Good conduct time, good time credit, or time off for good behavior is a sentence reduction given to prisoners who maintain good behavior while imprisoned. Good time can be forfeited if a prisoner is determined to have committed disciplinary infractions and/or crimes while incarcerated.

Under U.S. federal law, prisoners serving more than one year in prison get 54 days a year of good time for every year they serve. Thus, a prisoner who is sentenced to 419 days (365 + 54 days) in prison will only serve about 365 days. Thus, prisoners who demonstrate good behavior only serve about 87.1% of their total sentences. Some prisoners have argued that prisoners should only serve about 85.2% of their sentences, because 1 - 54 ÷365 ≈ 85.2%, but the statute empowers the Bureau of Prisons to make the calculation, and the Bureau has determined that the 87.1% rate is to be used. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld this rate as valid. Good time is calculated after sentencing by the Designation and Sentence Computation Center. Rumors constantly circulate within federal prisons that a Good Time Bill

Good Time Bill

The Good Time Bill, also known as the Federal Prison Work Incentive Act, is a bill to reduce federal prisoners' sentences by granting more good conduct time. Despite rumors that perpetually circulate throughout the Bureau of Prisons that the bill is about to be signed by President Barack Obama, the...

will be passed increasing the amount of good time granted to prisoners, and indeed such bills are sometimes introduced.