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Time Card Calculator

Calculate your total weekly work hours from a time card. Enter a start time, end time, and break duration for each day worked — the calculator sums your daily net hours, separates regular from overtime, and shows a full day-by-day breakdown.

DayStartEndBreak (min)Hours
07:30:00
07:30:00
07:30:00
07:30:00
07:30:00
—
—

How to Calculate Hours for a Time Card

Step 1: For each day you worked, record the time you clocked in (start) and clocked out (end).

Step 2: Subtract any unpaid break time from that raw span to get net hours for the day.

Step 3: Repeat for every day of the week, then add the daily net hours together for your weekly total.

Step 4: Apply your overtime rule — daily (hours beyond 8 per day) or weekly (hours beyond 40 for the week) — to split regular time from overtime.

If your shift crosses midnight, simply treat the end time as being on the following day; the calculator handles this automatically.

Formula

Net Hours = (End Time − Start Time) − Break Duration Weekly Total = Σ daily net hours

Example:

9:00 AM → 5:30 PM with 30 min break: (17:30 − 09:00) − 0:30 = 8:00 h × 5 days = 40:00 h

What Is a Time Card?

A time card — sometimes called a timesheet — is a record of the hours an hourly or non-exempt employee works each day. Employers use time cards to calculate wages, verify attendance, and meet recordkeeping obligations under labor law.

Traditionally, workers punched a physical card into a time clock that stamped their arrival and departure. Today the process is mostly digital: a web form, a mobile app, or payroll software. The underlying data stays the same — a start time, an end time, and any break taken in between.

How Overtime Is Calculated

Two overtime methods are in common use. The daily method counts any hours beyond 8 in a single day as overtime, regardless of the weekly total. The weekly method tallies all hours across the full week; the first 40 are regular time and anything above 40 is overtime.

Some jurisdictions layer both rules: daily overtime applies first, and the weekly rule catches additional hours on top. In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act sets the federal baseline at 40 hours per week, while several states — including California — add daily overtime protection on top of that.

Select the rule that matches your employment agreement or local law from the Overtime Rule dropdown. If your employer does not pay overtime, choose No Overtime and the calculator will show only total hours.

Paid vs Unpaid Breaks

Not every break is treated the same. Short rest periods — typically under 20 minutes — are generally considered paid time and should not be subtracted from hours worked. Longer meal breaks, usually 30 minutes or more, are typically unpaid, meaning the employee is completely off the clock for the entire period.

The Break (min) column in the calculator is designed for unpaid meal breaks only. Enter the number of minutes you were fully away from work. Do not include short paid rest breaks; those are already accounted for in your clocked hours.

Converting Time to Decimal Hours

Payroll systems and invoices often require hours expressed as a decimal rather than hours and minutes. To convert, divide the minute portion by 60 and add it to the whole hours.

Formula: Decimal Hours = Hours + (Minutes ÷ 60)

• 7 hours 45 minutes = 7 + (45 ÷ 60) = 7.75 hours

• 8 hours 20 minutes = 8 + (20 ÷ 60) ≈ 8.33 hours

The calculator displays both HH:MM and the decimal equivalent in every result row so you can copy either format directly into your payroll system.


See also