To calculate hours worked on a shift that crosses midnight, convert both times to 24-hour format and, if the end time is earlier than the start time, add 24 hours to the end time before subtracting. A shift from 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM becomes 30:30 − 22:00 = 8 hours 30 minutes. Subtract any unpaid break, convert the minutes to a decimal, and you have the hours to pay. The extra care with overnight shifts comes in deciding which day and workweek those hours belong to, and in the two nights a year when daylight saving time changes the clock.
The add-24-hours method
Step by step:
- Convert to 24-hour time. 10:00 PM = 22:00; 6:30 AM = 06:30. The guide on how to read military time has a conversion chart, or use the military time converter.
- Compare. If the end time is less than or equal to the start time, the shift crossed midnight.
- Add 24 hours to the end time. 06:30 becomes 30:30.
- Subtract. 30:30 − 22:00 = 8:30. If minutes go negative, borrow 60 minutes from the hours.
- Deduct unpaid breaks. A 30-minute unpaid meal break leaves 8:00.
Borrowing minutes
For 7:45 PM to 4:15 AM: 04:15 + 24:00 = 28:15. Subtract 19:45. Since 15 minutes is less than 45, borrow an hour: 28:15 becomes 27:75. Then 27:75 − 19:45 = 8:30.
Alternative: split at midnight
If adding 24 feels awkward, calculate the two pieces separately and add them:
- Before midnight: 24:00 − 22:00 = 2:00
- After midnight: 06:30 − 00:00 = 6:30
- Total: 2:00 + 6:30 = 8:30
This version is also useful because many payroll questions need the two pieces anyway, as described below.
Common overnight shifts
| Shift | 24-hour times | Hours on the clock | Before midnight | After midnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM | 23:00 – 07:00 | 8:00 | 1:00 | 7:00 |
| 10:00 PM – 6:30 AM | 22:00 – 06:30 | 8:30 | 2:00 | 6:30 |
| 9:30 PM – 5:45 AM | 21:30 – 05:45 | 8:15 | 2:30 | 5:45 |
| 7:45 PM – 4:15 AM | 19:45 – 04:15 | 8:30 | 4:15 | 4:15 |
| 6:00 PM – 6:00 AM | 18:00 – 06:00 | 12:00 | 6:00 | 6:00 |
| 3:00 PM – 1:30 AM | 15:00 – 01:30 | 10:30 | 9:00 | 1:30 |
Converting to decimal hours for pay
Payroll multiplies hours by the rate, so minutes must become a fraction of an hour:
| Minutes | Decimal |
|---|---|
| 15 | 0.25 |
| 30 | 0.50 |
| 45 | 0.75 |
| 10 | 0.17 |
| 20 | 0.33 |
| 50 | 0.83 |
Example: A nurse works 7:00 PM to 7:30 AM with a 30-minute unpaid meal break, at $32 an hour.
07:30 + 24:00 = 31:30; 31:30 − 19:00 = 12:30; minus 0:30 = 12:00 hours.
Pay: 12.00 × $32 = $384.00 before any shift differential.
The hours calculator and time clock calculator handle overnight times and breaks automatically.
Which day do the hours belong to?
Daily totals
For scheduling and daily overtime, employers commonly assign the whole shift to the day it began, so a Friday 10 PM shift is “Friday’s” shift. State daily overtime rules, such as California’s, use the employer’s defined 24-hour workday, which may start at any hour. If your workday runs midnight to midnight, a long overnight shift can be split across two workdays, which affects how daily overtime is figured; see overtime pay by state.
Weekly overtime
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, overtime is based on hours actually worked within each fixed seven-day workweek. If the workweek starts Sunday at 12:00 AM and someone works Saturday 10 PM to Sunday 6:30 AM, the 2 hours before midnight belong to the old week and the 6.5 hours after midnight to the new one. Employers can avoid split shifts by starting the workweek at a time when no one is working, for example 6:00 AM Sunday, but the start time must stay fixed.
Premium pay
Holiday pay, weekend premiums and shift differentials often depend on the clock: a holiday premium for “hours worked on December 25” may pay only the hours after midnight on Christmas Eve’s overnight shift. Read the policy wording carefully; how to calculate holiday pay covers common setups.
Daylight saving time nights
Twice a year the clock jumps, and wall-clock subtraction gives the wrong answer for overnight shifts:
| 2026 date | Change | 10:00 PM – 6:00 AM shift lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, March 8 | Clocks spring forward from 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM | 7 hours |
| Sunday, November 1 | Clocks fall back from 2:00 AM to 1:00 AM | 9 hours |
Non-exempt employees must be paid for the hours they actually worked, so the fall-back shift owes 9 hours of pay, and the spring-forward shift owes 7 (unless a union contract or policy guarantees a full shift). Time clocks that record only clock times, without the time zone offset, will undercount or overcount these nights, so check them manually.
Shifts over 24 hours or across several days
For on-call stretches, travel or emergency work longer than a day, clock times alone are ambiguous. Use full date-times: Monday 7:00 AM to Tuesday 9:00 AM is 26 hours. The time duration calculator subtracts date-times directly. Note that for shifts of 24 hours or more, FLSA rules allow employer and employee to agree to exclude a bona fide sleep period of up to 8 hours under certain conditions.
Checklist for overnight timesheets
- Record the date the shift starts and the date it ends, not just the times.
- Note unpaid meal breaks separately; short rest breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are paid under federal rules.
- Total each workweek separately for overtime.
- Flag DST nights for a manual check.
- If you track hours in a spreadsheet, the guide on Excel night shift hours shows formulas that handle midnight.
A time card calculator can total a full week of overnight shifts, including breaks and overtime.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate hours from 10 PM to 6 AM?
Convert to 24-hour time (22:00 and 06:00). Because the end time is smaller, add 24 hours to it: 30:00 − 22:00 = 8 hours. Subtract any unpaid break to get paid hours.
Which day do overnight hours count toward?
For a daily total, many employers assign the whole shift to the day it starts. For weekly overtime under the FLSA, hours count in the workweek in which they are actually worked, so a shift that crosses the workweek boundary is split at that point. Some employers set the workweek start time to avoid splitting shifts.
Do I get paid for an extra hour when the clocks fall back?
Non-exempt employees must be paid for all hours actually worked. A 10 PM to 6 AM shift on the night daylight saving time ends lasts 9 hours, not 8, because 1:00 to 2:00 AM happens twice. On the spring-forward night the same shift is only 7 hours.
How do I convert 8 hours 45 minutes to decimal hours?
Divide the minutes by 60 and add the result to the hours: 45 ÷ 60 = 0.75, so 8 hours 45 minutes is 8.75 hours. Multiply decimal hours by the hourly rate for pay.
What if a shift lasts more than 24 hours?
Use full dates and times rather than clock times alone. Subtract the start date-time from the end date-time; a shift from Monday 7:00 AM to Tuesday 9:00 AM is 26 hours. Clock-only math cannot tell a 2-hour shift from a 26-hour one.