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Work Hours Calculator - Free Time Card & Timesheet Calculator

Calculate total work hours, breaks, and overtime for the week. Perfect for employees, freelancers, payroll, and time tracking with automatic regular and overtime hour breakdown.

Work Hours Calculator

Enter times without the colon: 915, 1225, etc.

12-hour format | Breaks deducted | OT after 40 hrs/wk
DayStart Time
hhmm
End Time
hhmm
Break
minutes
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun

How to Use

  • ✓ Enter times without colons: Type 915 for 9:15, 1225 for 12:25
  • ✓ Select AM/PM for each time (12-hour format only)
  • ✓ Enter break time in minutes (e.g., 30 for half hour)
  • ✓ Click Calculate to see your total hours
  • ✓ Regular hours = hours up to threshold (default 40 hrs/week)
  • ✓ Overtime hours = hours beyond threshold
  • ✓ Use Settings to customize format, breaks, and overtime rules

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What is a Work Hours Calculator?

A work hours calculator is a time tracking tool that automatically calculates total hours worked per day and week, including break deductions and overtime hours. Also known as a time card calculator, timesheet calculator, or hours calculator, this tool helps employees, freelancers, contractors, and employers accurately track work time for payroll, billing, and productivity analysis.

Our free work hours calculator supports multiple time formats (12-hour with AM/PM and 24-hour military time), handles overnight shifts, automatically calculates regular and overtime hours based on customizable thresholds (default 40 hours per week), and generates a detailed time card showing daily and weekly breakdowns in both traditional hour:minute format and decimal hours for easy payroll processing.

Unlike manual time tracking which is prone to errors, our calculator uses precise algorithms to compute time differences, deduct break periods, separate regular from overtime hours, and present results in multiple formats. Perfect for hourly employees tracking billable hours, managers preparing payroll, freelancers invoicing clients, or anyone who needs accurate work hour documentation for timesheets, time cards, or attendance records.

How to Calculate Work Hours Step by Step

1. Enter Start and End Times

Type times without colons for faster entry: 915 for 9:15 AM, 1730 for 5:30 PM. Select AM or PM in 12-hour mode. The calculator handles overnight shifts automatically.

Monday: 0900 AM - 0530 PM

Work time: 8 hours 30 minutes

2. Add Break Time

Enter unpaid break time in minutes. If "Deduct Breaks" is enabled, this time is subtracted from total hours. Common breaks: 30 min (lunch), 15 min (break), 60 min (extended lunch).

8.5 hours - 0.5 hours break

Net work time: 8.0 hours

3. Calculate Total Hours

Click Calculate to see daily and weekly totals. Results show both hour:minute format (8:00) and decimal format (8.00) - decimal format is standard for payroll systems.

Mon-Fri: 8.0 hrs each day

Weekly Total: 40.00 hours

4. Review Overtime

Hours beyond the threshold (default 40 hrs/week) are marked as OT (overtime). Regular hours and overtime are shown separately for proper compensation calculation.

Total: 45 hours this week

REG: 40.00 hours

OT: 5.00 hours

Why Use Our Work Hours Calculator?

Accurate Payroll Processing

Eliminate manual calculation errors that lead to payroll disputes. Automatically calculates regular and overtime hours in decimal format (8.25 hours) that payroll systems require. Perfect for hourly employees, part-time workers, and contractors.

Fast Time Entry

Type times without colons: 915 instead of 9:15. This "timecard format" is faster than traditional entry and matches how most people naturally write times on paper timesheets. Supports both 12-hour and 24-hour military time formats.

Automatic Overtime Tracking

Set your overtime threshold (40, 37.5, or custom hours per week) and the calculator automatically separates regular from overtime hours. Essential for compliance with labor laws requiring overtime pay at 1.5x rate.

Break Time Management

Properly handle paid vs unpaid breaks. Toggle "Deduct Breaks" on/off based on your company policy. Track lunch breaks, rest periods, and meal breaks accurately for labor law compliance and fair compensation.

Printable Time Cards

Generate professional time cards for record keeping, payroll submission, or client billing. Print button creates formatted timesheets with daily breakdown, weekly totals, and overtime hours clearly separated.

Handles Complex Shifts

Automatically handles overnight shifts (e.g., 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM), split shifts, irregular schedules, and varying daily hours. Perfect for healthcare, retail, hospitality, and 24/7 operations with rotating shifts.