Federal overtime is 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. A workweek is any fixed, recurring 168-hour period and can start on any day (29 CFR 778.105). Each workweek stands alone: 29 CFR 778.104 bars averaging, so 30 hours one week and 50 the next means 10 overtime hours even on a biweekly paycheck. Semi-monthly and monthly pay periods split workweeks, which is why this template asks for the hours already worked earlier in the first workweek.

The example timesheet above, worked through:

Three limits to keep in mind. The regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials and commissions (29 CFR part 778), so overtime can be worth more than 1.5 times the base wage. Paid time off, sick leave and holidays are paid but are not hours worked, so they do not count toward the 40; track balances with the PTO accrual calculator. And some states add daily overtime: California pays 1.5x after 8 hours in a workday and 2x after 12 (Labor Code 510), and Alaska, Colorado and Nevada have their own daily rules. Use the overtime pay calculator for those.

Payroll multiplies a rate by decimal hours, so minutes need converting: divide the minutes by 60. Seven hours and 20 minutes is 7 + 20 ÷ 60 = 7.33 hours, and 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75. This template rounds each day to two decimals (0.01 hour is 36 seconds), which is why three days of 7:20 add up to 21.99 rather than 22.00. To total clock times without a timesheet, the time card calculator adds them up and shows the result in hours and minutes.

Federal law sets two clocks, and the IRS and some states set longer ones. Keep each record for the longest period that applies to you.

Records can sit at the workplace or at a central office, but they must be available to the Department of Labor within 72 hours of a request (29 CFR 516.7). Signed PDFs or scans count as long as they are legible and complete. The same timesheets support the wage figures on your quarterly Form 941 and the employee's Form W-2.

29 CFR 785.48(b) accepts recording start and stop times to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour (6 minutes) or quarter hour, provided the practice averages out and does not, over time, underpay employees for the time they actually worked. Under quarter-hour rounding, a punch at 8:07 is usually rounded to 8:00 and 8:08 to 8:15, the so-called 7-minute rule. A policy that only rounds in the employer's favor fails the test.

Employees who clock in early or stay late without working do not have to be paid for that time (29 CFR 785.48(a)), but anyone who works off the clock must be paid. State courts can be stricter: California's Supreme Court ruled in Donohue v. AMN Services (2021) that employers may not round meal-period punches. Recording exact minutes, as this template does, avoids the question.

The FLSA hours records apply to employees. Independent contractors are not covered, so they track hours only to bill clients, and the invoice carries the hours and rate instead of a timesheet. Calling someone a contractor does not settle it: if the business controls how, when and where the work is done, the worker is likely an employee owed minimum wage, overtime and accurate time records. Compare the cost of each arrangement with the 1099 vs W-2 calculator.

This template is built for small employers with hourly staff, household and seasonal employers who track hours on paper, and employees who want their own record of hours to check a paycheck. To turn the gross pay into withholding and employer taxes, use the payroll tax calculator.