How many hours between two times?

How do I calculate hours between two times?

Subtract the start time from the end time. From 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM is 8 hours 30 minutes; with a 30 minute unpaid break, 8 hours. Using a 24-hour clock makes it easier: 17:30 − 9:00 = 8:30.

What if the shift goes past midnight?

When the end time is earlier than the start time, the calculator takes it as the next day. 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM is 8 hours: 2 hours to midnight and 6 after it.

How do I convert hours and minutes to decimal hours?

Divide the minutes by 60. 7 hours 45 minutes is 7 + 45 ÷ 60 = 7.75 hours. Multiply decimal hours by your hourly rate to get the pay: 7.75 × $18 = $139.50.

Should I subtract my lunch break?

Subtract breaks that are unpaid. Under federal rules, short breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are generally counted as hours worked, while bona fide meal periods of 30 minutes or more, when you are fully relieved of duty, usually are not; state laws may add their own rules.

How do I total hours for a whole week?

Add each day, or use the time card calculator: it adds a week of days, splits regular and overtime hours past 40 and figures the pay.

Why does 7 hours 40 minutes not equal 7.40 hours?

Because a minute is one sixtieth of an hour, not one hundredth. The minutes are divided by 60: 40 ÷ 60 = 0.67, so 7 hours 40 minutes is 7.67 hours. Reading the minutes as the digits after the decimal point shortchanges you, since 0.40 hour is only 24 minutes.

Can an employer round my clock-in and clock-out times?

Federal rules (29 CFR 785.48) allow time clocks to round starting and stopping times to the nearest 5 minutes, the nearest tenth of an hour or the nearest quarter hour, but only if the practice averages out over time so that employees are paid for all the time they actually work. Rounding that always goes in the employer’s favor does not meet that test.

Does the calculator account for daylight saving time?

No. It works with clock times only, so a shift that crosses the night the clocks change is an hour longer or shorter in real elapsed time than the clock difference shows. Adjust the result by one hour if the shift actually spans the change.

How the hours are worked out

The calculator converts both times to minutes after midnight and subtracts the start from the end. If the result is negative, the end time falls on the next day, so 24 hours (1,440 minutes) are added. The unpaid break is then subtracted, and the total is shown three ways: hours and minutes, decimal hours (minutes ÷ 60) and, if you enter a rate, pay equal to decimal hours × rate. Pay is before taxes and does not include overtime premiums; for a full week with hours past 40, use the time card calculator.

Worked example: a night shift

A shift runs from 8:45 PM to 5:10 AM with a 45 minute unpaid break at $21.50 an hour. The end is earlier than the start, so it is the next day: from 8:45 PM to midnight is 3 hours 15 minutes and from midnight to 5:10 AM is 5 hours 10 minutes, a span of 8 hours 25 minutes (505 minutes). Subtracting the break leaves 460 minutes, which is 7 h 40 min. In decimal hours that is 460 ÷ 60 = 7.6667, and the pay is 7.6667 ×$21.50 = $164.83. Using 7.40 hours instead (the common slip) would give $159.10, which is $5.73 short.

Things to watch

• Check AM and PM. Entering 5:10 PM instead of 5:10 AM turns a night shift into a short evening one; use the 24-hour clock if in doubt.
• Subtract only unpaid time. Under 29 CFR 785.18 rest periods of 5 to 20 minutes are paid work time, while a meal period of 30 minutes or more is not (785.19) when you are fully relieved from duty; working through lunch makes it paid time.
• Identical start and end times give 0 hours, not 24, because an end that is not earlier than the start is not moved to the next day.
• State law can set stricter rules on breaks, overtime and rounding than the federal ones described here.

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, 29 CFR 785.18 (rest periods), 785.19 (meal periods) and 785.48 (use of time clocks and rounding), on eCFR. Related tools: time card calculator, time calculator, overtime calculator. Not legal or payroll advice.