How the time card adds up
Each day is out time minus in time minus break, with overnight shifts wrapping past midnight. The days are summed to a weekly total in decimal hours — the form payroll uses — and the total is split into regular and overtime hours according to the rule you select. Multiply by the rate (and 1.5× for overtime) for gross pay. Everything is before tax; the take-home pay calculator handles deductions.
The example week below runs 46.5 hours.
| Day | In | Out | Break (min) | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 8:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 60 | 8.00 |
| Tue | 8:00 AM | 6:30 PM | 60 | 9.50 |
| Wed | 8:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 60 | 8.00 |
| Thu | 7:30 AM | 6:00 PM | 30 | 10.00 |
| Fri | 8:00 AM | 4:00 PM | 60 | 7.00 |
| Sat | 9:00 AM | 1:00 PM | 0 | 4.00 |
| Total | 46.50 |
Overtime rules
US federal law (the Fair Labor Standards Act) requires 1.5× pay for hours over 40 in a work week for non-exempt employees, with no daily limit. Several states add daily rules: California pays 1.5× after 8 hours in a day and 2× after 12, and for the seventh consecutive day. Salaried employees who meet the exemption tests get no overtime. The calculator offers the weekly-40 rule, a daily-8 rule and none; the multiplier is adjustable for contracts that pay more.
| Jurisdiction | Threshold | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| US federal (FLSA) | Over 40 hours a week | 1.5× | Non-exempt employees; no daily limit |
| California | Over 8 a day or 40 a week; over 12 a day | 1.5× / 2× | Also 7th consecutive day |
| Alaska, Nevada, Colorado | Over 8 or 12 a day (varies) | 1.5× | Daily thresholds |
| Salaried exempt | None | — | Executive, administrative, professional tests |
Weekly versus daily overtime on the same week
The same hours give different overtime under the two rules. The example week has 6.5 hours over 40 under the weekly rule but only 3.5 hours over 8 in a day. Where both rules apply (as in California), hours are counted once under whichever gives more, never both.
| Day | Hours | Daily overtime | Regular |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 8.00 | 0 | 8.00 |
| Tue | 9.50 | 1.50 | 8.00 |
| Wed | 8.00 | 0 | 8.00 |
| Thu | 10.00 | 2.00 | 8.00 |
| Fri | 7.00 | 0 | 7.00 |
| Sat | 4.00 | 0 | 4.00 |
| Total | 46.50 | 3.50 daily OT | 43.00 regular (weekly rule would give 6.50 OT) |
From hours to pay
Gross pay = regular hours × rate + overtime hours × rate × multiplier. At $20 an hour under the weekly rule, the example week pays $995. Taxes, benefits and other deductions come off that figure on the paycheck.
| Hours | Rate | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular hours | 40.00 | $20.00 | $800.00 |
| Overtime hours | 6.50 | $30.00 | $195.00 |
| Gross pay | 46.50 | $995.00 |
Breaks, rounding and record-keeping
Enter unpaid breaks only; short paid rest breaks stay in the hours. Employers may round punches to the nearest quarter hour if the practice is neutral over time; the calculator uses exact minutes, so apply rounding first if your workplace does. US employers must keep accurate records of hours worked for non-exempt employees; keeping your own record — this page's link preserves a week — is a sensible cross-check against the payslip.
Common timesheet mistakes
Four errors account for most payroll disputes. Entering 7:30 (hours and minutes) as 7.30 decimal hours under-records 12 minutes a day — an hour a week. Forgetting to deduct an unpaid lunch over-records it. Treating a shift that ends after midnight as negative or as the same day drops eight hours. And applying overtime by the wrong rule — daily where the law says weekly, or vice versa — moves pay by tens of dollars a week. The calculator converts minutes correctly, wraps midnight and applies the rule you pick, but the inputs still have to match the punches.
- Decimal hours: 7 h 30 min = 7.50, not 7.30.
- Deduct unpaid meal breaks only, not paid rest breaks.
- Overnight: out time before in time means the next day.
- Overtime rule: check federal versus state; California counts daily.
- Keep your own record; compare against the payslip.
Saving and sharing a card
Every entry is stored in the page address. Bookmark or copy the link to keep a week, or send it to a manager; the print button produces a clean copy of the card and totals. For a single shift, the hours calculator is quicker; for a stretch of days rather than a week, the time duration calculator takes dates and times together.