Hours to Minutes Excel Formula
Excel stores 1:30 as 0.0625, so multiplying by 60 gives the wrong answer. Here is the multiplier that works and how to display totals correctly.
Conversions completed
Why =A1*60 sometimes gives 0.06
Excel stores time as a fraction of a day. One hour is 1/24, so a cell showing 1:30 actually holds 0.0625. Multiplying by 60 gives 3.75, not 90, because you are converting a fraction of a day, not a number of hours. The correct multiplier for minutes is 1440.
| Cell shows | Stored value | =A1*60 | =A1*1440 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:30 | 0.0625 | 3.75 | 90 |
| 0:45 | 0.03125 | 1.875 | 45 |
| 8:00 | 0.33333 | 20 | 480 |
| 0:01 | 0.000694 | 0.0417 | 1 |
The formulas
| Goal | Formula | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Time value to minutes | =A1*1440 | A1 must be a real time value, not text |
| Text "1:30" to minutes | =TIMEVALUE(A1)*1440 | Use when the cell is text |
| Hours and minutes to minutes | =HOUR(A1)*60+MINUTE(A1) | Drops seconds |
| Decimal hours to minutes | =A1*60 | Here A1 is a plain number like 1.5 |
| Minutes back to time | =A1/1440 | Format the cell as [h]:mm |
Displaying total minutes without them rolling over
If you format a duration as h:mm, Excel wraps at 24 hours and 26 hours shows as 2:00. Use a custom format of [m] to show total minutes, or [h]:mm to show total hours and minutes. The square brackets tell Excel not to roll over.
The direction that catches people out
- Multiplying by 60 is correct only when the source cell is a plain number of hours, such as 1.5 or 0.25.
- If the source cell was entered as 1:30, Excel made it a time value and the multiplier is 1440.
- Payroll systems often store 1:30 as text; wrap it in TIMEVALUE before multiplying.
- When the result must feed another calculation, keep it numeric. Formatting alone does not change the underlying value.
Related pages
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the formula to convert hours to minutes in Excel?
=A1*60 for a plain number of hours, or =A1*1440 if A1 holds an Excel time value such as 1:30.
Why does 1:30 times 60 give 3.75?
Excel stores time as a fraction of a day. 1:30 is 0.0625, and 0.0625 x 60 = 3.75. Use 1440 instead.
How do I show more than 24 hours?
Apply a custom number format of [h]:mm. The square brackets stop the display from rolling over at 24 hours.
