Converting minutes to decimal for payroll
If a payroll form asks for 7.67 hours instead of 7 hours 40 minutes, the conversion is one division. This guide shows how, with a table and a weekly example.
Example: 7 h 40 min is 7.67 hours. A week of 7 h 40 min, 8 h 5 min, 6 h 50 min, 7 h 15 min, 8 h 20 min totals 38 h 10 min, which is 38.17 hours.
Estimate based on what you entered. Not legal or payroll advice; check it against your employer's records.
How to use it
- Write the time as hours and minutes, such as 7 hours 40 minutes.
- Divide the minutes by 60 (40 divided by 60 is 0.67).
- Add the whole hours back (7 plus 0.67 is 7.67).
- Round to the number of decimal places your payroll asks for.
The rule: divide the minutes by 60
A decimal hour is a fraction of 60 minutes. To convert, divide the leftover minutes by 60 and put the answer after the whole hours. Fifteen minutes is a quarter of an hour (0.25), thirty minutes is half (0.5), and forty-five minutes is three quarters (0.75). Other values are not as tidy: 1 minute is 0.0167 of an hour.
Minutes to decimal table
| Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|
| 5 | 0.08 |
| 10 | 0.17 |
| 15 | 0.25 |
| 20 | 0.33 |
| 25 | 0.42 |
| 30 | 0.50 |
| 35 | 0.58 |
| 40 | 0.67 |
| 45 | 0.75 |
| 50 | 0.83 |
| 55 | 0.92 |
For every minute from 1 to 59, use the minutes to decimal calculator, or print the decimal hours chart.
Add minutes first, convert once
Say you worked 7 h 40 min, 8 h 5 min, 6 h 50 min, 7 h 15 min, 8 h 20 min. Add the minutes first: 2290 minutes, which is 38 h 10 min, or 38.17 decimal hours. If you convert each day to two places and then add, you get 38.16. The two answers differ by 0.01 hours because each day was rounded before adding. Converting once at the end avoids this.
Tenths of an hour
A tenth of an hour is 6 minutes, so 0.1 is 6 minutes, 0.2 is 12, and so on. HoursPad can round to the nearest 6 minutes; see the time clock rounding guide for what the U.S. Department of Labor regulation says about rounding.
Related tools
Convert hours and minutes both ways with the decimal hours calculator. To work out the hours from start and end times first, see how to calculate hours worked.
Questions
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours?
Divide the minutes by 60. For example, 45 minutes is 45 divided by 60, which is 0.75 of an hour. Add that to the whole hours: 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 hours.
Why is 30 minutes 0.5 and not 0.30?
Because an hour has 60 minutes, not 100. Half an hour is 30 out of 60 minutes, which is 0.5. Writing 7.30 would mean 7 hours and 18 minutes.
Should I convert each day or the weekly total?
Add the minutes first and convert once at the end. Converting every day and adding the rounded decimals can drift by a hundredth or two. Use whichever way your payroll contact asks for, and keep the same way every pay period.
How many decimal places should I use?
Use the number of places your payroll form asks for. One minute is 0.0167 of an hour, so two places can differ from the exact minutes by a fraction of a minute.