How to convert minutes to decimal hours
An hour has 60 minutes, so a minute is one sixtieth of an hour. To turn minutes into a decimal, divide them by 60. Then add the whole hours in front.
- 45 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.75, so 1 hour 45 minutes is 1.75 hours.
- 20 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.3333…, so 8 hours 20 minutes is 8.33 hours (rounded).
- 6 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.1, so 6 minutes is 0.1 hour. Each tenth of an hour is 6 minutes.
You can also go through total minutes: 2 hours 30 minutes is 150 minutes, and 150 ÷ 60 = 2.5 hours.
How to convert decimal hours to hours and minutes
Keep the whole number as hours. Multiply what comes after the point by 60 to get the minutes.
- 7.5 hours: 0.5 × 60 = 30, so 7 hours 30 minutes.
- 3.2 hours: 0.2 × 60 = 12, so 3 hours 12 minutes.
- 1.33 hours: 0.33 × 60 = 19.8, so 1 hour 19 minutes 48 seconds, which most people read as 1:20.
Weekly totals in both formats
The same conversion works for any total. A 37:30 week is 37.5 hours, 38:45 is 38.75 and 42:12 is 42.2. Going the other way, a pay stub showing 39.6 hours means 39 hours 36 minutes, because 0.6 × 60 = 36. If a total looks odd, convert it back to hours and minutes and compare it with your own notes.
Minutes to decimal hours chart
The “Decimal” columns are rounded to two places, the usual precision on timesheets and pay stubs. The “Exact” columns keep four places for checking.
| Minutes | Decimal | Exact | Minutes | Decimal | Exact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.02 | 0.0167 | 31 | 0.52 | 0.5167 |
| 2 | 0.03 | 0.0333 | 32 | 0.53 | 0.5333 |
| 3 | 0.05 | 0.0500 | 33 | 0.55 | 0.5500 |
| 4 | 0.07 | 0.0667 | 34 | 0.57 | 0.5667 |
| 5 | 0.08 | 0.0833 | 35 | 0.58 | 0.5833 |
| 6 | 0.10 | 0.1000 | 36 | 0.60 | 0.6000 |
| 7 | 0.12 | 0.1167 | 37 | 0.62 | 0.6167 |
| 8 | 0.13 | 0.1333 | 38 | 0.63 | 0.6333 |
| 9 | 0.15 | 0.1500 | 39 | 0.65 | 0.6500 |
| 10 | 0.17 | 0.1667 | 40 | 0.67 | 0.6667 |
| 11 | 0.18 | 0.1833 | 41 | 0.68 | 0.6833 |
| 12 | 0.20 | 0.2000 | 42 | 0.70 | 0.7000 |
| 13 | 0.22 | 0.2167 | 43 | 0.72 | 0.7167 |
| 14 | 0.23 | 0.2333 | 44 | 0.73 | 0.7333 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 0.2500 | 45 | 0.75 | 0.7500 |
| 16 | 0.27 | 0.2667 | 46 | 0.77 | 0.7667 |
| 17 | 0.28 | 0.2833 | 47 | 0.78 | 0.7833 |
| 18 | 0.30 | 0.3000 | 48 | 0.80 | 0.8000 |
| 19 | 0.32 | 0.3167 | 49 | 0.82 | 0.8167 |
| 20 | 0.33 | 0.3333 | 50 | 0.83 | 0.8333 |
| 21 | 0.35 | 0.3500 | 51 | 0.85 | 0.8500 |
| 22 | 0.37 | 0.3667 | 52 | 0.87 | 0.8667 |
| 23 | 0.38 | 0.3833 | 53 | 0.88 | 0.8833 |
| 24 | 0.40 | 0.4000 | 54 | 0.90 | 0.9000 |
| 25 | 0.42 | 0.4167 | 55 | 0.92 | 0.9167 |
| 26 | 0.43 | 0.4333 | 56 | 0.93 | 0.9333 |
| 27 | 0.45 | 0.4500 | 57 | 0.95 | 0.9500 |
| 28 | 0.47 | 0.4667 | 58 | 0.97 | 0.9667 |
| 29 | 0.48 | 0.4833 | 59 | 0.98 | 0.9833 |
| 30 | 0.50 | 0.5000 | 60 | 1.00 | 1.0000 |
Tenths and quarters of an hour
Many people bill or log time in tenths or quarters of an hour. These are the values to know by heart:
| Decimal | Minutes | Decimal | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 6 | 0.6 | 36 |
| 0.2 | 12 | 0.7 | 42 |
| 0.25 | 15 | 0.75 | 45 |
| 0.3 | 18 | 0.8 | 48 |
| 0.4 | 24 | 0.9 | 54 |
| 0.5 | 30 | 1.0 | 60 |
Why payroll uses decimal hours
A pay rate is a price per hour. To multiply it by the time worked, the time has to be a plain number. 7 hours 45 minutes at $18 an hour is not 7.45 × 18 but 7.75 × 18 = $139.50. Writing 7.45 would pay 7 hours 27 minutes and lose $5.40 that day.
That is why time clocks, payroll software and invoicing tools record hours as decimals. The hours calculator gives the weekly total in both formats, with overtime and pay.
Rounding without losing minutes
- Add first, round last. Ten lines of 20 minutes are 200 minutes, or 3.33 hours. Rounding each line to 0.33 first gives 3.30 and loses 2 minutes.
- Tenths of an hour. Some trades and law firms bill in tenths: 0.1 = 6 minutes. A 14-minute call becomes 0.2 or 0.3 hour depending on the firm’s rule.
- Quarter hours. Many employers round punches to the nearest quarter hour (0.25). Federal rules accept rounding to 5 minutes, a tenth or a quarter of an hour, as long as it does not, over time, shortchange employees.
Decimal hours on an invoice
Freelancers often track time in hours and minutes, then bill in decimals. Say you worked 2:20, 1:45 and 3:10 on a project at $60 an hour. Add the time first: 7 hours 15 minutes. Convert once: 15 ÷ 60 = 0.25, so 7.25 hours. Bill 7.25 × $60 = $435.00. Converting each line first and rounding (2.33 + 1.75 + 3.17) also gives 7.25 here, but with more lines the small rounding gaps add up.
Common mistakes
- Reading 1.30 as 1:30. 1.30 hours is 1 hour 18 minutes. 1:30 is 1.50 hours.
- Dividing by 100. 45 minutes is not 0.45 hour. Minutes are divided by 60, not 100.
- Spreadsheet times. In Excel or Google Sheets, a time like 7:45 is stored as a fraction of a day. Multiply it by 24 (=A1*24) and format the cell as a number to get 7.75.
To add or subtract several durations, use the time calculator. To time a task as you work, start the stopwatch and convert the result here.