How to use this calculator
Managers at small businesses still total paper time cards and spreadsheets by hand, usually on the afternoon payroll is due. Mistakes with minutes, overnight shifts, and lunch breaks are easy to make and show up later as short paychecks or wage claims.
Enter the start time, end time, and unpaid break for each day. The calculator handles shifts that cross midnight, converts minutes to decimal hours for payroll, and estimates gross pay with overtime over 40 hours. If you are sending reminders to employees and managers, use our timesheet reminder email template.
- Enter the hourly rate if you want a pay estimate.
- For each day worked, enter the clock-in and clock-out times.
- Enter the unpaid meal break in minutes. Leave short rest breaks out, since they count as paid time.
- Copy the decimal total into payroll. Decimal hours are what payroll systems expect.
How it's calculated
Daily hours = (clock-out time minus clock-in time) minus unpaid break minutes, converted to hours
If clock-out is earlier than clock-in, the shift crossed midnight and 24 hours are added before subtracting. Decimal hours = hours + minutes / 60, so 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 hours. Weekly overtime is total hours over 40, paid at 1.5 times the regular rate.
Worked example
A restaurant line cook works Tuesday to Saturday, 2:00 pm to 10:30 pm, with a 30-minute unpaid meal break each night, and a Sunday double from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm with a 30-minute break.
Each weeknight shift is 8 hours. Sunday is 10.5 hours. The week totals 50.5 hours, with 10.5 hours of overtime. At $18 an hour, pay is $18 x 40 + $27 x 10.5 = $1,003.50. In California, the Sunday shift would also trigger daily overtime, so check the overtime calculator with California rules for that week.
Rules to know
Under federal rules, rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are paid work time. Bona fide meal periods, usually 30 minutes or more, can be unpaid if the employee is completely relieved of duty. Many states require meal or rest breaks, and California, Oregon, and Washington have detailed rules and penalties.
The Department of Labor allows rounding time to the nearest 5, 6, or 15 minutes only if it averages out so employees are fully paid over time. California's Supreme Court ruled in 2021 in Donohue v. AMN Services that employers can't round meal period punches. The safest practice is to pay to the minute. A time and attendance system records punches automatically and flags missed breaks.
This is general information for US employers, not legal or tax advice. Rates and rules change and vary by state and city, so confirm current figures with the agency or a qualified advisor.
Common mistakes
- Treating 7:45 as 7.45 hours instead of 7.75.
- Deducting short rest breaks that federal law treats as paid.
- Forgetting the extra 24 hours on overnight shifts.
- Rounding punches in a way that always favors the employer.
Email templates that go with this
Once you have the number, these templates help you explain it to employees, candidates, or managers.
Where to go from here
A calculator answers one question. The right process and software keep the numbers right every pay period.
Automate the math
State rules behind this calculation
- Meal and rest break laws by stateWhich states require meal breaks, which require paid rest breaks, and the penalties that make break compliance worth tracking.
- California labor lawsMinimum wage $16.90. Final pay if fired: Immediately, on the last day of work.
- Washington labor lawsMinimum wage $17.13. Final pay if fired: By the next regular payday.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours?
Are lunch breaks paid?
How do I calculate hours for an overnight shift?
Can employers round time punches?
Written by the HRTally Research Team
Our guides are written and reviewed by people with hands-on US HR, payroll, and HR technology experience. Legal and tax facts are checked against primary sources, such as the Department of Labor, IRS, EEOC, and USCIS, and linked at the end of each guide. Vendors never review or pay for our editorial content.