How a time card is calculated
A time card turns clock-in and clock-out times into the numbers payroll needs: hours worked each day, the weekly total, how much of it is overtime, and the gross pay.
Weekly hours = Monday + Tuesday + … + Sunday
Gross pay = regular hours × rate + overtime hours × rate × 1.5 + double-time hours × rate × 2
If an out time is earlier than the in time, the calculator assumes the shift ran past midnight and adds 24 hours. Hours are then converted to decimals (minutes ÷ 60) so they can be multiplied by your hourly rate. Pay is worked out on exact minutes, then rounded to the cent.
Overtime rules the calculator supports
| Rule | Overtime at 1.5× | Double time at 2× | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly (federal) | Hours over 40 in the workweek | None | US Fair Labor Standards Act, most states |
| Daily + weekly (California) | Over 8 h in a day, over 40 h in a week, first 8 h of a 7th straight day | Over 12 h in a day, over 8 h on a 7th straight day | California |
| No overtime | None | None | Exempt staff, contractors, or countries with other rules |
Under the federal rule, a long day does not create overtime by itself. Three 12-hour shifts make 36 hours, so there is no overtime that week. Each workweek also stands on its own: you cannot average 30 hours one week and 50 the next to avoid paying overtime. A workweek is any fixed run of seven consecutive 24-hour periods, so it does not have to start on Monday.
California counts daily overtime first and then checks the 40-hour limit using only the regular hours, so the same hour is never paid as overtime twice. A few other states, such as Alaska, Nevada and Colorado, have their own daily rules. If your state or contract sets a different weekly limit, such as 37.5 hours, change the Weekly overtime after box.
Worked examples
Example 1: a regular week with Saturday overtime. Monday to Friday you work 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM with a 30-minute unpaid lunch, and on Saturday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Your rate is $20 an hour.
- Each weekday: 8 h 30 min − 30 min = 8 hours. Five days = 40 hours.
- Saturday: 4 hours. Week total = 44 hours.
- Federal rule: 40 regular hours and 4 overtime hours.
- Pay: 40 × $20 = $800, plus 4 × $20 × 1.5 = $120, so $920 gross.
Example 2: the same hours, two different rules. A worker earning $25 an hour does 10 hours on Monday, 8 hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 13 hours on Friday: 47 hours in total.
| Regular | Overtime 1.5× | Double time 2× | Gross pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal weekly rule | 40 h | 7 h | 0 h | $1,262.50 |
| California rule | 40 h | 6 h | 1 h | $1,275.00 |
Under California law, Monday gives 2 hours of daily overtime and Friday gives 4 hours of overtime plus 1 hour of double time (the 13th hour). Regular hours are 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 40, so the weekly limit adds nothing more.
Example 3: a split shift. A restaurant worker clocks in at 11:00 AM, out at 2:30 PM, then back in at 5:00 PM and out at 9:30 PM. Tick Second in/out and enter both pairs: 3.5 + 4.5 = 8 hours, with no break to subtract because the gap is already off the clock.
Quick decimal conversions
| Minutes | Decimal hours | Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0.17 | 40 | 0.67 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 45 | 0.75 |
| 20 | 0.33 | 50 | 0.83 |
| 30 | 0.50 | 55 | 0.92 |
So a week of 38 hours 45 minutes is 38.75 hours on a payroll form, not 38.45. The hours calculator has a full minute-by-minute table.
Tips for accurate time cards
- Enter breaks only if they are unpaid. In the US, rest breaks of 5 to 20 minutes count as paid time. Bona fide meal periods, usually 30 minutes or more with no duties, do not.
- Use the copy button for Tuesday to Friday. If you work the same hours every weekday, fill in Monday and copy it across, then edit the exceptions.
- Check that you are non-exempt. Overtime rules apply to non-exempt employees. Many salaried managers and professionals are exempt, and contractors are not covered.
- Keep your own record. Employers must keep time records, but a copy or printout of your own card makes it easy to spot a payroll mistake.
- Gross is before tax. To estimate what reaches your bank account, put the gross figure into the paycheck calculator.
Related tools
For a single shift or the hours between two dates, use the hours calculator. To add up durations in any format, the time calculator has a free-form timesheet. To check a raise or an overtime premium as a percentage, try the percentage calculator.