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Break Time Calculator (Lunch Break Calculator)
Enter when your shift started and ended, list the unpaid breaks, and this break time calculator shows the hours you are paid for. A shift from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM is 8 hours 30 minutes on the clock. Take off a 30-minute lunch and 8 hours are paid. It works as a lunch break calculator for one shift at a time. To total a full week of punches with lunch, use the time card calculator instead.
Quick answer: To work out paid hours after a break, subtract the start time from the end time. Then take off only the unpaid breaks. Under the federal FLSA, short rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are paid work time. A real meal period, usually 30 minutes or more with no duties, can be unpaid.
Paid breaks stay in your paid hours, so leave them out of the unpaid break list. A shift that ends after midnight works too. Type 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM and the end time is read as the next morning.
Worked example: a long shift with two meal breaks
Luis works a warehouse shift from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. He takes two unpaid 30-minute meal breaks with no duties. He also gets two paid 15-minute rest breaks during the day.
The shift is 11 hours on the clock. Only the two meal breaks go in the list, as 30, 30. That takes one hour off and leaves 10 paid hours.
The rest breaks are where people slip. If Luis typed 30, 30, 15, 15, the result would drop to 9 hours 30 minutes. He would be underpaid by half an hour.
Result: 10:00 paid, or 10.00 decimal hours.
Hours worked after a lunch break: table
| On the clock | 30 min unpaid | 45 min unpaid | 60 min unpaid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 (6.00) | 5:30 (5.50) | 5:15 (5.25) | 5:00 (5.00) |
| 6:30 (6.50) | 6:00 (6.00) | 5:45 (5.75) | 5:30 (5.50) |
| 7:00 (7.00) | 6:30 (6.50) | 6:15 (6.25) | 6:00 (6.00) |
| 7:30 (7.50) | 7:00 (7.00) | 6:45 (6.75) | 6:30 (6.50) |
| 8:00 (8.00) | 7:30 (7.50) | 7:15 (7.25) | 7:00 (7.00) |
| 8:30 (8.50) | 8:00 (8.00) | 7:45 (7.75) | 7:30 (7.50) |
| 9:00 (9.00) | 8:30 (8.50) | 8:15 (8.25) | 8:00 (8.00) |
| 9:30 (9.50) | 9:00 (9.00) | 8:45 (8.75) | 8:30 (8.50) |
| 10:00 (10.00) | 9:30 (9.50) | 9:15 (9.25) | 9:00 (9.00) |
| 10:30 (10.50) | 10:00 (10.00) | 9:45 (9.75) | 9:30 (9.50) |
| 11:00 (11.00) | 10:30 (10.50) | 10:15 (10.25) | 10:00 (10.00) |
| 12:00 (12.00) | 11:30 (11.50) | 11:15 (11.25) | 11:00 (11.00) |
| 12:30 (12.50) | 12:00 (12.00) | 11:45 (11.75) | 11:30 (11.50) |
When to take a lunch break, and how long it lasts
Federal law does not require meal or rest breaks for adult workers. When an employer offers short breaks, they must be paid. So for most US jobs, the length and timing of lunch come from state law and your employer.
California is the best-known example. An adult who works more than 5 hours in a day generally gets a 30-minute meal period. It must start before the end of the fifth hour. A second meal period applies after 10 hours. Workers also get a paid 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours worked, or major part of 4 hours.
Under those California rules, an 8-hour shift usually has one 30-minute unpaid lunch and two paid 10-minute rest breaks. Other states set their own rules, and many have none. The Department of Labor keeps a table of state meal break laws.
Hours minus lunch in Excel or Google Sheets
Put the start time in A2, the end time in B2 and the unpaid break minutes in C2. Format A and B as time. The formulas below give the paid hours for that row.
| What you want | Formula |
|---|---|
| Paid hours in decimal | =MOD(B2-A2,1)*24-C2/60 |
| Paid time as h:mm | =TEXT(MOD(B2-A2,1)-C2/1440,"[h]:mm") |
| Time on the clock before breaks | =MOD(B2-A2,1)*24 |
| Lunch out in D2, lunch in in E2 | =(MOD(B2-A2,1)-MOD(E2-D2,1))*24 |
MOD handles night shifts, so 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM gives 8 hours instead of a negative number. The night shift hours calculator covers overnight shifts with a meal break, and the work hours calculator adds lunch across a whole week. There are 1,440 minutes in a day, which is why the h:mm version divides by 1440.
Common mistakes
- Listing paid rest breaks. Coffee breaks and short rest periods of about 5 to 20 minutes are hours worked under federal rules, so they stay out of the list.
- Deducting a working lunch. If you eat at your desk while answering phones or watching a machine, you are not fully relieved from duty, and the time is generally paid.
- Letting an automatic lunch deduction stand when you skipped lunch. Enter 0 for that day and tell whoever handles payroll.
- Entering hours instead of minutes. A one-hour lunch is 60, not 1. An hour and a half is 90.
- Assuming federal rules are the whole story. Many states add meal or rest break rules, and some set when the break must start.
Questions about lunch and breaks
Most of these come from hourly workers checking a paycheck that looks short.
How many hours is 8 to 5 with a 30-minute lunch?
That shift is 9 hours on the clock. Half an hour comes off for lunch, so you are paid for 8 hours 30 minutes, written 8.5 in decimal. A full hour for lunch would bring it down to 8.
How do I calculate hours worked minus lunch?
Work out the time between clocking in and clocking out, then take the unpaid lunch away. Someone on 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM is there for 8 hours 30 minutes and is paid for 8.
Can I enter a lunch and a second unpaid break?
Type each one in minutes with a comma between them. A 30-minute lunch and a 15-minute unpaid break go in as 30, 15.
Do paid breaks go in the box?
Leave them out. A paid break is still paid time, and only an unpaid lunch or other unpaid break belongs in the box.
Are breaks paid under federal law?
Federal law does not make employers offer breaks at all. When short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are offered, they count as paid time. A real meal period of 30 minutes or more, with no duties, can be unpaid.
How long is a break for an 8-hour shift?
Federal law sets no minimum, so it depends on your state and your employer. In California, an 8-hour shift usually has a 30-minute meal period and two paid 10-minute rest breaks.
When should I take my lunch break?
In California, an adult's meal period has to start before the end of the fifth hour, so a shift starting at 8:00 AM needs lunch by 1:00 PM. Many other states leave the timing to the employer.
How do I write a 30-minute lunch in decimal hours?
A 30-minute lunch is 0.5 hours, a 45-minute lunch is 0.75 and a 15-minute break is 0.25. Divide the minutes by 60. So 8.5 hours on the clock minus 0.5 is 8.0 paid hours.
What if I work through my lunch break?
A lunch spent answering the phone at your desk is work time under federal rules. Put 0 in the break box for that day, so the half hour stays paid.
Sources
Cite this page
APA: ClockTotals. (2026, October 16). Break Time Calculator (Lunch Break Calculator). https://clocktotals.com/break-time-calculator/
MLA: “Break Time Calculator (Lunch Break Calculator).” ClockTotals, 16 Oct. 2026, clocktotals.com/break-time-calculator/.
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