How to use it
Enter a start time and an end time. You can type times however you normally would — 9, 930, 9:30, 5p and 17:30 are all understood, and the reading is shown underneath so you can spot a typo immediately.
Add break minutes if some of that time was unpaid. Use Add entry to total several separate periods, such as a morning and an afternoon session, or several days at once.
Example. From 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM is 8 hours 30 minutes. Take off a 30 minute lunch and you have 8 hours exactly, shown as 8.00 in decimal or 8:00 in hours and minutes.
Decimal hours versus hours and minutes
These are two ways of writing the same duration, and mixing them up is the single most common payroll mistake. Eight and a half hours is 8.50 in decimal, but 8:30 in hours and minutes. It is never 8.30.
To convert minutes to decimal, divide by 60. Fifteen minutes is 0.25, twenty minutes is 0.33, forty-five minutes is 0.75. Payroll systems almost always want the decimal form, which is why this calculator shows both at once.
Shifts that cross midnight
If the end time is earlier than the start time, the calculator assumes the period ran overnight rather than treating it as an error. Entering 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM gives 8 hours, not a negative number.
Common shift lengths
These are the spans people look up most often. The middle column is the raw time on the clock; the last column is what you are actually paid for after a 30 minute unpaid lunch.
| Shift | Total time | Less 30 min lunch |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM | 8:00 (8.00) | 7:30 (7.50) |
| 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM | 8:30 (8.50) | 8:00 (8.00) |
| 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM | 8:00 (8.00) | 7:30 (7.50) |
| 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM | 8:30 (8.50) | 8:00 (8.00) |
| 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM | 9:00 (9.00) | 8:30 (8.50) |
| 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM | 8:00 (8.00) | 7:30 (7.50) |
| 7:00 AM - 3:30 PM | 8:30 (8.50) | 8:00 (8.00) |
| 6:00 AM - 2:00 PM | 8:00 (8.00) | 7:30 (7.50) |
| 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM | 12:00 (12.00) | 11:30 (11.50) |
| 7:00 PM - 7:00 AM | 12:00 (12.00) | 11:30 (11.50) |
| 11:00 PM - 7:00 AM | 8:00 (8.00) | 7:30 (7.50) |
| 10:00 PM - 6:00 AM | 8:00 (8.00) | 7:30 (7.50) |
Minutes to decimal hours: full chart
Every minute from 1 to 60, rounded to three decimal places. Payroll systems usually accept two, so 0.283 becomes 0.28.
| Min | Dec | Min | Dec | Min | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.017 | 21 | 0.35 | 41 | 0.683 |
| 2 | 0.033 | 22 | 0.367 | 42 | 0.70 |
| 3 | 0.05 | 23 | 0.383 | 43 | 0.717 |
| 4 | 0.067 | 24 | 0.40 | 44 | 0.733 |
| 5 | 0.083 | 25 | 0.417 | 45 | 0.75 |
| 6 | 0.10 | 26 | 0.433 | 46 | 0.767 |
| 7 | 0.117 | 27 | 0.45 | 47 | 0.783 |
| 8 | 0.133 | 28 | 0.467 | 48 | 0.80 |
| 9 | 0.15 | 29 | 0.483 | 49 | 0.817 |
| 10 | 0.167 | 30 | 0.50 | 50 | 0.833 |
| 11 | 0.183 | 31 | 0.517 | 51 | 0.85 |
| 12 | 0.20 | 32 | 0.533 | 52 | 0.867 |
| 13 | 0.217 | 33 | 0.55 | 53 | 0.883 |
| 14 | 0.233 | 34 | 0.567 | 54 | 0.90 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 35 | 0.583 | 55 | 0.917 |
| 16 | 0.267 | 36 | 0.60 | 56 | 0.933 |
| 17 | 0.283 | 37 | 0.617 | 57 | 0.95 |
| 18 | 0.30 | 38 | 0.633 | 58 | 0.967 |
| 19 | 0.317 | 39 | 0.65 | 59 | 0.983 |
| 20 | 0.333 | 40 | 0.667 | 60 | 1.00 |
24-hour and military time
Many timesheets and most of the world outside the United States use the 24-hour clock, sometimes called military time. After midday you add 12: 1:00 PM becomes 13:00, 5:30 PM becomes 17:30, and 11:00 PM becomes 23:00. Midnight is 00:00 and midday is 12:00.
This calculator accepts either. Type 17:30 or 1730 and it reads 5:30 PM; type 5:30p and it reads the same thing. Whichever you use, the interpretation is shown underneath so there is no ambiguity.
| 12-hour | 24-hour | 12-hour | 24-hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 00:00 | 12:00 PM | 12:00 |
| 1:00 AM | 01:00 | 1:00 PM | 13:00 |
| 2:00 AM | 02:00 | 2:00 PM | 14:00 |
| 6:00 AM | 06:00 | 6:00 PM | 18:00 |
| 8:00 AM | 08:00 | 8:00 PM | 20:00 |
| 11:00 AM | 11:00 | 11:00 PM | 23:00 |
A note on rounding your own totals
Resist the urge to round each day before adding them up. Rounding seven daily figures to two decimal places and then totalling introduces an error of up to a few minutes across a week, which is real money over a year. Add the exact minutes first and round once at the end — which is what this calculator does internally.
Where the time goes
If you are totalling a whole week of shifts and want overtime worked out as well, the time card calculator gives you a seven or fourteen day grid with overtime rules and gross pay. If you only need to know what your overtime hours are worth, the overtime calculator does that directly. This page is the quicker option when you just need the hours between two times.
Common questions
How many hours is 9 to 5?
Nine in the morning to five in the afternoon is 8 hours. If you take an unpaid 30 minute lunch, your paid time is 7 hours 30 minutes, or 7.50 in decimal.
How many hours is 9 to 5:30?
That is 8 hours 30 minutes on the clock, or 8.50 in decimal. After a 30 minute unpaid lunch it is exactly 8 hours.
How many hours is 8 to 4:30?
Eight in the morning to half past four is 8 hours 30 minutes, or 8.50 decimal. Less a 30 minute lunch, that is 8 hours paid.
How do I calculate hours and minutes?
Subtract the start time from the end time, then subtract any unpaid break. This calculator does it for you and shows the answer in both decimal hours and hours:minutes.
How do I convert minutes into decimal hours?
Divide the minutes by 60. So 15 minutes is 0.25 hours, 30 minutes is 0.50, and 45 minutes is 0.75. Note that 8 hours 30 minutes is written 8.50, not 8.30.
Why does my timesheet say 8.50 instead of 8.30?
Because payroll uses decimal hours rather than hours and minutes. Thirty minutes is half an hour, which is 0.50 in decimal. Writing it as 8.30 would mean 8 hours and 18 minutes.
Does it handle overnight shifts?
Yes. If the end time is earlier than the start time, the period is treated as crossing midnight. 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM returns 8 hours.
Can I add up more than one time period?
Yes. Press Add entry for as many start and end pairs as you need, and the running total at the side sums all of them.
Can I enter times in 24-hour format?
Yes. Both 17:30 and 1730 are read as 5:30 PM, and you can mix formats between fields. The parsed time is shown under each box.