Time Card Calculator
Track work hours, breaks, and total pay per period.
About the Time Card Calculator
The Time Card Calculator computes gross pay for a single shift given a start time, end time, unpaid break, hourly rate, and overtime rules. The tool handles overnight shifts (where end time is on the next calendar day) and applies the overtime multiplier only to hours worked beyond the threshold.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 207) requires overtime pay at 1.5x the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek for non-exempt employees in the United States. The tool’s default overtime threshold of 8 hours reflects California’s stricter daily overtime rule (California Labor Code Sec. 510), which mandates 1.5x for hours over 8 in a day and 2x for hours over 12. Most other US states follow only the federal 40-hour weekly rule, not a daily threshold.
The tool assumes a single shift and a single rate. For tracking a full workweek or multi-rate work (different rates for different tasks), use a dedicated payroll system. The calculation is gross pay before taxes, benefits, and other deductions — take-home pay will be lower.
Shift work, especially in healthcare, hospitality, and security, often spans midnight. A nurse starting at 22:00 and ending at 06:00 works an 8-hour shift but crosses a calendar boundary. The tool handles this by adding 24 hours to the elapsed time when end time is earlier than start time — the ‘next day’ marker in the output makes this explicit.
How It Works
Start and end times are parsed as HH:MM strings in 24-hour format. Each is converted to a decimal hour value: startDec = hours + minutes/60. The elapsed time is endDec - startDec; if negative (end is earlier than start), 24 is added to assume the shift crossed midnight.
The unpaid break is converted from minutes to decimal hours: breakHours = breakMins / 60. The net worked hours is max(0, elapsed - breakHours), where the max(0, ...) prevents negative hours if the break exceeds the elapsed time (a configuration error).
If overtime is configured (threshold > 0), the regular hours are capped at the threshold and the remainder is treated as overtime. The regular pay is regularHours * rate; the overtime pay is overtimeHours * rate * otMult. The total gross pay is the sum.
The effective rate is totalPay / netHours — useful for comparing jobs with different overtime structures. A job at $25/h with no overtime has an effective rate of $25/h; a job at $20/h with 2x overtime after 8 hours, worked for 10 hours, has an effective rate of (20*8 + 20*2*2) / 10 = $24/h.
Edge cases: identical start and end times are rejected (zero-length shift). Negative break values are clamped to zero. An overtime threshold of 0 makes every hour overtime — useful for holiday multipliers. The 2.0x multiplier option covers double-time rules in California and elsewhere.
Worked Examples
Default: 09:00 to 17:30 with a 30-minute unpaid break, $25/h rate, overtime after 8 hours at 1.5x. Elapsed: 8.5 hours. Net: 8.0 hours. Regular: 8 hours at $25 = $200. Overtime: 0 hours. Total: $200. A standard 9-to-5 with a lunch break.
09:00 to 18:00 with 30 min break, $25/h, OT after 8 at 1.5x. Elapsed: 9.0 hours. Net: 8.5 hours. Regular: 8 hours at $25 = $200. Overtime: 0.5 hours at $37.50 = $18.75. Total: $218.75. A 9-hour shift with overtime.
22:00 to 06:00 (overnight) with 60 min break, $30/h, OT after 8 at 1.5x. Elapsed: 8.0 hours (end < start, so +24). Net: 7.0 hours. Regular: 7 hours at $30 = $210. Overtime: 0. Total: $210. The tool correctly handles the midnight crossing.
14:00 to 02:00 (12-hour overnight) with 60 min break, $20/h, OT after 8 at 2.0x. Elapsed: 12 hours. Net: 11 hours. Regular: 8 hours at $20 = $160. Overtime: 3 hours at $40 = $120. Total: $280. A long overnight shift with double-time overtime.
08:00 to 16:00 with 0 min break, $15/h, no overtime (OT multiplier 1.0). Elapsed: 8. Net: 8. Total: 8 * $15 = $120. A simple shift with no break and no overtime calculation.
When to Use This Tool
- Verifying that a weekly paycheck matches the hours worked, before raising the discrepancy with payroll.
- Calculating overtime pay for a long shift, especially in California and other states with daily overtime rules.
- Estimating gross pay for a freelance or contract shift before invoicing the client.
- Comparing total compensation across jobs with different hourly rates and overtime structures.
- Computing pay for overnight shifts that cross midnight, such as healthcare and security work.
- Drafting a budget for a seasonal small business hiring temporary workers at an hourly rate.
- Estimating double-time pay for holidays, where 2.0x multiplier applies.
Limitations & Disclaimer
The calculator computes gross pay for a single shift with a single hourly rate and a single overtime threshold. It does not model weekly overtime accumulation, multiple pay rates, shift differentials, hazard pay, tips, commissions, or paid time off. Tax withholding, benefits deductions, and other payroll adjustments are not modeled — the result is gross pay, not take-home pay. US federal and state labor laws are complex; consult the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (29 CFR Part 778) or your state’s labor code for the rules that apply to your situation. See our disclaimer for full terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this calculate weekly or daily overtime?
Daily. The tool applies the overtime threshold within a single shift. For the US federal weekly overtime rule (40 hours per workweek), sum the hours worked across all shifts in the week and apply 1.5x to anything over 40. For California’s daily overtime (over 8 hours in a day at 1.5x, over 12 hours at 2x), use the daily threshold as configured here.
How does the calculator handle overnight shifts?
If end time is earlier than start time (e.g. start 22:00, end 06:00), the tool assumes the shift crossed midnight and adds 24 hours to the elapsed time. The ‘next day’ marker in the output makes this explicit. This is the standard convention for time-card systems.
What is the difference between exempt and non-exempt employees?
Under the FLSA, non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay (1.5x for hours over 40 per week); exempt employees (typically executive, administrative, or professional roles paid on salary) are not. The Department of Labor’s salary threshold for exemption was $35,568 per year as of 2020 (29 CFR Part 541). Misclassifying non-exempt workers as exempt is a common wage violation.
What about double-time pay?
Double-time (2.0x multiplier) is required in California for hours over 12 in a day, and for all hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek. Select the 2.0x multiplier in the calculator and run it twice — once for the regular hours and once for the double-time hours — or set the overtime threshold to 8 and the multiplier to 2.0 to approximate the California rule.
How are breaks treated under US labor law?
Federal law (FLSA) does not require meal or rest breaks. If employers choose to offer short breaks (5-20 minutes), they must be paid. Meal breaks (30+ minutes) are unpaid only if the employee is completely relieved of duty. Many states have stricter rules — California requires a paid 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours worked and an unpaid 30-minute meal break for shifts over 5 hours. The calculator’s default 30-minute unpaid break matches the most common convention.
Is this gross or net pay?
Gross pay before taxes, benefits, and other deductions. Net (take-home) pay is lower — typically 65-80% of gross, depending on tax bracket, benefits contributions, and local taxes. For take-home estimation, multiply the gross by 0.7 to 0.8 as a rough rule, or use a dedicated payroll calculator that models tax withholding.
Last updated: September 9, 2026 · Author: HT99 Tools Editorial Team