Free time card calculator

How to use this time card calculator

Type your clock-in, lunch, and clock-out times for each day, and ClearTimeCard adds up your hours and overtime as you type.

1. Clock in. Type the time with AM or PM, like 8:30 am, 8:30am, 8:30a, or 7am. Shorthand like 5p or 10:00p works too. You can also use 24-hour time, like 0830 or 17:15.
2. Lunch out and lunch in. Type when you left for lunch and when you came back, like 12:00 pm and 12:30 pm. That time is subtracted. Leave both blank if you had no unpaid lunch.
3. Clock out. Type it the same way.
4. Repeat for each day you worked.
5. Pick the overtime rule, federal or California, and add your hourly rate if you want an estimated pay total.
6. Copy, print, or download a CSV. It's free and you don't need an account.

Tip: if you leave off AM or PM, the time is read as 24-hour time. So 5:15 means 5:15 in the morning. For an afternoon clock-out, type 5:15 pm, 5:15p, or 17:15.

How hours are calculated

Your paid hours are the time from clock-in to clock-out, minus your unpaid lunch.

Example: You clock in at 8:30 AM, take lunch from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM, and clock out at 5:15 PM.

• 8:30 AM to 5:15 PM = 8 hours 45 minutes
• Minus 30 minutes for lunch = 8 hours 15 minutes
• In decimal hours, that is 8.25 hours

Short breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are paid time under federal rules, so don't enter them as lunch. (29 CFR 785.18)

Overnight shifts

If your clock-out time is earlier than your clock-in time, ClearTimeCard treats the shift as crossing midnight.

• 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM = 8 hours 30 minutes
• Minus a 30-minute lunch = 8.00 hours

The whole shift is counted on the day it started. Your employer may split it differently, because the workday and workweek it uses can start at any set hour. (29 CFR 778.105, California Labor Code 500)

Converting minutes to decimal hours

To turn minutes into decimal hours, divide the minutes by 60.

Payroll systems often want decimal hours (7.25) instead of hours and minutes (7:15). For example, 15 ÷ 60 = 0.25, so 7 hours 15 minutes is 7.25 hours.

Values are rounded to two decimal places. Rounded values can drift when you add many of them: twelve 5-minute entries at 0.08 each add up to 0.96, but the true total is 60 minutes, or 1.00 hour. ClearTimeCard adds the exact minutes first and rounds only the final total.

Overtime: federal and California rules

Under federal law, most hourly workers must get at least 1.5 times their regular rate for every hour over 40 in a workweek. California also adds daily overtime and double time.

Federal rule (FLSA)

• Unless your job is exempt, you must get at least 1.5 times your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.
• A workweek is a fixed, repeating 168-hour period: seven 24-hour days in a row. It can start on any day and at any hour, and it doesn't have to match the calendar week.
• Federal law counts by the week. A long day by itself does not trigger federal overtime, and hours can't be averaged over two weeks.
• Your "regular rate" can include more than your base hourly pay, such as shift differentials or some bonuses.

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Overtime Pay and Fact Sheet #23.

California rule

For most non-exempt California employees:

Your employer doesn't have to stack two overtime rates on the same hour (Labor Code 510), so ClearTimeCard doesn't count hours already paid as daily overtime again toward the weekly 40. The 7th-day rule applies only when you work all seven days of the same workweek (DLSE Enforcement Manual 48.1.3.2).

Sources: California Labor Code 510 and California DIR overtime FAQ.

Exceptions and other states

Some jobs are exempt from overtime, and some states have their own rules. California employees on an approved alternative workweek schedule follow different daily rules (Labor Code 510(a)). When both federal and state overtime laws apply to you, you get the one that pays more (DOL FLSA Q&A). ClearTimeCard offers federal and California rules only; check your state labor department for others.

Worked examples

Example 1: Federal weekly overtime

Maria earns $18.00 an hour and takes an unpaid 30-minute lunch each day.

Week total: 43.00 hours. That is 40 regular hours and 3 overtime hours.

• Regular pay: 40 × $18.00 = $720.00
• Overtime pay: 3 × $27.00 ($18.00 × 1.5) = $81.00
• Total: $801.00

Example 2: California daily overtime

Dev works in California and earns $20.00 an hour. His paid hours (after lunch) are below. He works five days, so the 7th-day rule doesn't apply.

• Wednesday: hours 9 through 12 are overtime (4 hours), and the last half hour past 12 is double time.
• His regular hours total 38, under 40, so no weekly overtime is added.

Pay:

• Regular: 38 × $20.00 = $760.00
• Overtime: 6 × $30.00 = $180.00
• Double time: 0.5 × $40.00 = $20.00
• Total: $960.00

Under the federal rule alone, the same week would be 40 regular hours and 4.5 overtime hours: $800.00 + $135.00 = $935.00.

These examples use a flat hourly rate. Bonuses or shift pay can change your regular rate.

Disclaimer

ClearTimeCard gives estimates only. It is not legal, tax, or payroll advice. For your situation, check your state labor department or a qualified professional.

Frequently asked questions

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