Hours Calculator
Calculate the number of hours between two times, with optional break time deduction.
Formula
Total Hours = (End Time - Start Time) - Break Duration
Calculates hours worked by subtracting start time from end time, then deducting break duration. Handles overnight shifts (end time before start time) by adding 24 hours. Converts to decimal hours for payroll: minutes / 60.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Standard day shift with an unpaid lunch
Problem:Clock in at 09:00, clock out at 17:30, with a 45 minute unpaid break.
Solution:Convert both times to minutes past midnight: 09:00 = 9 x 60 = 540, and 17:30 = 17 x 60 + 30 = 1050. Elapsed clock time is 1050 - 540 = 510 minutes. Subtract the break: 510 - 45 = 465 minutes. Split that back into hours and minutes: 465 / 60 = 7 remainder 45. Decimal hours for payroll: 465 / 60 = 7.75.
Result:7h 45m worked = 7.75 decimal hours = 465 minutes
Example 2: Overnight shift that crosses midnight
Problem:Clock in at 22:15, clock out at 06:45 the next morning, with a 30 minute unpaid break.
Solution:In minutes past midnight, 22:15 = 1335 and 06:45 = 405. The raw subtraction is 405 - 1335 = -930, and removing the break gives -960, which is negative because the shift wrapped past midnight. Add one full day of 24 x 60 = 1440 minutes: -960 + 1440 = 480 minutes. That is 480 / 60 = 8 hours exactly, with no remaining minutes.
Result:8h 0m worked = 8.00 decimal hours = 480 minutes
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the result show both 7h 45m and 7.75?
They are the same duration in two notations. The first is clock notation, where the second number counts minutes out of 60. The second is decimal hours, where the fraction is a share of an hour: 45 minutes is three quarters of an hour, so it becomes .75. Payroll uses decimal hours because you can multiply it straight by an hourly rate. The classic mistake is reading 7.45 as seven hours forty-five minutes; 7.45 decimal hours is actually 7 hours 27 minutes.
How does this handle a shift that crosses midnight?
If the end time is earlier on the clock than the start time, the raw subtraction comes out negative, and the calculator adds 1,440 minutes (one full day) to recover the real elapsed span. So 22:15 to 06:45 is read as 8 hours 30 minutes rather than a negative number. This assumes the shift is a single stretch shorter than 24 hours; for anything longer you need a date-aware calculation, not a time-of-day one.
Should I enter my lunch break as break minutes?
Enter it only if the break is unpaid and you were genuinely relieved of duty. Short rest breaks, typically under 20 minutes, are usually treated as paid working time and should be left out of the break field. A bona fide meal period where you are free from work is normally unpaid and belongs in the break field. If you eat at your desk while still covering the phones, that time is generally still hours worked.
How should the total be rounded for payroll?
Hours Calculator returns exact minutes and does not round. Many US employers round clock entries to the nearest quarter hour, a practice permitted under the Fair Labor Standards Act regulations as long as it is applied neutrally and does not, over time, systematically shortchange the employee. Rounding that always favors the employer is not allowed. Check your own jurisdiction and employment agreement, since some states and countries require exact-minute recording.
Does Hours Calculator account for daylight saving time changes?
No, and this matters twice a year in the US. On the spring-forward night clocks jump from 2:00 a.m. straight to 3:00 a.m., so a shift entered as 1:00 to 4:00 shows 3 hours here even though only 2 hours actually passed. On the fall-back night the 1:00-to-2:00 a.m. hour happens twice, so a shift spanning it really lasted an hour longer than the clock-time subtraction shows. This tool only compares two times of day with no date attached, so it cannot detect a transition. Flag any shift on those two nights a year for a manual one-hour adjustment.
How do I convert the decimal hours figure back into hours and minutes?
Keep the whole-number part as hours, then multiply the decimal fraction by 60 to get minutes. For example, 7.75 hours is 7 whole hours plus 0.75 x 60 = 45 minutes, giving 7h 45m. This is the same calculation the calculator runs in reverse, and it works for any decimal value: 5.1 hours is 5 hours plus 0.1 x 60 = 6 minutes, so 5h 6m, not 5h 10m as it is easy to misread at a glance.
Can I total up hours across several separate shifts in one day?
Hours Calculator works one continuous shift at a time, from a single clock-in to a single clock-out with one optional break. To total a split shift or several separate punches in a day, run each segment through separately and add the resulting decimal hours together, then apply any single daily break deduction only once rather than in each segment to avoid double-counting it.