Hour Calculator

How to Use the Hour Calculator

Calculate work hours quickly and accurately with two powerful modes for different use cases.

1. Hours Between mode: Calculate hours for a single shift. Enter start and end times, add any break time, and check "next day" if the shift crosses midnight. Perfect for single day calculations.
2. Time Card mode: Track a full week of work. Enter start and end times for each day (Monday through Sunday), add break times, and set your overtime threshold. The calculator automatically separates regular and overtime hours.
3. Break time: Enter unpaid break time in minutes. This is subtracted from the total hours worked.
4. View results: See total hours in HH:MM format plus decimal hours for payroll systems. Time Card mode shows regular vs overtime breakdown.

Hour Calculation Formulas

Hours between two times:

Decimal hours conversion:

Overtime calculation:

For example, if you work from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute lunch break: (5:30 PM - 9:00 AM) - 30 minutes = 8 hours (8.0 decimal hours).

Common Hour Calculation Examples

Weekly overtime example: Working 9 hours Monday through Friday (45 total) with a 40-hour overtime threshold gives you 40 regular hours and 5 overtime hours. At $25/hour regular and $37.50/hour overtime (1.5x), your weekly gross pay would be $1,000 + $187.50 = $1,187.50.

What is Hour Tracking?

Hour tracking is the process of recording the time spent working to ensure accurate payroll, project billing, and labor law compliance. Whether you are an hourly employee, freelancer, or small business owner, calculating work hours correctly prevents pay disputes and ensures fair compensation.

Modern hour tracking serves several purposes beyond basic payroll. Project managers use it to monitor resource allocation and estimate future project timelines. Freelancers track hours to bill clients accurately and understand their effective hourly rate. Employers use it to comply with labor laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that mandate overtime pay.

The two most common formats for recording hours are hours:minutes (HH:MM) and decimal hours. While HH:MM is intuitive, decimal hours are preferred by payroll systems because they simplify calculations. For example, 7 hours 45 minutes expressed as 7.75 decimal hours makes multiplication by hourly rate straightforward: 7.75 × $20 = $155.

Understanding Overtime Calculation

Overtime is additional pay for hours worked beyond the standard work week threshold. In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires overtime pay at 1.5 times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

How this calculator handles overtime:

• The default overtime threshold is 40 hours per week, but you can adjust this to match your company policy or local regulations.
• Hours up to the threshold are counted as Regular Hours.
• Any hours beyond the threshold are counted as Overtime Hours.
• The calculator does not apply the overtime pay multiplier (1.5x) — it only separates the hours. You'll need to apply your actual overtime rate when calculating pay.

Example: If you work 45 hours in a week with a 40-hour threshold, you'll see 40 regular hours and 5 overtime hours.

Note: Overtime laws vary by country, state, and employment type. Some jurisdictions use daily overtime (e.g., over 8 hours per day) instead of weekly. Always consult your local labor laws and employment contract.

Decimal Hours for Payroll

Most payroll systems use decimal hours instead of hours and minutes. This makes calculations easier and more accurate.

Common conversions:

Formula: Decimal hours = Hours + (Minutes ÷ 60)

For example: 8 hours 30 minutes = 8 + (30 ÷ 60) = 8.5 decimal hours

Frequently Asked Questions