How to convert minutes to decimal hours
Payroll usually works in decimals because you cannot multiply "7 hours 20 minutes" by a pay rate. To convert, divide the minutes by 60 and add the whole hours.
| Minutes | Decimal | Minutes | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0.08 | 30 | 0.50 |
| 10 | 0.17 | 40 | 0.67 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 45 | 0.75 |
| 20 | 0.33 | 50 | 0.83 |
So 7 hours 20 minutes is 7 + 20 ÷ 60 = 7.33, and 8 hours 45 minutes is 8.75. To go the other way, multiply the decimal part by 60: 6.40 hours is 6 hours and 24 minutes.
The classic mistake is reading 7:30 as 7.30. It is 7.50. At $20 an hour, that slip costs $4 in a single day.
How are unpaid breaks treated on a time card?
The calculator takes finish time minus start time, then subtracts your unpaid break minutes. A shift from 08:45 to 17:15 with a 30-minute unpaid lunch is 8:30 minus 0:30, or 8:00 worked. Enter only breaks that are unpaid. A paid break stays in your hours, so do not enter it.
What counts as unpaid depends on where you work, and this is general information:
- US: Federal law does not require breaks. Short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes count as paid work time. Meal periods, typically 30 minutes or more, generally need not be paid if you are completely relieved from duty. States can add rules.
- UK: You are generally entitled to a 20-minute break when you work more than 6 hours a day. It does not have to be paid, so your contract decides.
- India: The OSH Code leaves intervals to government notification, so check the rules for your state.
How to work out weekly hours and overtime
Say you work Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:30 with 30 minutes unpaid, plus Saturday from 09:00 to 12:45 with no break. That is 8:00 a day for five days, plus 3:45, for a total of 43:45 or 43.75 hours.
Set "Overtime after" to 40 and you get 40.00 regular hours and 3.75 overtime hours. At $18 an hour and a 1.5 multiplier:
- Regular: 40 × $18 = $720.00
- Overtime: 3.75 × $27 = $101.25
- Gross pay: $821.25
The threshold is yours to set. Use 40 for the US federal rule, 48 for factory work under the India and Pakistan rules described in our overtime guide, or the figure in your contract. The split is weekly only, so daily overtime rules, such as California's, need a separate check.
For a night shift, enter a finish time earlier than the start. The calculator reads that as running past midnight.
Is rounding time on a time card legal?
Some employers, particularly those using time clocks, round punches to the nearest 5 minutes, 6 minutes (a tenth of an hour) or quarter hour. With quarter-hour rounding, a clock-in at 8:07 becomes 8:00 and a clock-in at 8:08 becomes 8:15.
In the US, this is generally allowed with conditions. 29 CFR 785.48(b) accepts rounding only if it does not, over time, leave employees unpaid for time they worked. DOL Fact Sheet 53 warns that an employer may violate the law if it always rounds down. A May 2026 DOL opinion letter adds that a policy must be neutral on its face and average out so it does not consistently favor the employer. Rules elsewhere differ, so check your contract and local law.
This calculator works from the exact minutes you enter, so type your real times and keep the record. Over several weeks, compare your total with your payslip. Small differences in both directions are normal. A gap that always runs one way is worth raising with payroll.