Payroll Hours Calculator
Calculate work hours, breaks, overtime and estimated gross pay for a day, a week or a biweekly pay period. Free, private and no signup.
Pay settings
Leave an overtime limit empty to turn it off. Only use rounding if your employer’s policy allows it.
Daily time entries
| Day | Clock in | Clock out | Break (min) | Paid break? | Hours |
|---|
Weekly breakdown
| Week | Total hours | Regular | Overtime | Gross pay |
|---|
How to use the payroll hours calculator
The payroll hours calculator turns clock-in and clock-out times into total hours, overtime hours and estimated gross pay. Follow these four steps.
- Choose the pay period. Select daily, weekly or biweekly. Add a first day if you want real dates beside each row.
- Enter your pay settings. Type your hourly rate, pick a currency and set the weekly overtime limit. Add a daily limit, a multiplier and rounding if they apply to you.
- Fill in each shift. Enter the clock-in time, clock-out time and break minutes. Tick the paid break box when the break is paid. Leave days off empty.
- Review and save the results. Check total, regular and overtime hours, then the weekly breakdown. Copy, print or download the results.
Not sure what to enter? Press Load example to see a full week filled in, then change the times to match your own schedule.
How payroll hours are calculated
For every shift, the calculator subtracts the clock-in time from the clock-out time. It then removes unpaid break minutes. The result is your paid time for that day.
Paid time = (Clock out − Clock in) − Unpaid break
Example 1: a day shift. You clock in at 9:00 AM and out at 5:45 PM, with a 45-minute unpaid break. The shift is 8 hours 45 minutes. Subtract 45 minutes and paid time is 8 hours 0 minutes, or 8.00 decimal hours.
Example 2: an overnight shift. You clock in at 10:00 PM and out at 6:30 AM, with a 30-minute unpaid break. Because 6:30 AM is earlier than 10:00 PM, the calculator adds 24 hours. The shift is 8 hours 30 minutes. Subtract the break and paid time is 8.00 hours.
Paid breaks. If a break is paid, nothing is subtracted. The minutes still appear in the break total so you can see how much break time you entered.
Rounding. Some employers round each day to the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes. Rounding is off by default. Turn it on only when your policy says so, because rounding can change pay.
Minutes to decimal hours chart
Payroll systems often ask for hours in decimals, not hours and minutes. Divide minutes by 60 to convert. Here are the values people use most.
| Minutes | Decimal hours | Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0.08 | 30 | 0.50 |
| 6 | 0.10 | 40 | 0.67 |
| 10 | 0.17 | 45 | 0.75 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 50 | 0.83 |
| 20 | 0.33 | 60 | 1.00 |
A common slip is writing 7 hours 30 minutes as 7.30. The correct decimal is 7.50, because 30 minutes is half an hour.
Regular hours vs. overtime hours
Overtime is time worked beyond a set limit, paid at a higher rate. This calculator supports two kinds of limit.
- Daily overtime is paid time above your daily limit, if you enter one.
- Weekly overtime is paid time above your weekly limit after daily overtime has been taken out.
Taking daily overtime out first means the same hour is never counted twice. Overtime hours are paid at your hourly rate multiplied by the overtime multiplier.
Pay example. Your rate is $18.50 an hour. You work 46 hours in a week, with a weekly limit of 40 hours and a 1.5× multiplier. Regular pay is 40 × $18.50 = $740.00. Overtime pay is 6 × $27.75 = $166.50. Gross pay is $906.50.
Biweekly example. In a 14-day period you work 45 hours in week one and 35 hours in week two. That is 80 hours in total, but overtime is checked week by week. Week one has 5 overtime hours and week two has none.
Overtime rules to check in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia
Overtime law depends on where you work and how you are classed. This table gives a general picture only. Always confirm the rule that applies to you.
| Country | General picture |
|---|---|
| United States | Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees must receive at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Some states add daily overtime rules. California, for example, counts hours over 8 in a day. |
| Canada | Overtime is set by each province or territory. Weekly thresholds commonly fall between 40 and 48 hours. Ontario uses 44 hours a week for most employees. |
| United Kingdom | There is no general legal right to overtime pay. It depends on your contract. Minimum wage rules still apply, and the Working Time Regulations limit average weekly hours unless a worker opts out. |
| Australia | Awards and enterprise agreements usually set overtime. The National Employment Standards set 38 ordinary hours a week for full-time employees, plus reasonable additional hours. |
Because the rules differ, the weekly limit, daily limit and multiplier in this tool are all editable. Set them to match your contract, award or local law. See the disclaimer for what this tool cannot cover.
Common payroll hours mistakes
- Forgetting the overnight shift. Subtracting 10:00 PM from 6:30 AM gives a negative number. Add 24 hours first.
- Mixing minutes and decimals. 7:45 is 7.75 hours, not 7.45.
- Deducting paid breaks. Only unpaid breaks reduce paid time.
- Pooling a biweekly period. Most employers check overtime for each week, not for all 80 hours together.
- Applying rounding without a policy. Rounding should follow written rules, not guesswork.
- Treating gross pay as take-home pay. Taxes and deductions come out afterward.
- Mixing up AM and PM. A shift that looks like 16 hours is often a PM entered as AM.
Payroll hours calculator FAQ
How do I calculate hours worked between two times?
Subtract the start time from the end time, then subtract any unpaid break. For example, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM is 8 hours 30 minutes, or 8.50 hours, before breaks. If you take a 30-minute unpaid break, paid time is 8.00 hours.
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours?
Divide the minutes by 60. Fifteen minutes is 0.25 hours, 30 minutes is 0.50 hours and 45 minutes is 0.75 hours. The conversion chart on this page lists the most common values.
Does the calculator work for overnight shifts?
Yes. When the clock-out time is earlier than the clock-in time, the calculator adds 24 hours. A shift from 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM counts as 8 hours 30 minutes before breaks.
Are breaks paid or unpaid in the calculator?
You choose for each day. Unpaid break minutes are subtracted from the shift. If you tick the paid break box, the minutes stay in paid time.
How is overtime calculated for a biweekly pay period?
The calculator splits a 14-day period into two 7-day weeks and checks each week on its own. A week with 45 hours and a week with 35 hours produces 5 overtime hours, not zero.
Does the payroll hours calculator include taxes or deductions?
No. It estimates gross pay only, which is hours multiplied by your rate and overtime multiplier. Income tax, social contributions, benefits and other deductions are not included.
Is my data saved or sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you type is uploaded or stored. When you close or refresh the page, the entries are gone.
Can I save or share my results?
Yes. Use the buttons to copy a text summary, print the page or download a CSV file that opens in Excel or Google Sheets.