Here, your budget balance means take-home income minus entered spending and reserves. Disposable income can also mean income after taxes, before bills. This tool estimates what remains after your entries; it does not measure money already saved.
An average month, not a pay calendar
Choose either known take-home pay or an hourly estimate. These modes are alternatives; they are never added together.
- Known take-home: paycheck × payments per year ÷ 12. Weekly uses 52, every two weeks 26, twice a month 24, and monthly 12.
- Hourly estimate: hourly rate × regular weekly hours × paid weeks ÷ 12, reduced by your base deduction percentage. Current overtime is added using its own multiplier and deduction percentage.
- Other income: a monthly net amount, already after costs and tax reserves.
Annual irregular reserves are divided by 12. Other expense fields are monthly amounts. At least one expense entry (including $0), or explicit consent to zero expenses, is needed before showing a budget balance.
For example, $1,000 every two weeks averages $2,166.67/month. The same amount twice a month is $2,000/month. Paid weeks affect the hourly estimate, not known take-home pay.
Additional overtime, after its additional costs
Let q = paid weeks ÷ 12, a = extra hours per week, r = hourly rate, m = pay multiplier, d = overtime deduction percentage as a fraction, c = cost per extra hour, and F = fixed extra monthly cost.
Take-home increase = gross increase × (1 − d)
Extra costs = c × a × q + F
Monthly increase = take-home increase − extra costs
At zero extra hours, all these changes are zero, including fixed cost. Costs belong here only if the extra work causes them; avoid counting the same cost in your original budget and again as an added cost.
Your budget after overtime is the original balance plus this monthly increase. A negative increase stays negative. Without an original budget, only the increase is shown.
Turn a monthly goal into weekly hours
The goal D is how much more you want left each month, above your original budget. It is not your final budget balance.
Required extra weekly hours = (D + F) ÷ (q × u)
For a positive goal, q and u must both be positive. Required hours round upward to the next 0.1 hour, then the full monthly increase is recalculated. Current plus added overtime cannot exceed 30 hours/week in this planner. This is a product scenario limit, not a legal rule or a work recommendation.
A worked example
Take-home income of $2,600 and spending of $3,000 leave a $400 monthly gap. With a $20 hourly rate, 1.5× pay, a 25% deduction assumption, 52 paid weeks, $2/hour of added costs, and $40 fixed monthly cost:
| Extra monthly goal | Extra hours/week | Monthly increase | Budget after overtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300 | 3.9 | +$306.45 | −$93.55 |
| $400 (cover gap) | 5.0 | +$404.17 | +$4.17 |
| $500 | 6.1 | +$501.88 | +$101.88 |
The $300 increase target is met even though the overall budget still has a gap. The gap shortcut replaces the goal with your original gap, rounded upward to the nearest cent.
Use an informed deduction estimate
There is no default deduction percentage. Enter your estimate for combined payroll deductions, including taxes, benefits, and other withholdings. The example’s 25% is illustrative, not a recommendation.
In hourly mode, base and overtime percentages are separate unless you explicitly link them. A pay stub can help you understand current deductions, but additional earnings may have a different effective deduction rate. This tool applies your flat assumption; it does not calculate federal or state taxes, withholding, annual tax liability, exemptions, or overtime eligibility.
Regular and overtime hours are supplied by you. Enter the pay arrangement that applies to your work. No automatic reclassification happens when regular hours exceed 40.
Precision and limits
Calculations keep full precision until display. Currency displays to cents; hours to tenths. Values under half a cent display as zero. An average month is not a guarantee of a particular paycheck, shift schedule, or available overtime.
Sources and model boundaries
Reviewed October 10, 2026. The U.S. Department of Labor overtime guidance explains the federal framework. This planner does not determine federal or state eligibility, exemptions, or a legally required pay rate.
The IRS guidance on qualified overtime deductions describes a deduction with eligibility conditions and limits. It does not mean every dollar of overtime is tax-free. This calculator does not model that deduction; it uses the deduction percentage you enter.
These are budgeting scenarios, not individualized tax or legal advice. For a correction to this model, contact the maintainer.