Time to Decimal Calculator
Convert both ways: hours-and-minutes into the decimal hours payroll systems want, and a decimal number back into time. A cheat-sheet table covers the common minute values.
Hours & minutes → decimal hours
Decimal hours → hours & minutes
Minutes → decimal cheat sheet
| Minutes | Decimal | Minutes | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0.08 | 35 | 0.58 |
| 10 | 0.17 | 40 | 0.67 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 45 | 0.75 |
| 20 | 0.33 | 50 | 0.83 |
| 25 | 0.42 | 55 | 0.92 |
| 30 | 0.50 | 60 | 1.00 |
Time ↔ decimal conversion
Minutes are sixtieths of an hour, so the decimal form divides minutes by 60. Going back, the whole part is the hours and the decimal part × 60 is the minutes:
The classic trap: 7.45 on a timesheet means 7 hours 27 minutes, not 7 h 45 min. Quarter hours are the clean points — 15/30/45 minutes are exactly 0.25/0.50/0.75 — everything else is a rounded repeating decimal (20 min = 0.333…).
Worked examples
Example 1: 7 h 45 min to decimal
Convert 7 hours 45 minutes for a timesheet.
- Divide the minutes by 60.45 ÷ 60 = 0.75
- Add the hours.7 + 0.75 = 7.75
7.75 decimal hours.
Example 2: 6.35 decimal hours back to time
Payroll shows 6.35 hours — what is that in time?
- The whole part is hours.6 h
- Multiply the decimal part by 60.0.35 × 60 = 21 min
6 hours 21 minutes — not 6:35.
Example 3: adding mixed times via decimals
Add 2 h 50 min and 3 h 25 min.
- Convert each.2 + 50/60 = 2.83; 3 + 25/60 = 3.42
- Add and convert back.6.25 = 6 h 15 min
6 h 15 min (the exact minute math: 170 + 205 = 375 min = 6:15).
FAQ
Is 0.5 hours 50 minutes?+
No — 0.5 hours is 30 minutes. The digits after the decimal point are fractions of an hour, not minutes; 50 minutes is 0.83 hours.
Why do the decimals repeat for most minute values?+
Because 60 has prime factors 2, 3 and 5, but decimals only terminate with 2s and 5s. Any minutes value not divisible by 3's complement — e.g. 10 min = 0.1666… — repeats and gets rounded to 2 places on timesheets.
How precise should payroll decimals be?+
Two decimal places is the industry standard (hundredths of an hour = 36-second resolution). The rounding error is at most 18 seconds per entry, which the law treats as de minimis.
What is military or 24-hour time in decimal form?+
The conversion is the same — 17:45 as a duration from midnight is 17.75 hours. For time-of-day subtraction (shift length), use our hours calculator, which handles the clock math.
Related calculators
- Hours CalculatorCount hours and minutes between two times, subtract unpaid breaks, and convert to decimal hours for payroll. Handles overnight shifts automatically.
- Time Card CalculatorFree weekly time card calculator: enter daily start, end and breaks to total the week's hours in decimal form, with optional gross pay at an hourly rate.