Minutes to Decimal Chart: How to Read and Use It
What the minutes-to-decimal conversion chart shows, how it is calculated, and when payroll rounding differs from the chart.
Updated 2026-10-20
A minutes-to-decimal chart lists every minute from 1 to 60 next to its decimal-hour value. It exists because payroll clerks convert hundreds of time entries a week and dividing by 60 each time is slow.
How each value is calculated
Decimal = minutes ÷ 60, rounded to two decimals, half up.
| Minutes | Exact | Shown |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.01666 | 0.02 |
| 7 | 0.11666 | 0.12 |
| 8 | 0.13333 | 0.13 |
| 20 | 0.33333 | 0.33 |
| 40 | 0.66666 | 0.67 |
| 59 | 0.98333 | 0.98 |
Our chart is generated from that formula, never hand-typed, so there are no transcription errors. The same code drives the converter.
Reading the chart for a whole shift
Separate hours from minutes, look up the minutes, add. 7 hours 38 minutes: 38 → 0.63, so 7.63. For many entries, add the H:MM values first and convert once; converting each row and adding the rounded decimals can drift by a cent or two.
Chart versus payroll rounding
The chart converts exactly. Some employers round time to the nearest 6 minutes (tenth of an hour) or 15 minutes (quarter hour) before paying. That is a separate step, and federal regulation 29 CFR 785.48(b) only allows it when it is applied neutrally and does not, over time, short the employee. The rounded values look like this:
| Minutes | Nearest 0.1 h | Nearest 0.25 h |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 0.1 | 0.00 |
| 8 | 0.1 | 0.25 |
| 22 | 0.4 | 0.25 |
| 23 | 0.4 | 0.25 |
| 38 | 0.6 | 0.75 |
Rounding is applied to each clock punch, not to the daily total, so the chart value and the paid value can differ.
Printing the chart
The chart page has a print button that produces a single page with the 1 to 60 table in two columns. Pin it next to the time clock.
The full chart
| Min | Dec | Min | Dec | Min | Dec | Min | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.02 | 16 | 0.27 | 31 | 0.52 | 46 | 0.77 |
| 2 | 0.03 | 17 | 0.28 | 32 | 0.53 | 47 | 0.78 |
| 3 | 0.05 | 18 | 0.30 | 33 | 0.55 | 48 | 0.80 |
| 4 | 0.07 | 19 | 0.32 | 34 | 0.57 | 49 | 0.82 |
| 5 | 0.08 | 20 | 0.33 | 35 | 0.58 | 50 | 0.83 |
| 6 | 0.10 | 21 | 0.35 | 36 | 0.60 | 51 | 0.85 |
| 7 | 0.12 | 22 | 0.37 | 37 | 0.62 | 52 | 0.87 |
| 8 | 0.13 | 23 | 0.38 | 38 | 0.63 | 53 | 0.88 |
| 9 | 0.15 | 24 | 0.40 | 39 | 0.65 | 54 | 0.90 |
| 10 | 0.17 | 25 | 0.42 | 40 | 0.67 | 55 | 0.92 |
| 11 | 0.18 | 26 | 0.43 | 41 | 0.68 | 56 | 0.93 |
| 12 | 0.20 | 27 | 0.45 | 42 | 0.70 | 57 | 0.95 |
| 13 | 0.22 | 28 | 0.47 | 43 | 0.72 | 58 | 0.97 |
| 14 | 0.23 | 29 | 0.48 | 44 | 0.73 | 59 | 0.98 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 30 | 0.50 | 45 | 0.75 | 60 | 1.00 |
Note that 3 minutes shows 0.05 (0.0500 exactly) and 7 minutes shows 0.12 even though 0.1166 might look like it should round to 0.11; half-up rounding of 0.11666 at the second decimal gives 0.12.
Three-decimal charts
Some payroll departments use three decimals to reduce drift: 1 minute is 0.017, 20 minutes 0.333, 40 minutes 0.667. Over a year of daily entries the three-decimal chart keeps totals within a minute of the truth; the two-decimal chart can drift by up to 15 minutes per employee per year in the worst case, though usually far less.
Frequently asked
Why is 20 minutes 0.33 and not 0.3? 20 ÷ 60 = 0.3333. Rounded to one decimal it is 0.3, to two decimals 0.33. The chart uses two decimals because payroll does.
What is 45 minutes as a decimal? 0.75.
What is 1 minute as a decimal? 0.0167, shown as 0.02.
Why does my payroll system show 0.13 for 8 minutes but 0.1 for 7? It is rounding to tenths of an hour per punch (6-minute increments), not converting. Eight minutes is nearer 0.1 than 0.2, so you may be seeing a different rounding rule than the chart.
Can I use the chart for seconds? No; seconds are a fraction of a minute. 30 seconds is 0.5 minutes, or 0.0083 hours.