Hours Calculator

Calculate hours worked, breaks, overtime, and total pay for a single shift.

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hrs
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Total Hours Worked
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Regular Hours
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Overtime Hours
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Total Pay
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Regular Pay
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Overtime Pay
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How to Use This Hours Calculator

  1. Enter your start and end times — use the time pickers. The calculator handles overnight shifts automatically (when end time is before start time).
  2. Enter break duration — the number of minutes to deduct for unpaid breaks. Set to 0 if breaks are paid or there are none.
  3. Enter your hourly rate — this is optional. Leave at $0 or blank to see only hours without pay calculations.
  4. Set overtime parameters — the default is 8 hours threshold at 1.5× multiplier, which is the US federal standard. Adjust to match your employer's policy.

How Hours Are Calculated

The calculation follows these steps:

Elapsed hours = (End Time − Start Time) in decimal hours
Working hours = Elapsed hours − (Break minutes ÷ 60)
Regular hours = min(Working hours, Overtime threshold)
Overtime hours = max(0, Working hours − Overtime threshold)

Pay Calculation

Once you have regular and overtime hours, pay is calculated as:

Regular pay = Regular hours × Hourly rate
Overtime pay = Overtime hours × Hourly rate × OT multiplier
Total pay = Regular pay + Overtime pay

Understanding Overtime Rules

In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires overtime pay of at least 1.5 times the regular rate for non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Some states (like California and Alaska) have daily overtime — 1.5× after 8 hours in a single day, and 2× after 12 hours. Always check your state's specific overtime laws and your employer's policies.

Some common overtime structures:

  • Standard US (federal) — 1.5× after 40 hours/week
  • California daily OT — 1.5× after 8 hours/day, 2× after 12 hours/day
  • Double time — 2× after 12 hours in a day or on 7th consecutive day (California)
  • Employer premium OT — some companies pay 2× or more as a benefit

Decimal Hours vs HH:MM Format

Payroll systems typically use decimal hours because they are easier to multiply by an hourly rate. For example, 7 hours and 45 minutes is 7.75 decimal hours. To convert from HH:MM to decimal, divide the minutes by 60: 45 min ÷ 60 = 0.75. To convert back, multiply the decimal part by 60: 0.75 × 60 = 45 minutes. This calculator shows both formats in the results.

Weekly Timesheet Tracking

For a full weekly timesheet, calculate each day separately and sum the working hours. If your overtime policy is weekly (40 hours threshold), you need to know your total weekly hours before applying overtime. This calculator is designed for single-shift calculations — for weekly tracking, use the results from each day and add them up manually, or use a dedicated timesheet app.

Common Work Schedules

Standard full-time schedules typically look like this: a 9-to-5 shift (8 hours gross, 7.5 net with 30-min break) gives 37.5 hours per week; a 7-to-3:30 shift (8.5 hours gross, 8 net with 30-min break) gives 40 hours per week. Part-time schedules vary widely. Knowing your exact hours is important for tracking overtime, ensuring correct pay, and verifying your paycheck.

Frequently Asked Questions

Subtract your start time from your end time to get total elapsed time, then subtract any break duration. For example, if you work from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute break: 8.5 hours elapsed − 0.5 hours break = 8 hours worked. This calculator does this automatically and also handles overnight shifts where the end time is earlier than the start time.
Overtime applies when you work more than the standard hours threshold (typically 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week in the US). Overtime pay is usually 1.5 times the regular hourly rate. For example, if you work 10 hours at $20/hr with 8-hour overtime threshold: 8 hours × $20 = $160 regular pay, plus 2 hours × $30 = $60 overtime pay, totaling $220.
Decimal hours express time as a single number — for example, 7 hours and 30 minutes is 7.5 decimal hours. This format is easier for pay calculations. HH:MM format shows hours and minutes separately (7:30). This calculator shows both formats so you can use whichever your timesheet or payroll system requires.
Yes. If your end time is earlier than your start time (for example, 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM), the calculator automatically treats it as an overnight shift crossing midnight and calculates 8 hours worked. Simply enter your times normally and the calculator handles the day boundary.
A standard full-time schedule of 40 hours per week for 52 weeks equals 2,080 hours per year. After accounting for 10 federal holidays (80 hours) and 10 days of vacation (80 hours), many workers are actually at their jobs for about 1,920 hours per year. Use the salary calculator to convert between annual salary and hourly rate.