How do I calculate my shift hours?

Subtract the start time from the end time, add 24 hours if the shift crosses midnight, then subtract any unpaid break. A 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM shift with a 30 minute break is 8 hours 30 minutes on the clock and 8 paid hours. This calculator does the clock arithmetic for you and shows each step.

How do payroll decimal hours work?

Divide the minutes by 60. A shift of 7 hours 42 minutes is 7.7 decimal hours because 42 divided by 60 is 0.7. Payroll systems use decimal hours so they can multiply time by an hourly rate directly.

What is a shift differential?

Extra pay your employer chooses to add for less popular shifts, usually a percentage of your base rate for evening, night, weekend, or holiday hours. There is no standard amount. The presets in this calculator are commonly seen examples, not rules; your employee handbook or contract is the authority.

Is night shift differential required by law?

No. In the United States, the FLSA does not require extra pay for night, weekend, or holiday work. Differentials exist because employers offer them to fill hard shifts, or because a union contract requires them. If your handbook says 15% for nights, that number is binding on your employer; a calculator preset is not.

Do unpaid breaks count toward overtime?

No. Only hours actually worked count toward the 40 hour weekly threshold, so a bona fide unpaid meal break where you are fully relieved of duties is excluded. Short rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are generally paid time and do count. Enter only unpaid break minutes here.

How accurate is the take-home estimate?

It is a flat percentage estimate, nothing more. Real withholding depends on your W-4, filing status, state and local taxes, Social Security and Medicare, and any pre-tax deductions like health insurance or a 401(k). Use it to get a rough feel for the shift, then trust your actual pay stub.

Shift Calculator: Hours, Differential Pay, Take-Home

Enter when your shift starts and ends (overnight shifts are handled automatically), any unpaid break, and optionally your hourly rate and shift differential. You'll get the shift length, payroll decimal hours, and what the shift actually pays.

How this shift calculator works

You are about to work a shift, or you just finished one, and you want two numbers: how long it is and what it puts in your pocket. Enter the start and end times and the calculator finds the length, adding 24 hours automatically when the shift crosses midnight (it will tell you when it does). Subtract the unpaid break and you have your paid time, shown both as hours and minutes and as the decimal hours your payroll system uses. Add your hourly rate and it prices the shift: base pay, any differential, overtime if you enable it, and a rough take-home if you give it a flat tax percentage.

Every result includes a step-by-step breakdown with your actual numbers, so you can check the math against your pay stub line by line. For a full week of punches, use the time card calculator; to see what your schedule adds up to over a year, try the work hours calculator.

The formula

Paid hours = (end - start, plus 24h if overnight) - unpaid break
Gross pay = base pay + differential + overtime premium

Base pay is your paid hours times your hourly rate. The differential is a percentage of that straight-time pay. If daily overtime applies, hours past 8 in the day are paid at 1.5 times the rate instead of straight time.

Worked example

You work a night shift from 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM with a 30 minute unpaid break at $18/hour and a 15% night differential.

The shift crosses midnight, so 24 hours are added to the end time: 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM is 8h 30m on the clock. Minus the break, you are paid for 8.0 hours. Base pay is 8.0 × $18 = $144.00, the differential adds 15% of that, $21.60, and the gross for the shift is $165.60.

Why 7:42 becomes 7.7 hours

Payroll systems do not multiply "7 hours 42 minutes" by your rate; they convert the minutes to a decimal first by dividing by 60. Forty-two minutes divided by 60 is 0.7, so 7:42 on the clock is 7.7 payroll hours. This is the single most common source of "my paycheck looks wrong" confusion: 7.42 on a pay stub would mean 7 hours 25 minutes, not 7 hours 42. This calculator always shows both forms so nothing gets lost in translation.

Shift differentials: your employer sets them, not the law

A shift differential is extra pay for working hours most people would rather not: evenings, nights, weekends, holidays. Here is the honest part that other calculators tend to skip: no United States law sets these percentages, and federal law does not require a differential at all. The presets in the form (evening 10%, night 15%, weekend 15%, holiday 50%) are commonly seen examples we included so you have a starting point, and they simply prefill the percent box for you to edit. Your employee handbook, offer letter, or union contract is the authority on the real number. If you do not know yours, ask; it is a normal question and the answer is worth real money on every shift.

Overtime: the honest version

Under the federal FLSA, overtime is 1.5 times your regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, not after 8 hours in a day. A handful of states add daily overtime on top: California pays 1.5x after 8 hours in a day and double time after 12, and Alaska, Nevada, and Colorado have daily rules of their own. Everywhere else, a single 10 hour shift earns no overtime at all if your week stays at or under 40 hours.

Many shift calculators quietly apply daily overtime to everyone, which overstates pay in most states and sets you up for disappointment on payday. That is why daily overtime is off by default here: turn it on only if your state or your contract actually provides it. Because one shift cannot see your whole week, use the time card calculator for the weekly 40 hour picture. Rules vary by state and by contract, this is not legal advice, and your state labor department's website is the authority.

Overnight shifts

When your end time is earlier than your start time, the calculator assumes you worked through midnight and adds 24 hours, then says so in the result. A 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM shift is 8.5 hours, not negative 15.5. One thing worth knowing: working past midnight does not split the shift for pay purposes, but which workday those hours land in can matter for daily overtime in states that have it, and that assignment is defined by your employer's established workday. If you are curious what your rate means over a full year, the hourly to salary calculator will do that conversion, and if tips are part of the picture, the tip calculator has you covered.

Shift Calculator