Maryland Overtime Calculator: Overtime Pay & Take-Home Pay

Maryland overtime rights operate under both the Maryland Wage and Hour Law (Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. §§ 3-401–3-431) and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 207). Both statutes protect covered non-exempt employees by guaranteeing overtime compensation. Below is the comprehensive statutory analysis of Maryland overtime requirements, minimum wage standards under the Fair Wage Act of 2023, local county floors, tipped employee protections, state tax withholding, and local county income taxes enforced by the Maryland Department of Labor and the Comptroller of Maryland.

1. The Overtime Rule: Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 3-415

Under Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 3-415, an employer must pay an employee an overtime wage of at least one and one-half times (1.5×) the regular hourly rate for each hour that the employee works in excess of 40 hours in a designated 7-day workweek.

Does Maryland have daily overtime? No. Maryland wage statute contains no daily overtime threshold. An employer may legally schedule an employee for 10-hour, 12-hour, or longer daily shifts without triggering overtime compensation, provided the employee's total actual work hours do not exceed 40 hours in that designated 7-day payroll workweek. Maryland law also does not require premium pay for work performed on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays unless those hours push the weekly total past 40.

Can Maryland employees waive overtime? No. An employee cannot waive statutory overtime pay by private contract, side agreement, or informal comp time. Straight-time agreements for hours over 40 violate Maryland law. Maryland also places no statutory limit on the maximum hours an adult worker may be assigned in a single week.

2. 2026 Maryland Minimum Wage: $15.00/hr (Fair Wage Act of 2023)

Under the statutory acceleration enacted by the Fair Wage Act of 2023, the Maryland statewide minimum wage reached $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2024 for all employers regardless of employee count. As a result, the statutory minimum overtime floor across Maryland is $22.50 per hour ($15.00 × 1.5).

• Higher County Minimum Wage Floors: Several Maryland charter counties enforce local wage floors higher than the state rate:
  • Montgomery County: Effective July 1, 2026, the local minimum wage is $18.00/hr for major employers (51+ employees), $16.50/hr for mid-sized employers (11–50 employees), and $15.95/hr for small employers (10 or fewer employees).
  • Howard County: Effective July 1, 2026, the Howard County minimum wage floor is $16.00/hr for major employers.
  • Prince George's County: Enforces a local minimum wage floor of $15.30/hr.
• Youth Minimum Wage: Workers under the age of 18 may be paid 85% of the state minimum wage ($12.75 per hour) for their initial period of employment under Maryland Department of Labor regulations.

3. Tipped Employees: $3.63 Cash Wage & $11.37 Tip Credit Overtime Rules

Under Maryland Labor and Employment Code § 3-419, employers of tipped employees may pay a direct cash wage of $3.63 per hour, claiming a maximum tip credit of $11.37 per hour against the $15.00 state minimum wage. The worker's combined cash wage plus received tips must equal at least $15.00 per hour across the workweek; if not, the employer must fund the difference.

How does overtime apply to tipped workers in Maryland? The tip credit is legally capped at $11.37 and does NOT expand on overtime hours. Overtime for tipped staff must be calculated on the full statutory minimum wage:

• Full statutory minimum wage overtime floor: $15.00 × 1.5 = $22.50/hr
• Maximum allowable tip credit: $11.37/hr (fixed cap)
• Minimum cash wage owed by employer: $22.50 − $11.37 = $11.13 per hour

Employers who multiply the $3.63 cash wage by 1.5 ($5.45/hr) commit severe wage theft under Maryland law. For every overtime hour worked, the employer must pay at least $11.13 in direct cash wages, and the employee's total cash plus tips must equal at least $22.50 per hour.

4. Salaried Employees & White-Collar Exemptions

Receiving a salary does not automatically exempt an employee from overtime pay in Maryland. Under Md. Code § 3-403 and federal FLSA regulations (29 C.F.R. Part 541), an employee is exempt from overtime pay only if they meet both:

• Salary Basis Test: The employee must receive a predetermined, guaranteed salary of at least $684.00 per week ($35,568.00 per year). Maryland law tracks the federal salary threshold.
• Duties Tests: The employee's primary job duties must involve bona fide executive management, administrative business operations, or learned professional work requiring advanced academic training.

If a salaried employee earns less than $684/week, or if their daily responsibilities consist of routine operational or customer-facing tasks, they are legally non-exempt. If they work more than 40 hours in a workweek, they must be paid 1.5× overtime pay. Use our dedicated salaried overtime calculator to analyze salaried wage scenarios.

5. Statutory Overtime Exceptions: Care Facilities, Bowling Alleys & Agriculture

Maryland Labor and Employment Code § 3-420 establishes statutory overtime thresholds for specific industries:

• Bowling Alleys & Residential Care Institutions: Under Md. Code § 3-420(b), employers operating bowling alleys or institutions that are not hospitals but provide care to residents (such as assisted living facilities or nursing homes) are required to pay overtime compensation only after 48 hours in a workweek.
• Agricultural Workers: Under § 3-420(c), agricultural workers are subject to overtime pay only after working 60 hours in a workweek under state statute, although federal FLSA standards may apply at 40 hours if the enterprise is engaged in interstate commerce.

6. Final Paycheck Rules: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-505

Under the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law (Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 3-505), each employer must pay an employee all wages due for work that the employee performed before the termination of employment on or before the day on which the employee would have been paid the wages if the employment had not terminated.

Unlike jurisdictions that mandate immediate payment upon firing, Maryland law applies the identical standard to all separations: whether the employee resigned voluntarily or was discharged immediately, final wages (including all earned overtime and accrued wages) must be delivered by the next scheduled regular payday.

7. Comptroller Percentage Method Withholding & Form MW507 Phase-Out

The Comptroller of Maryland 2026 Employer Withholding Guide establishes the percentage withholding method. Employers annualize weekly gross earnings (weekly × 52) and calculate Maryland taxable income (T):

Maryland taxable income is defined as: T = max(0, annualGross − $3,400 − exemptionValue × exemptionCount), where $3,400 represents the 2026 withholding standard deduction allowance. Single filers claim 1 exemption; Married Joint filers claim 2 exemptions; Head of Household filers claim 1 exemption on the JOINT table.

Under Maryland statutory law, employer withholding folds the bottom statutory rates (2%, 3%, and 4%) into a uniform 4.75% initial withholding band.

8. Maryland Statutory Income Tax Brackets (Form 502 Schedule)

When Maryland residents file their annual income tax return on Form 502, their tax liability is calculated using Maryland's statutory rate schedule. During the 2025 legislative session, Maryland lawmakers enacted two new top tax brackets — 6.25% and 6.50% — for high earners. Most outdated online calculators still display Maryland's old 5.75% top rate.

The statutory standard deduction on Form 502 is $3,350 for Single filers and $6,700 for Married Filing Jointly / Head of Household (in effect for tax year 2025 forward), which is distinct from the $3,400 withholding allowance.

9. County Local Income Taxes: All 24 Maryland Jurisdictions

Unlike most states where local taxes are flat city wage assessments, Maryland operates a comprehensive county income tax system piggybacked directly onto Maryland taxable income (T). Crucially, county tax is based on your county of RESIDENCE as certified on Form MW507, not where your employer is located. If an employee fails to submit Form MW507, the employer is required by law to withhold at the statutory maximum rate of 3.30%.

10. Why Competitor Calculators Show Inaccurate Paychecks

A rigorous audit of competing paycheck tools on Google reveals three major flaws that cause inaccurate pay calculations for Maryland workers:

• Gross-Only Calculation: Every page-1 overtime calculator rival calculates gross overtime pay only and fails to model Maryland state or county tax withholdings.
• Flat-Rating Graduated Counties: Prominent paycheck calculators fail to model the graduated tax brackets enacted by Anne Arundel and Frederick counties, arbitrarily taxing workers at a flat 3.20% and significantly overwithholding local tax.
• Skipping the Form MW507 Phase-Out: Competing calculators apply flat $3,200 personal exemptions across all income levels, failing to apply the statutory phase-out to $1,600, $800, and $0 for middle and higher wage earners.
• Stale Top Tax Brackets: Most tools fail to account for the 6.25% and 6.50% brackets added during the 2025 legislative session, miscalculating high-income withholding.

Our Maryland overtime calculator corrects every one of these shortcomings, providing the exact withholdings specified in the Comptroller's 2026 Employer Withholding Guide. For full technical details on our tax algorithms, explore our calculation methodology or return to our state overtime calculator hub.

11. Unpaid Overtime Claims & Legal Recourse

If your Maryland employer fails to pay earned overtime wages, you have legal remedies under Maryland Wage and Hour Law and the federal FLSA:

• Maryland Division of Labor and Industry Complaint: You may file an administrative wage complaint with the Maryland Department of Labor's Employment Standards Service, which investigates wage payment violations and recovers unpaid overtime.
• Civil Lawsuit (Md. Code § 3-427): Under Maryland Labor and Employment Code § 3-427, an employee may sue an employer to recover unpaid overtime, plus reasonable counsel fees and costs. Under the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law (§ 3-507.2), if a court finds wages were withheld without a bona fide dispute, it may award treble damages (up to three times the wage amount).
• Statute of Limitations: Under Maryland law (Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-101), wage claims must generally be brought within 3 years from the date the cause of action accrued. Under federal FLSA rules, claims must be filed within 2 years, extendable to 3 years for willful violations.