Minutes to decimal, every minute
Divide the minutes by 60. The hours part is unchanged — 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 — so this table is all there is to it.
| Minutes | Decimal | Nearest tenth | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.02 | 0.0 | 8:01 = 8.02 |
| 2 | 0.03 | 0.0 | 8:02 = 8.03 |
| 3 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 8:03 = 8.05 |
| 4 | 0.07 | 0.1 | 8:04 = 8.07 |
| 5 | 0.08 | 0.1 | 8:05 = 8.08 |
| 6 | 0.10 | 0.1 | 8:06 = 8.10 |
| 7 | 0.12 | 0.1 | 8:07 = 8.12 |
| 8 | 0.13 | 0.1 | 8:08 = 8.13 |
| 9 | 0.15 | 0.2 | 8:09 = 8.15 |
| 10 | 0.17 | 0.2 | 8:10 = 8.17 |
| 11 | 0.18 | 0.2 | 8:11 = 8.18 |
| 12 | 0.20 | 0.2 | 8:12 = 8.20 |
| 13 | 0.22 | 0.2 | 8:13 = 8.22 |
| 14 | 0.23 | 0.2 | 8:14 = 8.23 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 0.3 | 8:15 = 8.25 |
| 16 | 0.27 | 0.3 | 8:16 = 8.27 |
| 17 | 0.28 | 0.3 | 8:17 = 8.28 |
| 18 | 0.30 | 0.3 | 8:18 = 8.30 |
| 19 | 0.32 | 0.3 | 8:19 = 8.32 |
| 20 | 0.33 | 0.3 | 8:20 = 8.33 |
| 21 | 0.35 | 0.4 | 8:21 = 8.35 |
| 22 | 0.37 | 0.4 | 8:22 = 8.37 |
| 23 | 0.38 | 0.4 | 8:23 = 8.38 |
| 24 | 0.40 | 0.4 | 8:24 = 8.40 |
| 25 | 0.42 | 0.4 | 8:25 = 8.42 |
| 26 | 0.43 | 0.4 | 8:26 = 8.43 |
| 27 | 0.45 | 0.5 | 8:27 = 8.45 |
| 28 | 0.47 | 0.5 | 8:28 = 8.47 |
| 29 | 0.48 | 0.5 | 8:29 = 8.48 |
| 30 | 0.50 | 0.5 | 8:30 = 8.50 |
| 31 | 0.52 | 0.5 | 8:31 = 8.52 |
| 32 | 0.53 | 0.5 | 8:32 = 8.53 |
| 33 | 0.55 | 0.6 | 8:33 = 8.55 |
| 34 | 0.57 | 0.6 | 8:34 = 8.57 |
| 35 | 0.58 | 0.6 | 8:35 = 8.58 |
| 36 | 0.60 | 0.6 | 8:36 = 8.60 |
| 37 | 0.62 | 0.6 | 8:37 = 8.62 |
| 38 | 0.63 | 0.6 | 8:38 = 8.63 |
| 39 | 0.65 | 0.7 | 8:39 = 8.65 |
| 40 | 0.67 | 0.7 | 8:40 = 8.67 |
| 41 | 0.68 | 0.7 | 8:41 = 8.68 |
| 42 | 0.70 | 0.7 | 8:42 = 8.70 |
| 43 | 0.72 | 0.7 | 8:43 = 8.72 |
| 44 | 0.73 | 0.7 | 8:44 = 8.73 |
| 45 | 0.75 | 0.8 | 8:45 = 8.75 |
| 46 | 0.77 | 0.8 | 8:46 = 8.77 |
| 47 | 0.78 | 0.8 | 8:47 = 8.78 |
| 48 | 0.80 | 0.8 | 8:48 = 8.80 |
| 49 | 0.82 | 0.8 | 8:49 = 8.82 |
| 50 | 0.83 | 0.8 | 8:50 = 8.83 |
| 51 | 0.85 | 0.9 | 8:51 = 8.85 |
| 52 | 0.87 | 0.9 | 8:52 = 8.87 |
| 53 | 0.88 | 0.9 | 8:53 = 8.88 |
| 54 | 0.90 | 0.9 | 8:54 = 8.90 |
| 55 | 0.92 | 0.9 | 8:55 = 8.92 |
| 56 | 0.93 | 0.9 | 8:56 = 8.93 |
| 57 | 0.95 | 1.0 | 8:57 = 8.95 |
| 58 | 0.97 | 1.0 | 8:58 = 8.97 |
| 59 | 0.98 | 1.0 | 8:59 = 8.98 |
Tenths of an hour
A tenth of an hour is six minutes. Payroll systems that round to tenths are counting in six-minute blocks, so 0.1 is 6 minutes, 0.5 is 30 and 0.75 of an hour — 45 minutes — rounds to 0.8 rather than staying at 0.75.
The difference is small per entry and not always small per period: rounding each of ten shifts up or down by three minutes moves half an hour. The calculators on this site never round until the final conversion, so what rounding there is happens once.
Worked example
A shift of 7:45. The minutes are 45, and 45 ÷ 60 = 0.75, so the shift is 7.75 decimal hours — 465 minutes in all. At $20.00 an hour that is $155.00, which is the same answer either way: the format is for the payroll system, not for the arithmetic.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours?
Divide the minutes by 60. 20 minutes is 20 ÷ 60 = 0.33 hours; 45 minutes is 45 ÷ 60 = 0.75 hours. The hours part does not change — 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75.
What is the difference between 7:30 and 7.30?
7:30 is seven hours and thirty minutes. 7.30 is a decimal: seven hours and eighteen minutes, because 0.30 of an hour is 18 minutes. The two differ by twelve minutes, which is why payroll asks for one and not the other.
What are tenths of an hour?
A tenth of an hour is six minutes. Some payroll systems round to the nearest tenth, so 0.1 is 6 minutes, 0.25 of an hour is 15 minutes and rounds to 0.3, and 0.5 is thirty minutes exactly. The table shows the rounded tenth beside the exact decimal.
Does rounding to two decimals lose time?
A little, on a single figure: 20 minutes is 0.3333… and shows as 0.33. It does not accumulate here, because every total on this site is summed in whole minutes and converted once at the end, never added up from rounded decimals.
Which format should I give my employer?
Whichever their system asks for. Payroll software almost always wants decimal hours; a paper timesheet usually wants hours and minutes. The calculators on this site show both for exactly that reason.