CALCULATOR TOOLS
Hours Calculator
Hours and minutes between two times, with unpaid breaks, overnight shifts, decimal hours and pay.
Calculated in your browser – nothing you enter is sent or stored.
This hours calculator works out exactly how long you worked between two times – in hours and minutes and in decimal hours for payroll. It subtracts unpaid breaks, handles overnight shifts that end after midnight, and multiplies by your hourly rate to show what the shift is worth. Enter the number of days to get a weekly total with overtime.
How to Calculate Hours Worked
- Convert both times to a 24-hour clock. 9:00 AM is 09:00 and 5:30 PM is 17:30.
- Subtract the start time from the end time. 17:30 − 09:00 = 8 hours 30 minutes.
- Subtract unpaid breaks. 8:30 − 0:30 lunch = 8 hours.
- If the end time is earlier than the start, the shift crossed midnight: add 24 hours to the end time first. A 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM shift is 30:30 − 22:00 = 8 hours 30 minutes.
Converting Minutes to Decimal Hours
Payroll and timesheet software use decimal hours, not hours and minutes. To convert, divide the minutes by 60:
Decimal hours = hours + (minutes ÷ 60)
So 7 hours 45 minutes is 7 + 45 ÷ 60 = 7.75 hours, and 8 hours 20 minutes is 8.33 hours. A common mistake is writing 7:45 as 7.45 hours – that underpays you by 18 minutes. The table below the calculator lists every 5-minute step.
Calculating Pay From Hours
Multiply decimal hours by your hourly wage: 7.75 hours × $18.50 = $143.38. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), non-exempt employees must be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate for every hour over 40 in a workweek. Enter the number of days you work this shift and the calculator applies overtime automatically. Some states have stricter rules – California, for example, also requires overtime after 8 hours in a single day.
Are Breaks Paid?
Federal law does not require breaks, but if an employer offers short breaks of 5 to 20 minutes, they must be paid. Meal periods of 30 minutes or more, when you are fully relieved of duty, can be unpaid. Many states, including California, New York and Washington, require meal or rest breaks after a certain number of hours. Only enter unpaid breaks in the calculator.
Common Shift Lengths
| Shift | Break | Hours | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM | 30 min | 8 hr 0 min | 8.00 |
| 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM | 60 min | 7 hr 0 min | 7.00 |
| 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM | none | 8 hr 30 min | 8.50 |
| 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM | 30 min | 11 hr 30 min | 11.50 |
| 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM | 30 min | 7 hr 30 min | 7.50 |
For a whole week with different times each day, use the time card calculator. To see what your hours mean after taxes, use the paycheck calculator, and to count days between dates, the date calculator.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor – Overtime pay under the FLSA
- U.S. Department of Labor – Breaks and meal periods
- U.S. Department of Labor – State minimum paid rest periods
Last reviewed: October 2026 by the ShrinkBee team. Results are estimates. Overtime and break rules vary by state and employer.
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