Formula and assumptions
Worked hours = clock-out − clock-in − unpaid breaks. Weekly overtime = max(0, total hours − overtime threshold).
Results depend on your inputs. Read the calculation methodology.
Work Hours Calculator
Calculate weekly or biweekly work hours from daily clock times and unpaid breaks. Check overtime by workweek, estimate gross pay and export a 14-day timecard.
Biweekly timecard calculator with lunch breaks
Enter daily start times, end times and unpaid breaks for two complete workweeks. The sample contains 45 hours in week one and 35 in week two. Change the entries to your own records; overtime is calculated separately in each seven-day block.
Align day 1 with the start of your workweek. This model assumes the workweek boundary falls at midnight. It does not allocate a pay period that begins midweek or a workweek that starts mid-shift. For split shifts, multiple daily work segments or daylight-saving changes, reconcile the durations separately before using the weekly-total calculator below.
How the two-week calculation works
For each day, subtract unpaid break minutes from the elapsed shift minutes. Add each seven-day block separately. Regular hours are the smaller of weekly hours and the entered threshold; overtime hours are the excess. Weekly gross equals regular hours × rate + overtime hours × rate × multiplier. Add the two weekly gross amounts at the end.
The CSV includes all 14 daily rows, weekly regular and overtime hours, gross estimates and the rate assumptions. It contains only the figures entered here. This is a one-rate scenario model: daily overtime, bonuses, shift premiums, taxes and deductions are excluded. Keep original records and check the rules that apply to your work before using an estimate for payroll.
Biweekly work hours and gross pay
For a two-week pay period, calculate each weekly timecard above and copy the two weekly totals into this form. The input below accepts weekly totals. Use the 14-day timecard above when you have daily clock-in and clock-out pairs. For a reusable daily layout, follow the Excel timesheet guide or Google Sheets timesheet guide.
Enter each workweek's total on its own line. This adds a weekly-hours workflow to the timecard calculator without averaging overtime across a pay period. It is a simple scenario model using your entered threshold and multiplier; it does not determine eligibility or apply jurisdiction-specific payroll rules.
Example: 45 hours followed by 35 hours
At a rate of 20, a weekly threshold of 40 and a multiplier of 1.5, the first week contains 40 regular hours and five overtime hours: 800 + 150 = 950. The second week is 35 × 20 = 700. Total modeled gross pay is 1,650. Combining the weeks into 80 hours and treating all of them as regular would produce 1,600 and lose the five overtime hours in this model.
Formula for each row: regular hours × rate + overtime hours × rate × multiplier. Overtime hours are the larger of zero and hours minus the weekly threshold. Keep weeks aligned to the workweek used for your scenario, even if a pay period starts midweek.
What about semimonthly periods?
A semimonthly period is not a fixed number of workweeks. If its boundaries cut across a workweek, this simple table cannot allocate that week's premium to particular dates. Use completed workweeks for a scenario estimate and reconcile actual payroll separately. Read biweekly versus semimonthly pay.
What is excluded?
The model uses one rate and one weekly threshold for all rows. It excludes daily overtime rules, multiple rates, bonuses, shift premiums, deductions and taxes. For a specified shift premium, use the shift differential calculator. For annual equivalents, use the salary converter.
Worked example
A 9:00 AM–5:30 PM shift with a 30-minute unpaid lunch equals 8 worked hours. Five identical days equal 40 hours.
Official reference
Understand the result
Hours & Pay · Pillar guide
How to Calculate Work Hours Correctly
A practical guide to calculating worked time, subtracting breaks, handling overnight shifts and converting minutes to decimal hours.
Hours & Pay · GuideDecimal Hours: Convert Minutes Without Payroll Errors
Divide minutes by 60, then add the whole hours. Eight hours and 45 minutes is 8.75 hours, not 8.45.
Hours & Pay · GuideHow to Calculate an Overnight Shift
When clock-out is earlier than clock-in, add 24 hours to the ending time before subtracting the start and unpaid breaks.
Hours & Pay · GuideSubtracting Unpaid Breaks from a Timecard
Deduct time that is genuinely unpaid under the applicable rules and policy. Do not automatically subtract every break from a shift.
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Calculate →From clock times to a weekly total
Record each shift separately, subtract only the unpaid minutes, and add the resulting durations. For example, 08:15 to 17:00 is 8 hours 45 minutes elapsed. After a 45-minute unpaid break, the result is 8 hours. Five identical shifts total 40 hours. Keep the original time entries so another person can reproduce the total.
Check the result before using it for pay
Review missing clock-outs, overnight rows and the workweek boundary first. The pay estimate applies one entered hourly rate and a configurable weekly overtime threshold. It does not account for multiple pay rates, daily overtime, taxes, premiums or jurisdiction-specific rules. Use the differential calculator when a shift premium is part of your example.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate hours worked with a lunch break?
Subtract clock-in from clock-out, then subtract the genuinely unpaid break. A 09:00–17:30 shift with 30 unpaid minutes is 8 worked hours. Do not deduct a break merely because it is called lunch; verify how it was actually taken and recorded.
Is 7 hours 30 minutes the same as 7.30 hours?
No. Thirty minutes is 30 ÷ 60 = 0.5 hour, so the decimal total is 7.5 hours. Conversely, 7.30 decimal hours is 7 hours 18 minutes.
Does the calculator handle overnight shifts?
Yes. An end time earlier than the start is treated as the following day. Equal start and end times mean zero, not a 24-hour shift. Date-specific daylight-saving changes are not modeled.
Why does the estimate differ from my payslip?
Check break deductions, rounding, workweek boundaries, multiple rates and premiums. The displayed gross estimate is before taxes and deductions and is not a payroll determination.
Continue with your own figures
Timesheet Rounding Checker and Bulk Time Converter — Paste up to 500 durations, convert H:MM or decimal hours, and compare rounding each row with rounding the total once.
Move from recorded hours to gross pay
Start with the clock records, subtract the appropriate unpaid breaks and check overnight entries. Convert the resulting duration to decimal hours before multiplying by a rate. For example, 8 hours 30 minutes minus a 30-minute unpaid break gives 8 paid hours, not 8.30.
Once the hours are classified, use the overtime pay calculator to separate regular pay, overtime earnings and the extra premium. For an interval spanning several calendar dates, use the hours-between-dates calculator. A continuous interval may include off-duty time, so do not automatically treat it as paid work.