Work Hours Calculator

Step by step

1. Enter your clock-in time — the time you started work. Use the time picker or type directly (e.g. 09:00 for 9:00 AM).
2. Enter your clock-out time — the time you stopped work.
3. Check Crosses midnight if your clock-out time falls on the next calendar day — for example, a shift from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM.
4. Enter unpaid break minutes. Type the number of minutes of unpaid break (e.g. 30 for a half-hour lunch). If your break is paid, leave it as 0.
5. Optionally expand More Options to enter your hourly rate and see estimated gross pay.
6. Click Calculate to see net work hours, decimal hours, total minutes, and estimated gross pay if a rate was entered.

Calculate work hours with a lunch break

Most employees have unpaid lunch breaks that should not count toward paid working hours. Enter the unpaid minutes in the Break field. The calculator subtracts that amount from the gross shift duration (clock-out minus clock-in) to give net work hours.

Example: a shift from 8:30 AM to 5:15 PM (gross: 8 hours 45 minutes) with a 30-minute unpaid lunch yields 8 hours 15 minutes (8.25 decimal hours, 495 minutes) of net work time.

If your break is paid — for example, a 15-minute paid rest period included in your shift — enter 0 in the Break field and let the full gross shift count as net hours.

Gross time vs net work hours

Gross time is the total elapsed time from clock-in to clock-out — before any deductions. Net work hours is the payable time after subtracting unpaid breaks. Most payroll systems pay on net hours, not gross time.

This calculator always leads with net work hours as the primary answer. Gross shift time appears as a secondary stat card when a break is entered, so you can see both values at once. When no break is entered, gross and net are equal — so only the net figure is shown.

Decimal hours for payroll and timesheets

Many payroll systems and timesheets require decimal hours rather than the hours-and-minutes format. To convert: divide the minutes portion by 60 and add to the whole hours.

• 8h 30m → 8 + (30 ÷ 60) = 8.50 hrs
• 8h 15m → 8 + (15 ÷ 60) = 8.25 hrs
• 7h 45m → 7 + (45 ÷ 60) = 7.75 hrs

This calculator always shows both formats side by side. For standalone conversions between hours-and-minutes and decimal hours, see the Decimal Hour Calculator.

Estimated gross pay

Enter your hourly rate in More Options to see estimated gross pay. The calculator multiplies your net work hours by your hourly rate. For example, 8.25 hours at $20.00/hr gives an estimated gross pay of $165.00.

Gross pay is not take-home pay. It is a pre-tax estimate based only on the hours and rate you entered. Your actual paycheck will be lower after federal income tax, state tax, Social Security, Medicare, health insurance premiums, and any other employer deductions are applied.

Work hours examples

Work Hours Calculator vs Time Card Calculator

These two calculators serve different use cases:

Use this Work Hours Calculator for a quick single-shift answer. Use the Time Card Calculator when you need a complete weekly time card with overtime split and a per-day breakdown table.