Work Hours Calculator
Calculate hours worked in a shift, including breaks, overnight shifts, and overtime. See regular pay, overtime pay, and total earnings.
How to use this calculator
Enter start and end times for your shift. Set break duration in minutes (unpaid breaks). Enter your hourly rate and the overtime threshold (usually 8 hours per day for daily OT or 40 per week for weekly OT). The calculator returns total hours, regular and overtime hours separately, and gross pay for the shift.
Reading a work shift the right way
A shift from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM is 8.5 hours gross. Subtract a 30-minute unpaid meal break and you worked 8.0 hours. If your overtime threshold is 8 hours, you hit exactly the threshold with no overtime. Extending to 6:00 PM adds 0.5 overtime hour, which at 1.5× pays an extra $18.75 on a $25/hour rate.
Overtime rules in the US
The FLSA mandates overtime at 1.5× the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek (for non-exempt employees). Some states add daily overtime rules: California requires 1.5× after 8 hours and 2× after 12 hours. Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, and Puerto Rico also have daily overtime rules. "Exempt" (typically salaried managerial) employees usually aren't entitled to overtime.
Common mistakes
Forgetting to subtract unpaid breaks. Using midnight incorrectly (a shift ending at 00:00 is end of day, not the start). Treating a salaried role's overtime as mandatory — it usually isn't. Miscalculating a shift that straddles DST time changes (it's rare but happens; this calculator doesn't handle DST shifts — adjust manually on those days).
For employers
Use this to quickly verify a timesheet entry, calculate what a new shift schedule would cost, or estimate overtime budget impact. For production timekeeping, use a dedicated payroll platform — this calculator is for quick checks, not legal timekeeping records.
Frequently asked questions
How does this handle overnight shifts?▾
If end time is before start time, the calculator treats it as passing midnight. A shift from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM correctly reports 8 hours (minus breaks). This works for any overnight schedule up to 24 hours.
Is this FLSA-compliant?▾
The FLSA requires overtime at 1.5× pay for hours over 40 per week for non-exempt employees. This calculator covers single shifts; for weekly totals, sum multiple days and compare against 40 hours. Some states require daily overtime thresholds (e.g., California: over 8 hours/day), which you can model by setting the overtime threshold accordingly.
What if I work multiple different rates?▾
Run the calculator per rate — one for regular work, one for a different project or shift differential. Add up the gross pay amounts for total earnings. Most employees have one consistent rate, but shift differentials and prevailing-wage work can require this split.
Should breaks be paid or unpaid?▾
US federal law doesn't require breaks, but if unpaid breaks are taken (typically 30+ minute meal breaks), they're subtracted from work hours. Paid breaks (short 5-20 minute rests) are included in work hours and should be set to 0 in this calculator. Check your state/employer policy.
Is this useful for contractors?▾
Yes — freelancers and contractors can use this to quickly compute billable hours from a tracked shift. For more complex tracking (multiple clients, multiple tasks), a dedicated time-tracking app is better. For a single shift or quick estimate, this is faster than any tool.
Related calculators
Salary to Hourly Calculator
Convert between annual salary, weekly, and hourly pay. Account for hours per week, weeks per year, vacation, and holidays.
Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your US take-home pay after federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. Factors in 401(k) and pre-tax deductions.
Age Calculator
Calculate exact age in years, months, days, weeks, hours, and minutes. Also shows days until your next birthday.