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Payroll Hours Calculator

Total hours for a work week and split them into regular and overtime using a threshold (default 40 hours). Enter hours for each day, or use start time, end time, and break for a single shift.

Total hours

0 hours

Regular
0 hours
Overtime
0 hours

Threshold: 40 hours per week

Next step: Overtime Pay Calculator

When to use this calculator

Use this calculator to total raw clocked hours—either a full week of daily hours or a single shift's start and end time—into a regular-vs-overtime split ready for a payroll or overtime pay calculation.

  • Weekly timesheet totals

    Sum a full week of daily hours and see how many are regular versus overtime against a 40-hour threshold.

  • Single-shift clock times

    Enter a start time, end time, and unpaid break to get paid hours for one shift without doing the subtraction manually.

  • Overnight shift check

    Confirm paid hours for a shift that crosses midnight, where the end time is earlier on the clock than the start time.

  • Overtime Pay pairing

    Pair with the Overtime Pay Calculator once regular and overtime hours are totaled here, to convert hours into gross pay.

Inputs

  • Mode: Week or Single shift

    Week mode accepts hours for each of the seven days. Single shift mode accepts one start time, end time, and break instead.

  • Overtime threshold (hours per week)

    The number of hours counted as regular before the remainder is treated as overtime. 40 hours is the common US default; adjust it to match your employer's or jurisdiction's rule.

  • Daily hours (week mode)

    Hours worked for each day, Monday through Sunday, 0–24 hours per day with up to two decimal places. Leave a day blank or at 0 if not worked.

  • Start time, end time, and unpaid break (shift mode)

    Clock-in and clock-out times for one shift, plus unpaid break minutes to subtract. An end time earlier than the start time is treated as an overnight shift.

How the calculation works

In week mode, the calculator sums the hours entered for all seven days to get total hours, then splits that total against the overtime threshold: hours up to the threshold are regular, and any remainder is overtime.

In shift mode, the calculator converts the start and end clock times to minutes, subtracts the unpaid break, and converts the result back to hours to get paid hours for that single shift—then applies the same threshold split as week mode.

For overnight shifts, when the end time is earlier than the start time on the clock, the calculator adds 24 hours to the end time before subtracting, so a shift like 22:00–06:00 correctly totals 8 hours rather than a negative value.

Worked example

Week mode, 40-hour threshold: Monday–Friday 8 hours each, Saturday 2 hours. Total hours: 5 × 8 + 2 = 42.

Regular hours: min(42, 40) = 40. Overtime hours: max(0, 42 − 40) = 2.

Shift mode example: start 09:00, end 18:00, 60-minute unpaid break. Raw span: 9 hours. Paid hours: 9 − 1 = 8.0 hours for that day.

Overnight shift example: start 22:00, end 06:00, no break. The end time (06:00) is earlier than the start time on the clock, so 24 hours is added before subtracting: (06:00 + 24h) − 22:00 = 8 paid hours.

Edge cases

  • Break longer than the shift

    Break minutes cannot exceed the raw shift span; break minutes are capped at 480 minutes (8 hours) to prevent an invalid negative-hours result.

  • All-zero week

    A week with every day left blank or at 0 hours produces total, regular, and overtime hours of 0—useful as a baseline check before entering real hours.

  • Threshold higher than total hours

    If the overtime threshold exceeds total hours worked, all hours are classified as regular and overtime hours is 0, regardless of daily distribution.

  • Switching between week and shift mode

    Each mode keeps its own inputs independently—switching modes does not clear or convert values entered in the other mode.

The Payroll Cutoff Dates Guide is the primary reference for payroll cutoff windows, processing days, and how weekends and holidays shift a pay date.

The Payroll Cutoff Calculator finds your pay date from a payroll cutoff date and processing days, adjusted off weekends and holidays.

The Pay Period Calculator finds the start and end dates of the current pay period for weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly schedules.

The Next Payday Calculator chains the Pay Period and Payroll Cutoff logic together to find your next upcoming pay date directly.

The Payroll Calendar Generator builds a multi-period table of pay period ranges and pay dates at once, instead of checking Next Payday repeatedly.

The Payroll Hours Calculator totals a work week or single shift and splits regular from overtime hours using a threshold.

The Overtime Pay Calculator turns hourly rate, regular hours, and overtime hours into gross pay—pair it with the Payroll Hours Calculator when you have raw clock times instead of a pre-split hour total.

The Prorated Salary Calculator estimates partial-period pay from an annual salary when a pay period is only partly worked, such as a mid-period hire or termination.

For date math that a payroll cutoff or pay date depends on—counting weekdays or shifting a date off a weekend—see the Business Days Calculator and Add Business Days To Date Calculator in Date & Business Days.

For employment dates that feed into payroll timing, such as a joining date or last working day, see the HR & Employment category.

FAQ

Can I enter more than 24 hours per day?
Each day accepts 0–24 hours in week mode. For unusual schedules that would exceed 24 hours logged against a single calendar day, split the hours across the adjacent days or use shift mode for each segment separately.
Does this handle lunch breaks?
Shift mode subtracts the break minutes you enter directly from the shift span. In week mode, enter each day's net hours after breaks manually, since week mode does not have a separate break field per day.
How does this relate to overtime pay?
This tool counts hours only. Once you have a regular-vs-overtime split, multiply those hours by your rate in the Overtime Pay Calculator to get gross pay.
What overtime threshold should I use?
40 hours per week is the common US federal default. Some states, unions, or employers use daily thresholds or different weekly limits—use the threshold that matches your actual pay policy.
How are overnight shifts handled?
If the end time is earlier than the start time on the clock, the calculator treats it as crossing midnight and adds 24 hours before computing the span, so the shift length is calculated correctly instead of coming out negative.

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