Overtime Salary Threshold 2026
Current year
For 2026, the Overtime Salary Threshold figures are $684 (Standard salary level per week), $35,568 (Standard salary level, annual equivalent), $107,432 (Highly compensated employee total annual compensation) and 4 more figures below.
| Item | Amount | Annual equivalent | Hourly basis | Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the CNMI | American Samoa | Motion picture industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard salary level | $684 | $35,568 | - | - | - | - |
| Highly compensated employee total annual compensation | $107,432 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Compensation required for computer employees | - | - | $27.63 | - | - | - |
| Special salary level per week | - | - | - | $455 | $380 | - |
| Special base rate per week | - | - | - | - | - | $1,043 |
A dash is a figure this site has not published for that row, not an amount of zero.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Earnings thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional exemption from minimum wage and overtime protections under the FLSA (DOL)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2025
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2025.
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard salary level per week | $684 | $684 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Standard salary level, annual equivalent | $35,568 | $35,568 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Highly compensated employee total annual compensation | $107,432 | $107,432 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Compensation required for computer employees, hourly basis | $27.63 | $27.63 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Special salary level per week, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the CNMI | $455 | $455 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Special salary level per week, American Samoa | $380 | $380 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Special base rate per week, motion picture industry | $1,043 | $1,043 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Standard salary level
Compensation required for computer employees
Special salary level per week
Special base rate per week
$27.63$35,568
One dot per column of the table, on a scale running from the smallest of these amounts to the largest. The scale is logarithmic - each faint line is ten times the one before it, so that the amounts crowded at the low end stay far enough apart to read. The table states which dot is which.
Who it applies to
Employers and employees subject to the FLSA overtime and minimum wage protections, specifically those classified under the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions.
What changed this year, and why
The U.S. Department of Labor's standard salary level and highly compensated employee threshold for the executive, administrative, and professional exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act remain unchanged for 2026.
Common questions
- What is the standard salary level for 2026?
- The standard salary level is $684 per week, equivalent to $35,568 per year. Employees paid below this amount generally qualify for overtime pay.
- What is the total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees in 2026?
- Highly compensated employees must receive at least $107,432 in total annual compensation, including at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis.
- Did these thresholds change from 2025?
- No. The standard salary level and highly compensated employee threshold for 2026 are the same as they were in 2025.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Overtime salary threshold headroom takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
The 2024 rule, and the level the Department applies
The higher salary levels the Department set in a final rule published in April 2024 were struck down before either of them took hold. Two federal district courts vacated that rule, the appeals from both judgments were dismissed, and on May 15, 2026 the Department published a technical amendment that removed the vacated language from the Code of Federal Regulations and put back the text as it read before the rule took effect. So the part 541 regulations a reader consults today are the ones that were in place beforehand: a standard salary level of $684 per week, or $35,568 a year, and a total annual compensation requirement of $107,432 for a highly compensated employee, of which at least $684 per week must be paid on a salary or fee basis. Nothing in the amendment changes an amount; it only makes the published regulations match what the courts ordered.
Through this technical amendment, the Department is removing from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) the regulatory text from the now-vacated 2024 rule and republishing in its place the regulatory text as it existed prior to the effective date of that rule. DATES: This rule is effective May 15, 2026.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
Being paid a salary means a predetermined amount that does not vary
Under federal overtime rules, being paid a salary means receiving a predetermined amount that does not vary based on the quality or quantity of work performed. To satisfy the salary basis test for the executive, administrative, or professional exemption in 2026, an employee generally must be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week ($35,568 on an annual basis). This test is one of three that must be met for the white-collar exemption to apply, along with the duties test and the salary level test. If an employer reduces the salary based on how much or how well the work is done, the employee may not be considered salaried for overtime purposes. The salary basis requirement does not apply to certain professional employees such as teachers, doctors, or lawyers.
(2) the employee must be paid a predetermined and fixed salary that is not subject to reduction because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed (the salary basis test);
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
The salary is only half of it: the duties test
The salary is only half of the test for the executive, administrative, or professional overtime exemption. The other half is the duties test, which asks what the employee's work actually involves. For an employee to be exempt, the employee's job duties must primarily involve executive, administrative, or professional duties as defined by the regulations. The word "primarily" means the main work the employee does - it is not just any task, but the principal, major, or most important duty the employee performs. Even if an employee is paid the required $684 per week ($35,568 annually) on a salary basis, the exemption still does not apply unless the employee's primary duty is exempt work. Employers cannot treat an employee as exempt from overtime simply by paying them a salary if their day-to-day work does not meet the duties test.
the employee's job duties must primarily involve executive, administrative, or professional duties as defined by the regulations (the duties test);
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
The shorter test for highly compensated employees
Highly compensated employees face a shorter path to the overtime exemption. Under federal law, an employee with total annual compensation of at least $107,432 is deemed exempt if the employee customarily and regularly performs any one or more of the exempt duties or responsibilities of an executive, administrative, or professional employee. This is easier than the standard test, which requires the employee's primary duty to be exempt work. For the highly compensated employee test, the employee need only customarily and regularly perform any one or more exempt duties. Total annual compensation must include at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis, but may also include commissions, nondiscretionary bonuses, and other nondiscretionary compensation earned during a year. It does not include board, lodging, or fringe benefits.
an employee with total annual compensation of at least $107,432 is deemed exempt under section 13(a)(1) of the Act if the employee customarily and regularly performs any one or more of the exempt duties or responsibilities of an executive, administrative or professional employee
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
When a bonus can count toward the salary level
When calculating whether an employee meets the salary level for the executive, administrative, or professional exemption, an employer may count nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments toward the salary level, but only up to a limit. To satisfy the standard salary level test, an employee generally must be paid at least $684 per week ($35,568 annually) on a salary basis. The regulations allow employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to a portion of the standard salary level. These payments must be made on an annual or more frequent basis. If the bonus or incentive payment is less than the shortfall in a 52-week period, the employer may make a catch-up payment within one month after the end of the 52-week period to bring the employee up to the required level.
Total annual compensation may also include commissions, nondiscretionary bonuses and other nondiscretionary compensation earned during a 52-week period.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
Workers the exemption never reaches, whatever they are paid
Under the FLSA, the executive, administrative, professional, and outside-sales exemptions apply only to workers employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity. Blue-collar employees - workers who perform manual labor or routine physical work - are not considered to be employed in any of these capacities, no matter how much they are paid or how they are compensated. The regulations governing these exemptions therefore never extend to blue-collar workers, and their employers must pay them overtime for all hours worked beyond their normal workweek. The standard salary level of $684 per week ($35,568 annually) and the highly compensated employee threshold of $107,432 per year are tests that apply to workers in executive, administrative, or professional roles, not to those performing manual or routine physical tasks.
These FLSA exemptions are commonly known as the ``white collar'' or ``EAP'' exemptions.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
You can pay biweekly or monthly, but the floor is set on a weekly basis
The federal overtime regulations set the standard salary level at $684 per week, but employers do not have to pay on a weekly schedule. The required amount per week may be translated into equivalent amounts for longer pay periods. For example, the $684-per-week requirement is met if an employee is paid biweekly on a salary of at least $1,368, semimonthly at least $1,482, or monthly at least $2,964. However, the shortest pay period that satisfies the compensation requirement is one week - employers cannot use a daily or hourly period to satisfy the salary test. This means that an employee paid on a biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly basis still meets the salary level requirement as long as the equivalent weekly amount reaches the threshold, but the floor itself is always measured on a per-week basis. The annual equivalent of $35,568 works the same way: it is simply the weekly floor multiplied across a full year, not an independent threshold measured over a different period.
The required amount of compensation per week may be translated into equivalent amounts for periods longer than one week. For example, the $684-per-week requirement will be met if the employee is compensated biweekly on a salary basis of not less than $1,368, semimonthly on a salary basis of not less than $1,482, or monthly on a salary basis of not less than $2,964. However, the shortest period of payment that will meet this compensation requirement is one week.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
Paying more than the guaranteed minimum never threatens the exemption
Under the federal overtime regulations, an employer may pay an exempt employee extra compensation on top of the guaranteed salary without jeopardizing the exemption. The rule provides that an employer may provide additional compensation without losing the exemption or violating the salary basis requirement, as long as the employee also receives a guaranteed minimum of at least $684 each week paid on a salary basis. This extra pay can take many forms: a commission on sales, a percentage of the employer's profits, compensation based on hours worked beyond the normal workweek, or other bonuses. Such additional compensation may be paid on any basis - flat sum, straight-time hourly amount, time and one-half, or any other method - and may include paid time off. The key requirement is that the guaranteed salary floor of $684 per week ($35,568 annually) is always met on a salary basis, regardless of how much extra the employee earns through commissions, bonuses, or overtime-like premiums.
An employer may provide an exempt employee with additional compensation without losing the exemption or violating the salary basis requirement, if the employment arrangement also includes a guarantee of at least the minimum weekly-required amount paid on a salary basis.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
Some professionals qualify without meeting the salary threshold at all
The federal overtime rules contain a special carve-out for certain learned professionals. Under 29 CFR Part 541, the salary level test and salary basis test do not apply to teachers, medical doctors, lawyers, or outside sales employees. This means that a school, hospital, law firm, or sales operation in the United States can classify someone in one of these roles as exempt from overtime even if it pays them less than $684 per week or less than $35,568 per year. The employee still has to meet the duties test for their occupation - for example, a licensed attorney practicing law, a licensed physician diagnosing or treating patients, or a teacher in an educational establishment - but the employer does not have to satisfy the minimum salary threshold. The highly compensated employee alternative test, which requires $107,432 in total annual compensation, likewise does not govern these roles: they are judged solely on the professional duties standard. As a result, a full-time teacher at a private school or a junior associate at a small law firm may be overtime-exempt despite earning a salary well below the standard floor that applies to executive and administrative staff.
The salary basis and salary level tests do not apply to doctors, lawyers, teachers, and outside sales employees. See 29 CFR 541.303(d), 541.304(d), 541.500(c).
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
A state overtime law can require a higher salary threshold than the federal one
The federal standard salary level published here is a floor, not a ceiling. Many states have enacted their own overtime laws with their own salary thresholds, and some of those state thresholds are set well above the federal standard salary level. The Department of Labor states that state laws on wages and hours also apply to employment subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act, and that when both the federal Act and a state law apply, the law setting the higher standards must be observed. So an employer subject to both a state overtime law and the federal one has to pay whichever salary level is higher, and an employee should check their own state's overtime salary threshold rather than assume the federal standard salary level is the only one that applies to them.
State laws on wages and hours also apply to employment subject to this Act. When both this Act and a state law apply, the law setting the higher standards must be observed.
elaws - Employment Law Guide - Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay (DOL)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
- Standard salary level per week
Standard Salary Level $684 per week (equivalent to a $35,568 annual salary)
- Standard salary level, annual equivalent
Standard Salary Level $684 per week (equivalent to a $35,568 annual salary)
- Highly compensated employee total annual compensation
Total Annual Compensation Requirement for Highly Compensated Employees $107,432 per year, including at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis
- Compensation required for computer employees, hourly basis
Compensation Required for Computer Employees Paid on an Hourly Basis $27.63 per hour
- Special salary level per week, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the CNMI
Special Salary Level for Employees in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands $455 per week (equivalent to a $23,660 annual salary)
- Special salary level per week, American Samoa
Special Salary Level for Employees in American Samoa $380 per week (equivalent to a $19,760 annual salary)
- Special base rate per week, motion picture industry
Special Base Rate for Employees in the Motion Picture Industry $1,043 per week (or a proportionate amount based on the number of days worked)
By year
Every published year
7 years on record, 2026 back to 2020. Each year links to its own page, its own document and its own verification date.
Oldest year at the left. Every line spans the same run of years, with a tick under each year it has a figure for, so a line that starts late is a column the law added late. The vertical axis is scaled to the values plotted rather than to zero, so a line shows the shape of the change and not the size of the amount. The table states every value.
| Year | Standard salary level per week | Standard salary level, annual equivalent | Highly compensated employee total annual compensation | Compensation required for computer employees, hourly basis | Special salary level per week, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the CNMI | Special salary level per week, American Samoa | Special base rate per week, motion picture industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $684 | $35,568 | $107,432 | $27.63 | $455 | $380 | $1,043 |
| 2025 | $684 | $35,568 | $107,432 | $27.63 | $455 | $380 | $1,043 |
| 2024 | $684 | $35,568 | $107,432 | $27.63 | $455 | $380 | $1,043 |
| 2023 | $684 | $35,568 | $107,432 | $27.63 | $455 | $380 | $1,043 |
| 2022 | $684 | $35,568 | $107,432 | $27.63 | $455 | $380 | $1,043 |
| 2021 | $684 | $35,568 | $107,432 | $27.63 | $455 | $380 | $1,043 |
| 2020 | $684 | $35,568 | $107,432 | $27.63 | $455 | $380 | $1,043 |
Download every year as a csv. One row per published figure, each carrying the document it was read from and the date it was checked.