Hours Calculator

Calculate the hours worked in a day using our hours calculator below. The calculator can even account for breaks and lunch.

Start Time:

End Time:

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Result:

Time Worked (hh:mm):	8:00
In Hours:	8 hrs
In Minutes:	480 min

Learn how we calculated this below

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How to Calculate Hours Worked

If you need to submit a time card or track time for a job or project, then you probably need to track the hours you worked. Follow a few simple steps to find the total time you worked.

Step One: Convert Start and End to 24-Hour Time

The first step in calculating hours is to convert the start and end times to 24-hour time, sometimes called military time. To do this, morning hours will stay the same, and you will add 12 if the time is in the afternoon (1:00 pm to 11:59 pm).

For example, let’s calculate the elapsed time in hours for a start time at 9:00 am and an end time at 5:30 pm with a 30-minute lunch break.

Start by adding 12 hours to the end time to convert it to 24-hour time.

5:30 + 12 hours = 17:30

Step Two: Convert Minutes to Decimal Hours

The next step is to convert each time to decimal hours. You can use our time to decimal calculator for this, or just divide the minutes by 60.

For example, let’s convert the end time (17:30) to a decimal time by dividing the minutes by 60.

30 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.5

Since 30 minutes is equal to 0.5 hours, you can change the end time to 17.5 as a decimal. The start time has no minutes to divide, so it’s already in decimal form – 9:00 becomes 9.0.

Step Three: Subtract the Times

Now, simply subtract the decimal start time from the end time.

For example, subtract the start time (9.0) from the end time (17.5) to get the hours worked.

17.5 – 9.0 = 8.5 hrs

Step Four: Account for Breaks

The final step in calculating hours is to account for any unpaid breaks in the day. Add up all of the break time in minutes, then divide the total minutes by 60 to convert them to hours as a decimal.

Then, subtract the break time from the total time worked.

For example, let’s account for a 30-minute break in the workday.

30 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.5

Finally, subtract the break time from the time worked.

8.5 – 0.5 = 8 hrs

So, that’s how you find that the total time worked in a day from 9:00 to 5:30 with a 30-minute break is 8 hours.

Hours in a Typical Workday

The chart below shows the hours in a typical workday for various start and end times. This chart does not account for unpaid breaks during these times.

Table showing the hours in a workday with common start and end times.
Start / End	Hours
7:00 am – 2:00 pm	7 hrs
7:00 am – 3:00 pm	8 hrs
7:00 am – 4:00 pm	9 hrs
7:00 am – 5:00 pm	10 hrs
8:00 am – 3:00 pm	7 hrs
8:00 am – 4:00 pm	8 hrs
8:00 am – 5:00 pm	9 hrs
8:00 am – 6:00 pm	10 hrs
9:00 am – 4:00 pm	7 hrs
9:00 am – 5:00 pm	8 hrs
9:00 am – 6:00 pm	9 hrs
9:00 am – 7:00 pm	10 hrs

Don’t forget you can use our adding time calculator to add total hours up for a timesheet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours is considered full-time?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), there is no legal definition for what is considered full-time or part-time employment.^[1] Each employer makes the determination on what they consider to be part-time or full-time employment. With that said, most employers consider 30 hours or greater per week to be full-time.

How many work hours are in a typical work week?

For a full-time job, there are 40 hours in a typical work week. However, each employer varies, and some employers offer full-time jobs that are 32 hours per week, for example.

How many work hours are in a year?

If a full-time employee works five days per week for the entire year, that totals 2,080 hours. Most employers consider 2,080 to be the standard number of work hours per year.

Overall, it’s important to understand how to calculate your total hours worked in order to track projects and ensure that you are paid accurately. It’s also important to understand what items need to be tracked on a time sheet, for example, paid or unpaid breaks.