Overnight shift calculator
Enter both dates so that crossing midnight is a choice, not a guess.
Your time card starts here.
Enable JavaScript to edit and calculate time cards. The worked examples and guides are available below.
Start and end dates come first
A start time of 22:00 and end time of 06:00 is ambiguous without dates. If both are on the same day, the end is before the start. Choose the next date explicitly when that is what happened. A complete 24-hour shift also needs two dates: 08:00 today to 08:00 tomorrow is different from two equal times today.
A night shift with a break
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Start | October 21, 2026, 22:00 |
| End | October 22, 2026, 06:00 |
| Unpaid break | October 22, 00:00–00:30 |
The span is 480 minutes. Subtract 30 unpaid minutes to get 450 minutes, or 7.50 decimal hours.
Reporting follows the start date
The entire completed shift belongs to October 21 and the reporting period containing that date. The October 22 end date remains visible. This grouping rule avoids an automatic midnight split and a duplicate contribution to the next period.
What this result means
The result is a difference between entered wall-clock dates and times. No time-zone offset is inferred, so a daylight-saving change is not automatically added or removed. Paid breaks remain included; unpaid intervals are deducted only after they pass the date, boundary and overlap checks.
Frequently asked questions
Does an earlier end time automatically mean the next day?
No. Enter or choose the actual next date explicitly. An end of 06:00 on the same date as a 22:00 start remains an invalid interval.
Does this adjust for a daylight-saving clock change?
No. It subtracts the entered wall-clock dates and times. It does not infer a timezone offset or a clock-change adjustment.
Sources and method
- NIST SP 330, Section 4, Table 8Time-unit definitions only; not a payroll authority or product endorsement.