People talk about rotations as though one of them is a better deal — as though
a 21/7 has some efficiency a 14/14 does not. It does not. At the same rate and the same day length,
both pay exactly $530 a day worked. What separates them is how many of those days
you buy, and what the tax system charges you for buying more.
Short answer
Same $530 a day. Different $17.83 a day.
Gross per day worked is identical. After tax the 14/14 keeps
$421.24 a day against the 21/7's $403.41 — because the 21/7's
extra days are taxed at the top of your income, not the average.
Why they look different and are not
$35 an hour, 12-hour days, single filer in Texas. Both rotations run on a 28-day
cycle, so both repeat 13.04 times a year — that part is coincidence
and it makes the comparison unusually clean.
Federal overtime is weekly, so each 7-day stretch of 12-hour days is 84 hours: 40 regular
and 44 overtime. A 14/14 contains two of those weeks; a 21/7 contains three. That is the
entire difference.
Per year at $35/hr
14/14
21/7
Weeks of 40+44 per hitch
2
3
Gross per hitch
$7,420
$11,130
Annual gross
$96,725
$145,088
Total tax
−$19,849
−$34,655
Take-home
$76,876
$110,433
Effective tax rate
20.5%
23.9%
The 21/7 earns $33,557 more in the bank. If total money is the only question,
that settles it and you can stop reading.
Per day worked, which is the honest unit
The two rotations are not the same size, so comparing their totals compares two different amounts
of work. Price them per day on the job instead.
Per year
14/14
21/7
Days worked
183
274
Days off
183
91
Hours worked
2,190
3,285
Gross per day worked
$530.00
$530.00
Net per day worked
$421.24
$403.41
The finding. Gross per day is identical to the cent — the
rotation has no effect on your rate whatsoever. After tax the shorter rotation is ahead by
$17.83 every day worked. The 21/7 is not a better-paying job; it is the same job
bought in greater quantity, at a slightly worse exchange rate.
What the extra 91 days actually return
The 21/7 works 91 more days a year than the 14/14 and nets $33,557
more for them. That is $367.75 a day.
Set that against the $421.24 a day the 14/14 worker already keeps and the shape
of the decision changes. Those additional days come back at about 13% less than the
days you were working anyway — because they land on top of your income, in your highest
bracket, while the earlier days used up your standard deduction and the lower rungs.
They are still $367.75, which is a good day's pay by any measure. The point is
that they are not $421.24, and nobody is told that when they compare two rotations.
What actually decides it
Days off are the real currency. The 14/14 gives you 183 days off a
year; the 21/7 gives you 91. That is 92 additional days of your life,
priced at about $367.75 each. Whether that is expensive is not an arithmetic question.
Watch how your hitch lands on the payroll week. Your employer defines the
workweek, and a hitch that straddles an extra payroll week changes the regular/overtime split.
Both figures here assume clean 84-hour weeks.
Travel days are unpaid time in both. A rotation far from home spends its days
off differently, and the 21/7's fewer days off absorb the same travel.
A state income tax narrows the gap. These figures are Texas. Anywhere with a
graduated state tax, the 21/7's extra income is taxed harder again and the per-day gap widens.
Neither rotation changes your rate. If you want more per day, that is a
conversation about the rate or the day length — not about the rotation.
Price your own rotation
Set your days on, days off, hours per day and rate. Cimplora gives take-home per day, week,
hitch, month and year, with the overtime split shown and every deduction itemised — so two
rotations can be compared in the same unit. No account, no sign-up.
In total, yes — at $35 an hour on 12-hour days it is $145,088 gross against $96,725, or
$110,433 take-home against $76,876. Per day worked they pay exactly the same gross, $530.00.
Why is the 14/14 better per day after tax?
Because the 21/7's extra days land on top of your income and are taxed at your highest rate.
The effective rate goes from 20.5% to 23.9%, so net per day worked falls from $421.24 to
$403.41.
What do the extra days on a 21/7 actually pay?
The 21/7 works 91 more days a year and nets $33,557 more for them — about $367.75 a day, which
is roughly 13% below the $421.24 a 14/14 worker already keeps per day worked.
How many days off does each rotation give?
Both run a 28-day cycle repeating 13.04 times a year. A 14/14 gives 183 days worked and 183
off; a 21/7 gives 274 worked and 91 off.
How much overtime is in a hitch of 12-hour days?
Each 7-day stretch is 84 hours: 40 regular and 44 overtime under weekly federal rules. A
14-day hitch holds two of those weeks, a 21-day hitch three.