What 6-10s really pay: overtime math for electricians

At $38 an hour, 6-10s pay $2,660 a week before taxes: 40 hours straight and 20 hours of overtime at $57. That's 75% more money than 5-8s for 50% more hours. Under federal law, overtime is time and a half for every hour over 40 in a workweek, and there's no federal daily overtime.

The $38 is an example. The shape holds at any rate.

01What each schedule pays

Here's one week at $38 an hour under the federal rule, with overtime at $57 for hours over 40.

The math, so you can check it:

• 40 straight hours at $38 is $1,520 on every schedule.
• 5-10s: 10 OT hours x $57 is $570. Total $2,090.
• 6-10s: 20 OT hours x $57 is $1,140. Total $2,660.
• 7-12s: 44 OT hours x $57 is $2,508. Total $4,028.

On 6-10s, a third of your hours are overtime but 43% of your pay is ($1,140 of $2,660). That's why "is OT guaranteed?" is the first question on a 6-10s job. If the OT gets cut to 5-10s in week six, you lose $570 a week.

If you're weighing a travel job on 6-10s against a local job, the whole-check math for travel vs local work adds per diem and road costs to these numbers.

02How overtime is figured under federal law

Federal overtime is time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek, and nothing else. The U.S. Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #23 sets out the rules:

• Overtime is owed for "hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half."
• A workweek is "a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours," seven days in a row.
• "Averaging of hours over two or more weeks is not permitted." A 60-hour week followed by a 20-hour week still owes 20 hours of OT for the first week.
• Federal law "does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest, as such." A Saturday only pays OT if it pushes you past 40.

So under the federal rule alone, 4-10s pay the same as 5-8s. Hours 9 and 10 each day are straight time. One thing to watch: a rained-out Monday on 6-10s means a 50-hour week, and the OT drops with it.

03Which states pay daily overtime

Only a handful of states pay overtime by the day. Some websites say most states pay daily OT after 8 hours. That's wrong. Per the DOL's state labor law table, as of 2026:

Nevada's daily rule stops at 1.5 times the state minimum wage, so most journeymen there are past it. Oregon has a 10-hour daily rule, but only for some manufacturing and cannery work, not construction. Check your state labor department for the current rule, since they change.

California has the biggest effect on a journeyman's check. Its Labor Commissioner's overtime FAQ pays time and a half after 8 hours in a workday, double time after 12, and on the seventh straight day in a workweek, time and a half for the first 8 hours and double after that. At $38, 4-10s in California with no approved alternative workweek pays 32 straight hours ($1,216) plus 8 OT hours ($456), or $1,672, not $1,520.

04Union double time changes the math

Union agreements often pay more overtime than the law requires, and every local's sheet is different. Read the sheet for the local you're working under.

Take the IBEW Local 46 inside wage sheet for the Seattle area, effective Aug. 3, 2026, with a journey-level wage of $77.93 (IBEW Local 46 area wage report). On a regular 5-8s schedule, "the first two (2) hours before or after eight (8) regular hours Monday through Friday and the first eight (8) hours on Saturday" pay time and a half. Everything else past that, and all of Sunday, pays double.

A 6-10s week under that sheet:

1. Monday to Friday: 8 straight plus 2 at time and a half each day. That's 40 straight and 10 at time and a half.
2. Saturday: 8 at time and a half, 2 at double.
3. Total: 40 straight, 18 at time and a half, 2 at double. That's 71 straight-time hours of pay for 60 hours of work.
4. At $77.93: $3,117.20 + $2,104.11 + $311.72 = $5,533.03.

The same 60 hours under only the federal rule is 70 straight-time hours of pay. The double time adds one more. On 7-12s, the gap gets big, because Sunday is all double. That's how the biggest headline checks on long-hour jobs get built. More on that in data center electrician work.

05Does per diem count in your overtime rate?

Real per diem doesn't raise your overtime rate. Fact Sheet #23 says payments "for expenses incurred on the employer's behalf" aren't part of the regular rate. The detailed rule, 29 CFR 778.217, treats travel reimbursement at or under the maximum federal per diem as "per se reasonable."

The catch runs the other way. If a company pays more "per diem" than the travel really costs, the regulation says "the excess amount will be included in the regular rate." So a shop that pays $28 an hour plus a big "per diem" to keep the rate low should be figuring OT on more than $28. If your per diem looks like it's standing in for wages, ask how they figure your OT rate.

06What it puts in your pocket

Overtime is wages and gets taxed like the rest of your wages. There's no special overtime tax rate.

There is a newer federal deduction for overtime. The IRS says you "may deduct the pay that exceeds your regular rate of pay," up to $12,500 a year, or $25,000 filing jointly, and it phases out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($300,000 joint) (IRS, No Tax on Overtime deduction). Two limits matter for electricians:

• Only the half counts. The IRS overtime FAQs (FS-2026-13, August 2026) say the "half" of time and a half is the qualified part. At $38, that's $19 per OT hour.
• Only federally required OT counts. It's overtime required under section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Daily OT under state law and union double time past the federal rule don't qualify. The IRS says that when an employer pays double time, "only the amount minimally necessary" to meet the FLSA counts.

Example: 20 OT hours a week at $38 is $380 a week of qualified premium. You'd hit the $12,500 cap in about 33 weeks of 6-10s. It's a deduction, so it lowers your taxable income, not your tax bill dollar for dollar. Ask a tax pro how it plays out for you.

07Are 6-10s worth it?

6-10s are worth it when the OT is steady and the job runs long enough to bank it. At $38, 6-10s add $1,140 a week over a 40-hour week, which is $22,800 over 20 weeks.

They're not worth it when:

• The OT isn't guaranteed. Ask how many weeks of 6-10s are planned, and what happens after rough-in.
• The rate is low to make room for hours. A $34 job on 6-10s grosses $2,380. A $44 job on 5-10s grosses $2,420 with 10 fewer hours. Run both.
• Nobody says when it ends. OSHA says "long work hours may increase the risk of injuries and accidents and can contribute to poor health and worker fatigue" (OSHA, worker fatigue). Months of 10-hour days with no end date wear down good hands.

Ask about the hours the same way you'd ask about the rate. If the hours are where your money comes from, they belong in the offer. The traveling electrician guide covers what else to ask before you take a long-hour job on the road, and comparing two job offers puts hours next to rate, per diem and benefits.

If your hours or your OT aren't being paid the way the rules say, know your rights on the job covers what to do about it.

Run your Pay Check to see what electricians with your license make near you. Takes about a minute and your boss never hears about it.

FAQFAQs