Time Card Calculator

How to Calculate Hours on a Time Card

1. Subtract the clock-in time from the clock-out time for each day: 17:30 − 9:00 = 8 hours 30 minutes.
2. Subtract unpaid breaks: 8:30 − 0:30 = 8:00.
3. Add the days of the workweek.
4. Convert to decimal hours for payroll: minutes ÷ 60.
5. Split overtime: hours over 40 in the workweek pay 1.5 times the rate.

A shift that ends after midnight counts the hours to midnight plus the hours after it. Clock out 02:00 after clock in 18:00 is 8 hours.

Minutes to Decimal Hours

7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 decimal hours, not 7.45. Payroll multiplies decimal hours by the hourly rate.

Breaks and Paid Time

Federal law treats short breaks of 5 to 20 minutes as paid work time and meal periods of 30 minutes or more, free of duties, as unpaid (Department of Labor rules under the FLSA). Federal law requires no meal break; California, New York and other states do.

The Overtime Calculator takes the weekly hours further into overtime after tax.

Time Card Calculator With Lunch Breaks

A lunch break comes off the time card only when it is unpaid, so the calculator subtracts the break minutes you type for each day. Enter 0 when the employer pays for the meal period.

The same 9:00 to 17:30 week with a 60-minute lunch each day totals 37:30 hours instead of 40:00. At $20 an hour that is $750 of gross pay, or $50 less than the week with 30-minute lunches.

A day with a paid rest break and an unpaid lunch enters only the lunch. A 15-minute coffee break plus a 30-minute meal is typed as 30 break minutes, because the short break stays paid time.

Adding Hours and Minutes on a Time Card

Hours and minutes add in base 60: every 60 minutes carry over into one hour. 7:52 plus 7:50 is 15:42, because 52 + 50 minutes is 1 hour 42 minutes.

Real punches rarely land on the hour. This week has uneven start and end times and different lunch lengths:

The week totals 36:17, which is 36.28 decimal hours. At $20 an hour the pay is $725.67. The calculator multiplies the exact minutes, so rounding each day to 2 decimals never changes the pay.

Overnight Shifts and Multiple Punches in One Day

An overnight shift is entered as it happened: the clock-in time on the day the shift starts and the clock-out time the next morning. An out time earlier than the in time tells the calculator the shift crossed midnight.

A night shift from 22:00 to 06:30 with a 30-minute break counts 8:00 hours on the day it began.

A split shift with two sets of punches in one day also fits in one row. For 7:00 to 11:00 and 15:00 to 19:00, enter 7:00 in, 19:00 out and the 240-minute gap as the break. The day counts 8:00 hours.

Time Card Overtime and Gross Pay

The time card turns into pay by paying regular hours at the hourly rate and overtime hours at 1.5 times the rate. The FLSA counts overtime per workweek, after 40 hours, not per day.

Adding a Saturday from 8:00 to 14:15 with a 15-minute break to the standard week gives 46:00 hours: 40 h regular and 6 h of overtime, for $980 gross at $20 an hour.

The "Overtime after" box changes the weekly threshold for an employer whose policy starts overtime sooner. California also pays daily overtime after 8 hours in a workday, which a weekly total does not show, so check each day in the results table.

Gross pay is before tax. The Hourly Paycheck Calculator takes the weekly hours to take-home pay.

Rounding Time Clock Punches

Employers may round clock punches to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour, as long as the rounding does not underpay workers over time (29 CFR 785.48).

With quarter-hour rounding, a punch at 8:07 rounds to 8:00 and a punch at 8:08 rounds to 8:15. A policy that only ever rounds in the employer's favor breaks the federal rule. This calculator uses exact minutes, so it shows your hours before any rounding.

How Long Employers Keep Time Cards

Employers must keep payroll records for at least 3 years and time cards for at least 2 years under the FLSA recordkeeping rules in 29 CFR Part 516.

The records show hours worked each workday and workweek, straight-time pay and overtime pay. Your own weekly log from this calculator helps when a paycheck comes up short. The Back Pay Calculator totals hours that were never paid.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate my time card?

You calculate a time card by subtracting clock-in from clock-out for each day, removing unpaid breaks, and adding the days. Convert the total minutes to decimal hours for pay.

How do I convert minutes to decimal hours?

You convert minutes to decimal hours by dividing the minutes by 60. 45 minutes is 0.75 hours and 20 minutes is 0.33 hours.

Is a lunch break paid?

No, not when it lasts 30 minutes or more and the employee is fully relieved of duties. Breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are paid under federal rules.

How does a time clock calculator count time?

A time clock calculator counts the minutes between each clock-in and clock-out and takes away unpaid breaks. It adds the days and divides the total minutes by 60 to get hours.

How do I calculate time on a regular calculator?

You calculate time on a regular calculator by turning each time into decimal hours first. 8 hours 40 minutes becomes 8 + 40 ÷ 60 = 8.67, and then normal addition works.

Does the time card calculator work for night shifts?

Yes. Enter a clock-out time earlier than the clock-in time and the calculator counts the shift across midnight, so 23:00 to 07:00 is 8 hours before breaks.

How do I enter more than one in and out on the same day?

Enter the first clock-in, the last clock-out, and the unpaid gap between punches as the break. A day split by a 2-hour unpaid gap gets 120 break minutes.

Is overtime on a time card counted per day or per week?

Federal overtime is counted per workweek, after 40 hours. A few states, including California, also require overtime after 8 hours in one day.