Overtime Salary Threshold 2026
Current year
For 2026, the Overtime Salary Threshold is $684 (Standard salary level per week), $35,568 (Standard salary level, annual equivalent) and $107,432 (Highly compensated employee total annual compensation).
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Earnings thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional exemption from minimum wage and overtime protections under the FLSA (DOL)Verified 2026-09-01
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%) |
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)
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
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.