Is this salary conversion exact?

No. It is an estimate based on the hours, weeks, paid time off, overtime and contractor assumptions you enter. It does not calculate taxes, benefits eligibility or legal entitlements.

How do paid holidays and PTO affect the hourly rate?

Paid holidays and PTO remain part of salary. The Salary after PTO view subtracts those paid days from scheduled hours to estimate the effective value of productive or worked time.

Why can a contractor rate be higher than an employee hourly rate?

A contractor may need to cover benefits, payroll burden, business costs and non-billable time. The contractor view makes those assumptions explicit and divides the target compensation by billable hours.

TimeCardWhiz pay tools

Contractor Hourly Rate Calculator

Estimate a contractor hourly rate from a target employee salary, benefits load, annual business costs, billable hours and billable weeks.

Free estimateNo sign-upShows the mathUSD gross pay

Enter your assumptions

Change any field to recalculate instantly. Use annual gross figures before taxes and deductions.

Annual salary

Gross salary before taxes and deductions.

Hours per week

Weeks per year

Workdays per weekUsed to convert PTO days into hours.

Paid holidays / year

Paid PTO days / year

Overtime hours / weekOptional recurring overtime used in the annual pay estimate.

Overtime multiplierCommon federal overtime estimate: 1.5×.

Benefits / load %Health, retirement, payroll burden, leave and similar costs.

Billable hours / weekExcludes sales, admin, training and gaps between projects.

Annual business costs

Software, insurance, equipment and other overhead.

Paid holidays and PTO are treated as paid salary time. The Salary after PTO view subtracts those days from productive hours to show an effective hourly value.

Methodology and assumptions

This is an estimate, not a paycheck or a legal determination. The calculator keeps the assumptions visible so you can replace the defaults with your schedule.

Salary to hourly: annual salary ÷ scheduled hours per year. Scheduled hours are hours per week × weeks per year; recurring overtime is shown as additional estimated pay, not silently folded into the base rate.
Hourly to salary: regular hourly rate × scheduled hours per year, plus any recurring overtime hours × the selected overtime multiplier.
After PTO: paid holidays and PTO remain part of salary, but are subtracted from scheduled hours to estimate the hourly value of productive/worked time.
Contractor rate: target employee salary × (1 + benefits/load %) + annual business costs, divided by billable hours per week × billable weeks per year. Non-billable time is the main reason a contractor rate is higher than an employee hourly equivalent.

Use the time card calculator Read the bi-weekly guide Read the California overtime guide

Important: compensation estimate only

This tool does not calculate taxes, take-home pay, benefits eligibility, paid-leave entitlement, worker classification, minimum wage compliance, exempt status, or a legally required overtime rate. Salary and contractor arrangements vary by employer, state, contract and industry. Confirm the inputs with your offer letter, payroll team, accountant or employment professional.

Reference points: the US Department of Labor overtime guidance, IRS Publication 15, and IRS Publication 15-A. These sources provide general federal guidance; they do not turn this estimate into individualized tax or legal advice.

Last updated: October 18, 2026