HoursWork hours calculator with lunch break
Enter the time you clocked in, the time you clocked out, and how long your unpaid lunch was. The calculator subtracts the break and shows exactly how many hours you worked — per day and per week.
How the lunch deduction works
Under U.S. federal rules, a genuine meal break of 30 minutes or more where the worker is fully relieved of duty is generally unpaid — so it's subtracted from hours worked. Short breaks of 5–20 minutes are usually paid and are not deducted. A typical crew day of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM with a 30-minute lunch is 8.5 paid hours, not 9.
Some states add their own meal-break requirements (California, for example, requires a meal period for shifts over 5 hours). The math of the deduction is the same everywhere: paid time = time between punches minus unpaid breaks.
Common shifts with lunch — quick reference
These are the most common shifts, already worked out. Every row is: time between punches, minus the unpaid lunch, equals paid hours.
| Shift | Lunch | Paid hours | Week × 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM | 30 min | 7.5 h | 37.5 h |
| 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM | 1 hour | 7 h | 35 h |
| 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM | 30 min | 8.5 h | 42.5 h (2.5 OT) |
| 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM | 1 hour | 8 h | 40 h |
| 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM | 30 min | 8 h | 40 h |
| 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM | 30 min | 8 h | 40 h |
| 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM | 1 hour | 8 h | 40 h |
| 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM | 30 min | 9.5 h | 47.5 h (7.5 OT) |
| 6:00 AM – 2:30 PM | 30 min | 8 h | 40 h |
| 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM | 30 min | 8 h | 40 h |
| 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM | 30 min | 7.5 h | 37.5 h |
| 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM (overnight) | 30 min | 7.5 h | 37.5 h |
Your shift not listed? Enter it in the calculator above — it handles any times, any lunch length, and overnight shifts that cross midnight.
Weekly totals and overtime
Multiply the daily result by your days worked and compare with 40: hours over 40 in a single workweek are overtime at 1.5× pay for most hourly workers. Try our overtime pay calculator to turn the hours into dollars, or the punch in/out calculator for split shifts with more than one in/out pair.
HoursBooks tracks employees' in/out times with automatic lunch deduction, weekly overtime splits, and printable timesheets — free.
Open the full calculator
Frequently asked questions
Is a lunch break subtracted from hours worked?
A real meal break of 30 minutes or more where the worker is fully relieved of duty is generally unpaid and subtracted from hours worked. Short breaks of 5–20 minutes are usually paid and stay in the total.
How many paid hours is 8 AM to 5 PM with a 30 minute lunch?
9 hours between punches minus a 30 minute unpaid lunch equals 8.5 paid hours.
How do I calculate hours with a 1 hour lunch break?
Subtract 60 minutes from the time between clock-in and clock-out. For example, 8 AM to 5 PM is 9 hours; with a 1-hour lunch that's 8 paid hours. Enter 60 in the lunch field above and the calculator does it for you.
Does lunch count toward overtime?
No. Unpaid lunch is removed before anything else, and overtime is figured on the paid hours that remain. 8 AM – 5 PM with a 30-minute lunch five days a week is 42.5 paid hours — 40 regular plus 2.5 overtime.
What if the shift goes past midnight?
The calculator handles overnight shifts: if the clock-out time is earlier than the clock-in time, it assumes the shift crossed midnight. 11 PM to 7 AM with a 30-minute lunch is 7.5 paid hours.