Time Card Calculator With Lunch Break
A time card calculator with lunch break for your timesheet. Enter when you clock in, go to lunch, return and clock out, and the unpaid lunch comes off each day.
The time card needs JavaScript. Nothing you type ever leaves your device.
How To Calculate Work Hours With A Lunch Break
The calculator counts the time from clock in to clock out, then takes away the gap between lunch out and lunch in. What is left is your paid time.
Say you clock in at 8:00 AM, leave for lunch at 12:00, come back at 12:30 and clock out at 4:30 PM. That is 8 h 30 m at work, minus a 30 minute lunch, so 8 h paid.
Only take off breaks that are unpaid. Short rest breaks, such as a 10 or 15 minute coffee break, are usually paid and stay in your hours.
Each day shows its own working line under the times. Read it from left to right and you can check every number against your pay slip.
Paid Hours By Lunch Length
| Time at work | 30 min lunch | 45 min lunch | 1 hour lunch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 h | 7:30 (7.50) | 7:15 (7.25) | 7:00 (7.00) |
| 8 h 30 m | 8:00 (8.00) | 7:45 (7.75) | 7:30 (7.50) |
| 9 h | 8:30 (8.50) | 8:15 (8.25) | 8:00 (8.00) |
| 10 h | 9:30 (9.50) | 9:15 (9.25) | 9:00 (9.00) |
| 12 h | 11:30 (11.50) | 11:15 (11.25) | 11:00 (11.00) |
Decimal hours in brackets. The shaded row is the common 8:00 to 4:30 day with a 30 minute lunch.
Are Lunch Breaks Paid?
It depends on where you work. These are the legal starting points, and your contract can give you more.
| Where | Meal break | Short rest breaks | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US, federal | Not required. A meal break of 30 minutes or more is unpaid if you are fully off duty. | Not required. If given, breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are paid. | US Dept. of Labor |
| California | 30 minutes, unpaid, on shifts over 5 hours. | 10 minutes paid for every 4 hours. | California DIR |
| Canada, federal | 30 minutes every 5 hours in a row. Paid if you must stay available. | Provinces set their own rules. | Canada Labour Code, s. 169.1 |
| United Kingdom | 20 minutes if you work more than 6 hours. Paid only if your contract says so. | Set by your contract. | GOV.UK |
| Australia | Set by your award or agreement. | Set by your award or agreement. | Fair Work |
Checked November 2026. Not legal advice. More in what counts as hours worked.
Automatic Lunch Deductions
Many payroll systems take 30 minutes off every shift over a set length, whether or not you took lunch. The "If no lunch is entered" setting copies that rule so your total matches your pay slip.
The rule only applies to days where you left lunch empty. Once you type lunch times, or the same time twice for no lunch, your own entry wins.
If you worked through lunch, enter the real times instead. In the US, time you work during an unpaid break still has to be paid.
Two Breaks Or A Split Shift
Tick "Add a second break" to log a second unpaid gap, such as a dinner break on a long shift. Each gap comes off on its own.
For a split shift with hours off in the middle, treat the gap as lunch. Clock out for the gap, then clock back in when you return.
A gap that crosses midnight works too. A night shift that starts at 10:00 PM and breaks at 1:00 AM is counted correctly.
Lunch Length Changes Your Overtime
Lunch length matters most in a week of five 8 to 5 days. With a 1 hour lunch you are paid 40 h and there is no overtime.
With a 30 minute lunch the same days add up to 42 h 30 m, which includes 2 h 30 m of overtime. At $20 an hour, the week pays $875.00 instead of $800.00.
Overtime is counted per workweek, not per pay period. The tool adds up each Monday to Sunday week, or whichever day your week starts, before it applies the rule.
Rounding And Lunch
If you pick "Round punches", each punch is rounded first and the lunch gap is taken from the rounded times. This matches how most time clocks work.
Rounding to 15 minutes can change a 30 minute lunch by a few minutes when your lunch punches fall between quarter hours. The working line shows the rounded times so you can see why.
Questions People Ask
Is there a work hours calculator with lunch?
Yes. This is a work hours calculator with lunch. Enter your clock in, lunch out, lunch in and clock out times, and the unpaid lunch comes off each day.
How do I calculate work hours with lunch?
Find the time from clock in to clock out, then take off the unpaid lunch. From 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM with a 30 minute lunch, that is 8 h 30 m at work and 8 h paid.
Is there a timesheet calculator with lunch and overtime?
Yes. This one takes lunch off each day, then counts overtime for each workweek. Set the overtime rule in Settings and read the overtime line in the totals.
Does it work for a biweekly timesheet with lunch?
Yes. Choose every 2 weeks as the pay period in Settings and enter lunch on each day. The totals cover both weeks.
Do I subtract lunch from my hours?
Yes, if the lunch is unpaid and you are free to leave your work. A day from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM with a 30 minute lunch is 8 h 30 m at work and 8 h paid.
How many hours is 8 to 4:30 with a 30-minute lunch?
It is 8 h. The day is 8 h 30 m from start to finish, and the 30 minute lunch comes off.
How many hours is 8 to 5 with a 1-hour lunch?
It is 8 h. Five of those days make a 40 h week, so there is no overtime under the US federal rule.
Are 15-minute breaks paid?
Usually yes. Not required. If given, breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are paid. Check your contract, because some employers pay for more.
Is a lunch break required by law?
In the US federal rules: Not required. A meal break of 30 minutes or more is unpaid if you are fully off duty. In California: 30 minutes, unpaid, on shifts over 5 hours. Many other states have their own rules.
What if I worked through lunch?
Enter the real times, or leave lunch empty and untick any automatic rule. Time you work during a meal break counts as hours worked, and the tool adds it to your total.
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Updated November 1, 2026.