Updated 2026-08-29
The core formula
Only two numbers matter: how much you earn per hour and how many hours you work in a year. The standard payroll benchmark for full-time work is 2,080 hours (40 hours per week x 52 weeks), so:
- Annual salary = hourly rate x 2,080 (full time)
- Annual salary = hourly rate x weekly hours x 52 (any schedule)
This is a gross figure. It does not account for time off you take without pay, overtime you earn above 40 hours, or federal, state, and FICA withholding that comes out on payday.
Conversion table at common wages
Plug your hourly rate into the same math to get an annual number. This table shows full-time gross pay at 2,080 hours.
| Hourly rate | Weekly (40 hours) | Monthly (approx.) | Annual (2,080 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 dollars | 600 dollars | 2,600 dollars | 31,200 dollars |
| 20 dollars | 800 dollars | 3,467 dollars | 41,600 dollars |
| 25 dollars | 1,000 dollars | 4,333 dollars | 52,000 dollars |
| 30 dollars | 1,200 dollars | 5,200 dollars | 62,400 dollars |
| 40 dollars | 1,600 dollars | 6,933 dollars | 83,200 dollars |
| 50 dollars | 2,000 dollars | 8,667 dollars | 104,000 dollars |
The monthly column divides the annual by 12. That works for budgeting but does not match any real pay schedule exactly — biweekly employees get 26 checks, semi-monthly employees get 24, and weekly employees get 52.
Adjusting for unpaid time off
The 2,080 baseline assumes you are paid for every workday in the year, including holidays and vacation. If you are hourly and only paid for hours actually worked, subtract unpaid time.
- Federal holidays only (11 days unpaid): 2,080 minus 88 = 1,992 hours
- Holidays + 10 unpaid vacation days: 2,080 minus 168 = 1,912 hours
- Holidays + 15 vacation + 5 sick, unpaid: 2,080 minus 248 = 1,832 hours
At 25 dollars per hour, dropping from 2,080 to 1,832 paid hours changes gross annual pay from 52,000 to 45,800 dollars — a difference of 6,200 dollars that never shows up in the simple formula.
Salaried workers do not do this subtraction — a salary is paid whether or not you take vacation, up to the plan limits. Hourly workers should double-check the paid-holiday policy in the employee handbook before subtracting; some employers pay holidays for hourly workers at a fixed 8 hours per day even when the site is closed. Contract and 1099 workers almost never get paid time off; every hour off the clock is unpaid and comes straight out of the annual total.
Part-time and non-standard schedules
Change the weekly hours input; keep the 52-week multiplier.
- 30 hours per week at 20 dollars per hour: 20 x 30 x 52 = 31,200 dollars per year
- 25 hours per week at 18 dollars per hour: 18 x 25 x 52 = 23,400 dollars per year
- Four-day, 32-hour week at 30 dollars per hour: 30 x 32 x 52 = 49,920 dollars per year
Compressed schedules such as four 10-hour days still hit 2,080 hours; the total is the same as five 8-hour days at the same rate.
Overtime changes the picture
Federal law (the Fair Labor Standards Act) requires non-exempt hourly workers to be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. If you regularly work overtime, the simple formula understates your annual pay.
- Base at 25 dollars x 40 hours x 52 weeks = 52,000 dollars
- Add 5 overtime hours per week: 25 x 1.5 x 5 x 52 = 9,750 dollars
- Total gross: 61,750 dollars per year
Overtime rules for salaried workers depend on whether the role is classified as exempt. State overtime rules can also be stricter than federal minimums; use your state calculator to check.
Weekend and holiday premiums are not required by federal law but are common in retail, hospitality, and healthcare. If your job includes shift differentials, add those hours at the premium rate separately, then sum weekly totals across 52 weeks. Contract and gig work follow the same simple formula — hourly rate x hours worked — but you owe self-employment tax on top of income tax, which changes the take-home comparison against a W-2 job at the same hourly rate.
A few edge cases. Piece-rate workers still qualify for overtime under federal law, but the regular rate is a weekly average of piece earnings divided by hours worked. Tipped workers earn overtime on the full regular rate, not on the reduced cash wage — a common payroll error worth catching on the stub. And if you work seven consecutive days in one workweek, some states (California, for example) require a seventh-day premium even if total hours stay under 40; use your state calculator to verify state overtime rules where you work.
Gross to take-home
Every number above is gross. Federal income tax, FICA (6.2 percent Social Security + 1.45 percent Medicare = 7.65 percent), and any state or local income tax come out before you see the money. So do voluntary items like 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, and HSA deposits.
A rough starting rule for a full-time worker with no state income tax is that take-home pay is about 75 to 82 percent of gross, but the real answer depends on your W-4 elections, benefit deductions, and where you live. The site paycheck tools do this math with real inputs.
Two quick sanity checks. First, if your effective take-home comes in under 70 percent of gross and you live in a no-income-tax state, either your 401(k) percentage is high or your benefit deductions are heavier than average — look at each line on the pay stub. Second, if you moved states mid-year, the annual total on your W-2 stays the same but the per-check split can shift noticeably; use your state calculator for the new location and expect the first two paychecks after the move to reflect any withholding lag.
One last conversion tip. If you are comparing a salary offer to an hourly offer, convert both to an annual gross before comparing, then layer in benefit value: employer-paid health premiums, an employer 401(k) match, PTO cash value, and bonus eligibility can add several thousand dollars per year of real income that never appears in the base rate. Two offers with the same base gross can differ meaningfully in total-comp value, so build a full package comparison before deciding.
<p>Numbers here are examples for illustration; this is not tax advice, and state and local rules will change your actual take-home pay.</p>
Frequently asked questions
Why is 2,080 the standard number of work hours in a year?
<p>Because 40 hours per week x 52 weeks = 2,080. It assumes no unpaid time off. The federal Office of Personnel Management uses 2,087 hours for pay computation to account for the actual weekday count over a long calendar cycle, but private employers almost universally use 2,080.</p>
How do I turn an annual salary back into an hourly rate?
<p>Divide the annual salary by 2,080 for a full-time schedule. A 65,000 dollar salary is 65,000 / 2,080 = about 31.25 dollars per hour. For part-time, divide by the actual annual hours instead.</p>
Does the formula work for salaried employees?
<p>Yes, in reverse. A salaried employee earning 60,000 dollars for 40 hours per week works out to 60,000 / 2,080 = about 28.85 dollars per hour. If the salaried role regularly requires more than 40 hours and is exempt, the effective hourly rate is lower.</p>
What about biweekly or semi-monthly paychecks?
<p>The annual formula does not change. Divide the annual gross by 26 for biweekly checks, 24 for semi-monthly, or 12 for monthly. Some biweekly years have 27 paychecks; that shifts each check slightly.</p>
Do PTO days count in the 2,080 figure?
<p>Yes — 2,080 assumes you are paid for every workday. Salaried workers hit 2,080 in gross pay whether they take PTO or not. Hourly workers only reach 2,080 if all vacation, sick, and holiday days are paid.</p>