How to use the time card calculator
- Enter each day's start and end time. Leave days you did not work empty. A shift that ends after midnight, like 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM, is counted as one shift on the day it started.
- Enter unpaid breaks in minutes, such as 30 for a half-hour lunch. They are taken off that day's hours.
- Choose one week or two. Add your hourly rate under Pay and overtime if you want an estimate of your pay before tax.
The totals update as you type. Use Print or save as PDF to keep a copy, or Copy summary to paste the hours into a message or spreadsheet.
How overtime is worked out
With the overtime setting on After 40 hours a week, the calculator follows the US federal rule from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as the Department of Labor explains it:
"...employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay."US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
So the first 40 hours of a week are regular hours and every hour after that is overtime, paid at 1.5 times the hourly rate unless you change the multiplier. For example, 45 hours at $20 an hour:
| Line | Hours | Rate | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | 40.00 | $20.00 | $800.00 |
| Overtime (x 1.5) | 5.00 | $30.00 | $150.00 |
| Total | 45.00 | $950.00 |
Federal law does not require overtime just because you worked a weekend, a holiday or a long single day. Some states add their own rules. California, for example, also pays overtime after 8 hours in one day. This calculator uses the weekly federal rule only, so check your state's rules if you work long days.
In the UK there is no legal right to extra pay for overtime. GOV.UK says employers "do not have to pay workers for overtime", although your average pay for all the hours you work must not fall below the National Minimum Wage. Set overtime to None unless your contract pays a higher rate, and use the multiplier for your contract's rate.
Two-week (biweekly) time cards
If you are paid every two weeks, choose 2 weeks. Overtime is still worked out for each week on its own, because the Department of Labor says a workweek is "a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours" and "averaging of hours over two or more weeks is not permitted."
That makes a real difference. Working 45 hours one week and 35 the next is 80 hours in total, the same as two 40-hour weeks. But it includes 5 hours of overtime in the first week, and the calculator shows it.
Your workweek does not have to start on Sunday or Monday. Set Week starts on to your employer's workweek, or pick the first date of the card and the days are labelled for you.
Lunch breaks and short breaks
Only take off breaks that are unpaid. Under federal rules, a real meal break where you are fully relieved of work does not count as work time, and "ordinarily 30 minutes or more is long enough" for one. Short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are usually paid work time, so leave them in.
Your employer's policy and your state's law decide which breaks are paid. If in doubt, ask your employer how your breaks are recorded.
Rounding clock times
Many employers round clock-in and clock-out times. Federal rules accept rounding "to the nearest 5 minutes, or to the nearest one-tenth or quarter of an hour", as long as, over time, it does not underpay people for the time they actually worked.
Under Rounding you can match your employer's policy. Each start and end time is rounded to the nearest step before the hours are added up, with exact halves rounded up. With quarter hours, 8:07 becomes 8:00 and 8:08 becomes 8:15. Leave it on None to count every minute.
Hours and minutes or decimal hours
Results show both forms. 37:45 means 37 hours and 45 minutes. Payroll systems often want decimal hours instead, where 45 minutes is 0.75 of an hour, so 37:45 is 37.75. To convert minutes yourself, divide them by 60.
| Minutes | Decimal hours | Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0.10 | 30 | 0.50 |
| 10 | 0.17 | 40 | 0.67 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 45 | 0.75 |
| 20 | 0.33 | 50 | 0.83 |
Questions and answers
Does it take off my lunch break automatically?
No. Enter the minutes of each unpaid break in the Break column for that day. Nothing is taken off unless you enter it, because employers record breaks in different ways.
What happens with a night shift that ends after midnight?
If the end time is earlier than the start time, the calculator treats it as the next morning. 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM with a 30-minute break is 7:30 hours, counted on the day the shift started.
Is overtime worked out over two weeks or each week?
Each week. US federal rules do not allow hours to be averaged over two weeks, so 45 hours in week one and 35 in week two still includes 5 hours of overtime.
Can I use it in the UK?
Yes. Set Overtime to None unless your contract pays more for extra hours. If your browser is set to UK English, the calculator starts with a Monday week and pounds.
Is my time card saved or sent anywhere?
Nothing you type is sent to us or anyone else. With Remember on this device ticked, the card is kept in this browser only, so it is still there next time you open the page. Untick it to forget it, or use Clear.
Is the pay figure what I will be paid?
It is gross pay before tax and deductions, from the hours and rate you enter. Your pay can differ if your employer includes bonuses or other pay in your regular rate, or rounds differently. Check it against your pay stub.
Sources
Checked on 7 October 2026. If a rule has changed, please tell us.