Payroll Hours Calculator
Enter clock-in and clock-out times, take off unpaid breaks, and see paid hours, overtime and gross wages in seconds. No sign-up. Your numbers stay in your browser.
- Free to use
- No account needed
- Daily, weekly or biweekly
- Overtime and double time
Payroll hours calculator
How the payroll hours calculator works
It turns clock-in and clock-out times into paid hours, then into wages. Here is the process and the math behind it.
- Pick a pay period. Choose daily, weekly or biweekly. Weekly and biweekly timesheets run Monday to Sunday.
- Enter your hourly rate. Use the rate your employer pays for regular hours. Leave it blank if you only need hours.
- Add start time, end time and break. Enter unpaid break minutes for each day. Work past midnight? Enter the real end time. The tool knows the shift ends the next day.
- Read the summary. You see paid hours, regular and overtime hours, and gross pay. Copy the summary, print it or download a CSV file.
Worked example
This is the sample already loaded in the calculator. The hourly rate is $20. Every shift has a 30 minute unpaid break.
| Day | Shift | Paid time |
|---|---|---|
| Mon to Thu (each) | 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 8:00 |
| Friday | 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM | 9:30 |
| Total paid time | 41:30 (41.50 h) | |
| Type | Calculation | Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | 40.00 h × $20.00 | $800.00 |
| Overtime | 1.50 h × $20.00 × 1.5 | $45.00 |
| Gross pay | $845.00 | |
The 1.5 overtime hours come off Friday, the last day that pushes the week past 40 hours.
What it handles for you
Timesheet math looks easy until breaks, late shifts and overtime show up. These are the cases the calculator covers.
- Unpaid breaks
- Enter minutes for each day. They are subtracted from the shift. Leave paid breaks at 0 because paid breaks count as work time.
- Overnight shifts
- An end time earlier than the start time means the shift runs into the next day. Hours count on the day the shift starts.
- Time rounding
- Round clock-in and clock-out times to the nearest 5, 6, 10 or 15 minutes if your employer does. It is off by default.
- Overtime and double time
- Weekly overtime after 40 hours is the default. Add daily overtime, double time and custom multipliers when your state or contract needs them.
- Biweekly periods
- Each Monday to Sunday week is checked on its own, because federal overtime is counted by workweek, not by pay period.
- Two time formats
- Every result shows hours and minutes (8:30) and decimal hours (8.50), so you can match any payroll system.
Overtime rules at a glance
Overtime rules depend on where you work and what your job is. Use this table to find the right settings in the calculator.
| Rule | Calculator setting | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| US federal weekly overtime | Weekly overtime after 40 h, multiplier 1.5 (the default) | Covers most non-exempt hourly employees. Each workweek counts on its own. It cannot be averaged across two weeks. |
| Daily overtime | Daily overtime after 8 h | A few states, such as California, set daily overtime. Rules differ by state and job, so check your state labor department. |
| Double time | Double time after 12 h, multiplier 2 | Federal law does not require double time. Some states and employers pay it after long shifts. |
| Weekend, night or holiday premiums | Not applied by day | Federal law does not require extra pay for these hours. Employers or contracts may. This tool does not add day-specific premiums. |
| Union or contract overtime | Change the multiplier (1.25, 1.75, 2 and so on) | Your contract sets the rate and when it starts. |
Common payroll hours mistakes
Most timesheet errors come from a handful of small slips. Check these before you trust any total.
- Forgetting the unpaid lunch. A 30 minute break left in the shift adds half an hour of pay you did not earn.
- Mixing up AM and PM. 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM is 8 hours. 9:00 PM to 5:00 PM would make an overnight shift of 20 hours.
- Reading 7:30 as 7.30. Minutes are not hundredths. 7 hours 30 minutes is 7.5 hours.
- Counting paid rest breaks as unpaid. Short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are usually paid time. Meal breaks are the ones that can be unpaid.
- Mixing two workweeks. Overtime is counted for each workweek. Hours in a light week do not cancel out a heavy week.
- Rounding in one direction. Rounding should even out over time. If it always favors one side, it can cause pay problems.
Minutes to decimal hours
Payroll systems often want decimal hours. Divide the minutes by 60.
| Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|
| 5 min | 0.08 |
| 6 min | 0.10 |
| 10 min | 0.17 |
| 15 min | 0.25 |
| 20 min | 0.33 |
| 30 min | 0.50 |
| 45 min | 0.75 |
| 50 min | 0.83 |
Values are rounded to two decimals. The calculator itself uses exact minutes.
Payroll hours calculator FAQ
Quick answers to the questions people ask most.
How do I calculate payroll hours?
Subtract the start time from the end time, then subtract any unpaid break. A shift from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30 minute unpaid lunch is 8 hours. Add up every shift in the pay period to get total paid hours.
This calculator does that for each day and adds the days together for you.
How do I calculate hours worked with a lunch break?
Take the full time between clock-in and clock-out, then remove the unpaid part. Enter the unpaid minutes in the Break column. For example, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM is 8.5 hours. With a 30 minute unpaid lunch, you are paid for 8 hours.
Leave the break at 0 if the break is paid.
How is overtime pay calculated?
Multiply the overtime hours by your hourly rate and by the overtime multiplier. Time and a half is a multiplier of 1.5. At $20 an hour, one overtime hour pays $30.
Under US federal law, most hourly employees earn overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek. Some states and employers add daily overtime or double time. You can set both in the overtime rules panel above.
Does the calculator work for overnight shifts?
Yes. If the end time is earlier than the start time, the calculator treats the shift as ending the next day. A shift from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM counts as 8 hours.
The hours are counted on the day the shift starts. If your employer splits overnight hours at midnight, add them to the correct days by hand.
What is the 7-minute rule, and should I use rounding?
The 7-minute rule rounds a clock time to the nearest quarter hour. Minutes 1 to 7 round down. Minutes 8 to 14 round up. You can pick it from the rounding menu.
Leave rounding off if your employer pays exact minutes. Use it only if your employer does. Federal guidance allows rounding when it does not cheat workers over time.
Are lunch breaks and rest breaks paid?
Short rest breaks, usually 5 to 20 minutes, are normally paid work time. A real meal break is usually unpaid when you are fully relieved of work and it lasts about 30 minutes or more. Your state or contract may add rules. See the US Department of Labor page on breaks.
Will this match my employer or payroll software exactly?
It should be very close, but small gaps can happen. Some payroll systems round hours to two decimals before they multiply by the rate. This calculator uses exact minutes and rounds money to the nearest cent at the end of each week.
Your employer may also use a higher regular rate for overtime if you earn bonuses or shift pay. Enter that rate if it applies.
Does it calculate taxes or net pay?
No. It shows gross pay, which is your pay before taxes and deductions. Taxes, benefits and other deductions depend on your location and your paperwork. Use your pay stub or a payroll service for net pay.
Is my data private?
Yes. The math runs in your browser. The times and rates you enter are not sent to our servers. To make the tool easier to use, your entries are saved on your own device so they are there when you come back. Press Reset all to remove them. Read the Privacy Policy for details.
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours?
Divide the minutes by 60. Thirty minutes is 0.50 hours. Fifteen minutes is 0.25 hours. So 7 hours 30 minutes is 7.5 hours, not 7.30. The table above lists common conversions.