How to use it
- Pick a rounding rule. Most payroll uses two decimal places (nearest hundredth). Some employers round to tenths or quarter hours.
- To get decimal hours, type the hours and minutes on the left. The decimal appears straight away, with the exact value underneath.
- To go the other way, type a decimal such as
7.63on the right to see it in hours and minutes. - Need to convert a lot of entries by hand? Print the minutes to decimal chart below and keep it by your desk.
Worked example: entering a timesheet into payroll
Jamal’s timesheet says he worked 7 hours 38 minutes on Monday, but the payroll system only accepts decimal hours.
- Divide the minutes by 60: 38 ÷ 60 = 0.6333…
- Add the whole hours: 7 + 0.6333 = 7.6333 hours.
- Round to two places: 7.63 hours. That’s the number to type into payroll.
- At $22.00 an hour, that’s 7.63 × $22.00 = $167.86.
Going back the other way, 7.63 hours is 7 hours plus 0.63 × 60 = 37.8 minutes, which rounds to 7 hours 38 minutes. If the employer rounds to tenths instead, 7 h 38 min becomes 7.6 hours (7 h 36 min), and to the nearest quarter it becomes 7.75 hours (7 h 45 min).
How it’s calculated
decimal hours = hours + (minutes ÷ 60)
minutes = (decimal part) × 60
- One minute is 1/60 of an hour, about 0.0167 hours, so each minute adds a little under two hundredths.
- Nearest hundredth rounds the decimal to two places (half up). 1 minute shows as 0.02.
- Nearest tenth works in 6-minute blocks. 0–2 minutes rounds down to .0, 3–8 minutes is .1, 9–14 minutes is .2 and so on.
- Nearest quarter hour works in 15-minute blocks: 0–7 minutes rounds down, 8–22 minutes becomes .25, and so on.
Rounding rules for clocking in and out are set by employers, and U.S. federal rules expect rounding to average out fairly over time. When in doubt, keep the exact figure.
Minutes to decimal chart
Each minute from 1 to 60 as decimal hours to two places, with the tenth-of-an-hour (6-minute) equivalent used by many time clocks.
| Minutes | Decimal hours | Tenths |
|---|---|---|
| 1 min | 0.02 | 0.0 |
| 2 min | 0.03 | 0.0 |
| 3 min | 0.05 | 0.1 |
| 4 min | 0.07 | 0.1 |
| 5 min | 0.08 | 0.1 |
| 6 min | 0.10 | 0.1 |
| 7 min | 0.12 | 0.1 |
| 8 min | 0.13 | 0.1 |
| 9 min | 0.15 | 0.2 |
| 10 min | 0.17 | 0.2 |
| 11 min | 0.18 | 0.2 |
| 12 min | 0.20 | 0.2 |
| 13 min | 0.22 | 0.2 |
| 14 min | 0.23 | 0.2 |
| 15 min | 0.25 | 0.3 |
| 16 min | 0.27 | 0.3 |
| 17 min | 0.28 | 0.3 |
| 18 min | 0.30 | 0.3 |
| 19 min | 0.32 | 0.3 |
| 20 min | 0.33 | 0.3 |
| 21 min | 0.35 | 0.4 |
| 22 min | 0.37 | 0.4 |
| 23 min | 0.38 | 0.4 |
| 24 min | 0.40 | 0.4 |
| 25 min | 0.42 | 0.4 |
| 26 min | 0.43 | 0.4 |
| 27 min | 0.45 | 0.5 |
| 28 min | 0.47 | 0.5 |
| 29 min | 0.48 | 0.5 |
| 30 min | 0.50 | 0.5 |
| Minutes | Decimal hours | Tenths |
|---|---|---|
| 31 min | 0.52 | 0.5 |
| 32 min | 0.53 | 0.5 |
| 33 min | 0.55 | 0.6 |
| 34 min | 0.57 | 0.6 |
| 35 min | 0.58 | 0.6 |
| 36 min | 0.60 | 0.6 |
| 37 min | 0.62 | 0.6 |
| 38 min | 0.63 | 0.6 |
| 39 min | 0.65 | 0.7 |
| 40 min | 0.67 | 0.7 |
| 41 min | 0.68 | 0.7 |
| 42 min | 0.70 | 0.7 |
| 43 min | 0.72 | 0.7 |
| 44 min | 0.73 | 0.7 |
| 45 min | 0.75 | 0.8 |
| 46 min | 0.77 | 0.8 |
| 47 min | 0.78 | 0.8 |
| 48 min | 0.80 | 0.8 |
| 49 min | 0.82 | 0.8 |
| 50 min | 0.83 | 0.8 |
| 51 min | 0.85 | 0.9 |
| 52 min | 0.87 | 0.9 |
| 53 min | 0.88 | 0.9 |
| 54 min | 0.90 | 0.9 |
| 55 min | 0.92 | 0.9 |
| 56 min | 0.93 | 0.9 |
| 57 min | 0.95 | 1.0 |
| 58 min | 0.97 | 1.0 |
| 59 min | 0.98 | 1.0 |
| 60 min | 1.00 | 1.0 |
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert 45 minutes to decimal?
Divide by 60: 45 ÷ 60 = 0.75. So 45 minutes is 0.75 hours, and 8 hours 45 minutes is 8.75 hours.
What is 15 minutes in decimal hours?
0.25 hours. Quarter hours are easy to remember: 15 minutes = 0.25, 30 minutes = 0.50, 45 minutes = 0.75.
What is 0.1 hours in minutes?
Six minutes. Multiply the decimal by 60: 0.1 × 60 = 6. That’s why tenth-hour rounding is sometimes called the 6-minute rule.
Why is 1 minute 0.02 and not 0.01?
One minute is 0.01666… hours. Rounded to two places that’s 0.02. If your payroll tool truncates instead of rounding, it may show 0.01, so small differences can appear.
Is 7.5 hours the same as 7 hours 50 minutes?
No. 7.5 hours is 7 hours 30 minutes, because 0.5 of an hour is 30 minutes. 7 hours 50 minutes is about 7.83 hours. This mix-up is one of the most common timesheet errors.