Convert a Time to Decimal Hours

Excel Formulas › Date & Time

All versionsTime

Payroll and billing need 8.5 hours, not 8:30. Multiply a time value by 24 to turn Excel’s day-fraction into decimal hours ready to multiply by a rate.

Quick formula: convert the time in A2 to decimal hours:
=A2 * 24
Excel stores time as a fraction of a day, so ×24 gives hours. Format the result as a number, not time.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

HOURMINUTE

The example

8:30 becomes 8.5 hours.

AB
1TimeDecimal hours
28:308.5
37:157.25

The formula

Multiply the time by 24:

=A2 * 24 // 8:30 → 8.5 hours

How it works

Time is a day-fraction; scale it to hours:

  1. Excel stores 8:30 as 0.354 — the fraction of a 24-hour day.
  2. Multiplying by 24 converts that fraction to hours: 8.5.
  3. Format the result cell as a number (not time), or it’ll redisplay as a clock value.
  4. For minutes, multiply by 1440; for seconds, by 86400.

Pay = hours × rate: once it’s decimal, =A2*24 * rate gives wages directly. Going back? Divide by 24 and format as time. The HOUR/MINUTE breakdown (HOUR(A2)+MINUTE(A2)/60) gives the same number a different way.

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

Enter a time (h:mm).

Decimal hours:

Variations

HOUR/MINUTE version

Same result:

=HOUR(A2) + MINUTE(A2)/60

Decimal back to time

Divide by 24:

=A2 / 24 (format as time)

To minutes

Multiply by 1440:

=A2 * 1440

Pitfalls & errors

Format as a number. If =A2*24 shows a time, change the cell format to General/Number.

Over 24 hours. A duration past a day needs [h] formatting on the source; once multiplied by 24 it’s just a number, so totals are fine.

Text times don’t multiply. Ensure the cell holds a real time value, not text.

Practice workbook

📊
Download the free Convert a Time to Decimal Hours practice workbook
A time-to-decimal converter with the HOUR/MINUTE, reverse, and minutes variants, plus 4 challenges with answers. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert time to decimal hours in Excel?
Multiply by 24: =A2*24 turns 8:30 into 8.5. Format the result as a number, since time is stored as a fraction of a day.
How do I convert decimal hours back to a time?
Divide by 24 and format the cell as time: =A2/24.
Why does my result show as a clock time?
The cell kept a time format. Change it to General or Number to see the decimal.

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Related formulas: Time difference · Sum time past 24h · Project billing by rate

Function references: HOUR · MINUTE