week, and you worked 50 hours, then you would have 40 hours at your regular rate and 10 hours at your overtime rate. Alternatively, some people might earn overtime after 8 hours on one day. If, during one week, you worked 10 hours, 10 hours, 8 hours, 4 hours, and 6 hours, you would have 34 hours at regular time and 4 hours at overtime. Take your total number of hours at your base pay rate and multiply it by the rate. If you have additional hours at a second rate (overtime or weekend, for example), multiply those hours times that rate separately. Then add the two numbers together. For a simple example, suppose you worked 32 hours in one week at the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour. Calculate your wages for this week as 32$7.25=$232.00{\displaystyle 32*\$7.25=\$232.00}. For a slightly more complicated example, suppose you worked 40 hours at a rate of $9.00 per hour, and you worked overtime for 12 hours at a rate of $13.50 per hour. This calculation will be: (40$9.00)+(12$13.50)=$360+$162=$522{\displaystyle (40*\$9.00)+(12*\$13.50)=\$360+\$162=\$522}. Some employees are eligible for bonus pay for a variety of reasons. If this applies to you, then add any bonuses to your wages after completing the prior calculation. For example, if your hourly wages add up to $290 for the week and you earned a $30 bonus, your total would be $320. Your take-home pay, in most cases, is going to be less than the wages that you calculate. The difference will be made up of federal, state and local withholding taxes, Social Security withholding, and other things. In some states, your employer may have to withhold for unemployment insurance. You might also elect to have an amount withheld and deposited into a retirement fund. Withholding rates are different for everyone based on your tax bracket and local and state laws. If you want to understand your personal deductions completely, you should talk with your employer's bookkeeper. Some online sources offer "wage calculators." These are websites where you can enter your number of hours worked, your pay rate, and your number of dependents. The site will then calculate your weekly, monthly and annual wages. Bear in mind that any deductions are probably going to be estimates. If you work for an hourly rate, you can estimate your annual salary, especially if your hours are fairly regular. Assuming that you work a full-time, 40 hour per week schedule, simply multiply your hourly rate by 40, to calculate your weekly pay. Then multiply that result by 50 to estimate the number of working weeks per year. This will allow for some unpaid vacation or sick time during the year. For example, if you earn the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, you would multiply $7.2540hoursweek50weeksyear=$14,500{\displaystyle \$7.25*40{
rac { ext{ hours}}{ ext{ week}}}*50{
rac { ext{ weeks}}{ ext{ year}}}=\$14,500} annual salary. If you were hired for an annual salary, then that number, minus taxes and other withholdings, will be your annual pay.
Know your hourly pay rate. Record your hours worked. Keep track of overtime. Multiply your hours worked by the pay rate. Add on any bonuses. Account for deductions. Estimate your annual wages.