How to convert decimal hours to hours and minutes
Keep the whole number as hours. Multiply the part after the decimal point by 60 to get minutes.
Minutes = decimal part × 60
For 8.6 hours: 0.6 × 60 = 36, so 8.6 hours is 8 hours 36 minutes.
When the minutes come out with a fraction, multiply that fraction by 60 again for seconds. For 5.83 hours: 0.83 × 60 = 49.8 minutes, and 0.8 × 60 = 48 seconds, so 5.83 hours is 5 hours 49 minutes 48 seconds.
Decimal to minutes chart
Look up the digits after the decimal point. The whole hours stay the same: .25 is 15 minutes, so 6.25 hours is 6 hours 15 minutes.
| Decimal | Min:sec |
|---|---|
| .01 | 0:36 |
| .02 | 1:12 |
| .03 | 1:48 |
| .04 | 2:24 |
| .05 | 3:00 |
| .06 | 3:36 |
| .07 | 4:12 |
| .08 | 4:48 |
| .09 | 5:24 |
| .10 | 6:00 |
| .11 | 6:36 |
| .12 | 7:12 |
| .13 | 7:48 |
| .14 | 8:24 |
| .15 | 9:00 |
| .16 | 9:36 |
| .17 | 10:12 |
| .18 | 10:48 |
| .19 | 11:24 |
| .20 | 12:00 |
| Decimal | Min:sec |
|---|---|
| .21 | 12:36 |
| .22 | 13:12 |
| .23 | 13:48 |
| .24 | 14:24 |
| .25 | 15:00 |
| .26 | 15:36 |
| .27 | 16:12 |
| .28 | 16:48 |
| .29 | 17:24 |
| .30 | 18:00 |
| .31 | 18:36 |
| .32 | 19:12 |
| .33 | 19:48 |
| .34 | 20:24 |
| .35 | 21:00 |
| .36 | 21:36 |
| .37 | 22:12 |
| .38 | 22:48 |
| .39 | 23:24 |
| .40 | 24:00 |
| Decimal | Min:sec |
|---|---|
| .41 | 24:36 |
| .42 | 25:12 |
| .43 | 25:48 |
| .44 | 26:24 |
| .45 | 27:00 |
| .46 | 27:36 |
| .47 | 28:12 |
| .48 | 28:48 |
| .49 | 29:24 |
| .50 | 30:00 |
| .51 | 30:36 |
| .52 | 31:12 |
| .53 | 31:48 |
| .54 | 32:24 |
| .55 | 33:00 |
| .56 | 33:36 |
| .57 | 34:12 |
| .58 | 34:48 |
| .59 | 35:24 |
| .60 | 36:00 |
| Decimal | Min:sec |
|---|---|
| .61 | 36:36 |
| .62 | 37:12 |
| .63 | 37:48 |
| .64 | 38:24 |
| .65 | 39:00 |
| .66 | 39:36 |
| .67 | 40:12 |
| .68 | 40:48 |
| .69 | 41:24 |
| .70 | 42:00 |
| .71 | 42:36 |
| .72 | 43:12 |
| .73 | 43:48 |
| .74 | 44:24 |
| .75 | 45:00 |
| .76 | 45:36 |
| .77 | 46:12 |
| .78 | 46:48 |
| .79 | 47:24 |
| .80 | 48:00 |
| Decimal | Min:sec |
|---|---|
| .81 | 48:36 |
| .82 | 49:12 |
| .83 | 49:48 |
| .84 | 50:24 |
| .85 | 51:00 |
| .86 | 51:36 |
| .87 | 52:12 |
| .88 | 52:48 |
| .89 | 53:24 |
| .90 | 54:00 |
| .91 | 54:36 |
| .92 | 55:12 |
| .93 | 55:48 |
| .94 | 56:24 |
| .95 | 57:00 |
| .96 | 57:36 |
| .97 | 58:12 |
| .98 | 58:48 |
| .99 | 59:24 |
| 1.00 | 60:00 |
Where you will see decimal hours
Pay stubs, timesheet exports, payroll reports and invoices usually list hours as decimals, because pay is calculated as hours × rate. Clocks and schedules use hours and minutes. Converting back lets you compare the two.
Checking a pay stub against your own records
Say your stub shows 38.42 regular hours. That is 38 hours, 25 minutes and 12 seconds (0.42 × 60 = 25.2 minutes). If your own clock-in records add up to 38 hours 40 minutes, the stub is about 15 minutes short, which is worth asking about.
To go the other way and turn your records into a number to compare, use the hours to decimal calculator.
Common mistakes
Reading 7.5 hours as 7 hours 50 minutes
7.5 hours is 7 hours 30 minutes, because half an hour is 30 minutes. The digits after the point are a fraction of an hour, not minutes.
Rounding the minutes too early
0.83 hours is 49.8 minutes, not 50. Over a week of entries the difference adds up, so this calculator totals the exact seconds before converting.
Treating 0.1 as one minute
One tenth of an hour is 6 minutes. One hundredth (0.01) is 36 seconds.