How to calculate hours with a lunch break
Subtract your clock-in time from your clock-out time, then subtract the unpaid lunch. Or add the two work periods: clock-in to lunch out, and lunch in to clock-out. Both ways give the same hours.
You clock in at 8:02 AM, out for lunch at 12:01 PM, back in at 12:33 PM, and out at 5:04 PM.
- Morning
- 12:01 − 8:02 = 3:59
- Afternoon
- 5:04 − 12:33 = 4:31
- Lunch, unpaid
- 12:33 − 12:01 = 0:32
- Hours worked
- 3:59 + 4:31 = 8:30 (8.50 hours)
To check it the other way: 8:02 AM to 5:04 PM is 9:02, and 9:02 minus the 32-minute lunch is the same 8:30. When lunch crosses the hour, count the minutes on each side: 11:45 AM to 12:15 PM is 15 + 15 = 30 minutes. For payroll in decimal hours, divide the minutes by 60: 8:30 is 8.50 hours.
How to enter lunch punches
- In: the time you started work.
- Lunch out: the time you clocked out for lunch.
- Lunch in: the time you came back from lunch.
- Out: the time you finished for the day.
Type each punch the way the clock, the app or the paper card shows it. On a day without a lunch break, enter only In and Out and leave both lunch times empty, and leave days off blank. The Punch in button above the card goes through the day with you: it stamps Punch in, Start lunch, End lunch and Punch out on today's row.
Choose how you record breaks under Unpaid breaks above the card:
- Lunch out and in times: the four punches. The time between Lunch out and Lunch in is left out.
- Lunch times + other breaks: the four punches plus Break min for unpaid time you did not punch, like a second meal on a 12-hour shift. Both come off.
- Minutes per day: In, Out and the unpaid minutes, like a timesheet that lists lunch as 30.
Leave paid breaks off the card. If a lunch or break you enter is 20 minutes or less, the card adds a note that short breaks are usually paid. If you never punch out for lunch, the plain time card calculator takes one In and one Out a day.
A week with lunch in hours and minutes and decimal
A five-day card with lunch punches: a lunch that crosses the hour on Tuesday, a one-hour lunch on Wednesday, and a long Thursday with a second unpaid meal typed in Break min.
- Mon8:008.00
- Tue8:158.25
- Wed8:028.03
- Thu10:0010.00
- Fri7:307.50
- Week41:4741.78
41:47 means 41 hours and 47 minutes. In decimal hours, 47 ÷ 60 = 0.78, so the week is 41.78 hours. Add the days in hours and minutes and convert the week total once: rounding each day to two decimals first can leave the total a hundredth or two off.
Under the federal rule, every hour over 40 in the workweek is overtime, so the last 1:47 on Friday is overtime. The 3:30 of unpaid lunches and breaks is not work time and does not count toward the 40. Sources: DOL Fact Sheet #23 and Breaks and Meal Periods.
What time to clock back in and out
While today's row is open, the card shows your next times under the total:
- After Start lunch: when to be back from a 30-minute or 1-hour lunch.
- After End lunch: the clock-out time for an 8-hour day, and the time you reach 40:00 for the week, counting the hours on the earlier days of this workweek.
The times come from your real punches, so a short or long lunch moves them, and other break minutes push the clock-out time back. Typed times work the same as the Punch in button. The weekly time uses Weekly overtime after in Card settings, 40 hours unless you change it. To plan one shift, custom hours or a night shift, use the clock out calculator.
It's Friday. You worked 32:45 from Monday to Thursday. Today you clocked in at 8:07 AM and went to lunch at 12:07 PM.
- Back from a 30-minute lunch
- 12:07 + 0:30 = 12:37 PM
- Worked before lunch
- 12:07 − 8:07 = 4:00
- Clock out for 8:00 today
- 12:37 + 4:00 = 4:37 PM
- Left to reach 40:00
- 40:00 − 32:45 − 4:00 = 3:15
- Clock out for 40:00
- 12:37 + 3:15 = 3:52 PM
Clock-out times for 8 hours of work, by start time and lunch length:
| Clock in | 30-minute lunch | 1-hour lunch |
|---|---|---|
| 6:00 AM | 2:30 PM | 3:00 PM |
| 6:30 AM | 3:00 PM | 3:30 PM |
| 7:00 AM | 3:30 PM | 4:00 PM |
| 7:30 AM | 4:00 PM | 4:30 PM |
| 8:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 5:00 PM |
| 8:30 AM | 5:00 PM | 5:30 PM |
| 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | 6:00 PM |
Paid breaks and unpaid lunch
Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks. When an employer offers them, federal rules sort them by length and purpose:
- Short breaks, usually about 5 to 20 minutes, are paid. They count as hours worked, including toward overtime.
- Meal periods, typically 30 minutes or more, are not work time when you are completely relieved from duty, so they can be unpaid. A shorter meal period may be long enough only under special conditions.
- Eating while you work is working. An office worker who must eat at the desk, or a factory worker who must stay at the machine, is not relieved from duty.
Several short breaks don't add up to an unpaid meal. In a Department of Labor example, nursing home workers who took three 10-minute smoke breaks instead of their 30-minute unpaid meal break had to be paid for the smoke breaks. In the same guidance, an employer that deducts a 30-minute meal break automatically must make sure employees actually get the full break.
So on this card, enter only unpaid time: your lunch punches, plus Break min for another unpaid meal. Paid rest breaks stay in your hours. This is general information, not legal advice. Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Breaks and Meal Periods, Fact Sheet #22 and Fact Sheet #53; 29 CFR 785.18 and 785.19.
Lunch break laws by state
Federal law does not require lunch breaks, but some states require a meal period. The Department of Labor's table of state meal period laws for adults in the private sector lists 21 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia, plus Guam and Puerto Rico. Most call for 30 minutes once a shift runs past 5 to 8 hours; a few, such as Illinois and West Virginia, set 20 minutes.
Show the meal period rule in each of those states
| State | Meal period for adults |
|---|---|
| California | 30 minutes when you work more than 5 hours a day, which can be waived by mutual consent if the day is 6 hours or less. A second 30 minutes after 10 hours, which can be waived if you work no more than 12 hours and the first meal was not waived. |
| Colorado | 30 minutes when a shift is more than 5 consecutive hours. |
| Connecticut | 30 minutes for 7½ consecutive hours or more, after the first 2 hours and before the last 2. |
| Delaware | 30 minutes for 7½ consecutive hours or more, after the first 2 hours and before the last 2. |
| Illinois | At least 20 minutes for 7½ continuous hours or more, no later than 5 hours after the work period starts. |
| Kentucky | A reasonable off-duty period, ordinarily 30 minutes, between the 3rd and 5th hour of work. |
| Maine | 30 minutes after 6 consecutive hours, except in emergencies. |
| Maryland | Retail employers with 50 or more retail employees: 15 minutes for 4 to 6 consecutive hours, or 30 minutes for more than 6, plus 15 minutes for every 4 more consecutive hours after 8. |
| Massachusetts | At least 30 minutes for each 6 hours worked in a calendar day, free of all duties and free to leave. |
| Minnesota | Sufficient unpaid meal time for 8 consecutive hours or more. |
| Nebraska | 30 minutes off the premises in each 8-hour shift, in assembly plants, workshops and mechanical establishments. |
| Nevada | 30 minutes for 8 continuous hours. |
| New Hampshire | 30 minutes after 5 consecutive hours, unless the employer lets you eat while working and that is feasible. |
| New York | 30 minutes at midday for shifts over 6 hours that extend over the noonday meal (1 hour in factories); 20 more minutes between 5 and 7 p.m. for shifts from before 11 a.m. to after 7 p.m.; 45 minutes (1 hour in factories) midway through shifts over 6 hours that start between 1 p.m. and 6 a.m. |
| North Dakota | 30 minutes, if the employee wants it, on each shift over 5 hours, when two or more employees are on duty. |
| Oregon | 30 minutes relieved of all duty for each work period of 6 to 8 hours: between the 2nd and 5th hour for 7 hours or less, between the 3rd and 6th hour for longer periods. Shorter paid meal periods of at least 20 minutes, or paid meals on duty, are allowed in some cases. |
| Rhode Island | 20 minutes within a 6-hour shift and 30 minutes within an 8-hour shift. |
| Tennessee | 30 minutes for 6 consecutive scheduled hours or more, not during or before the first hour. |
| Vermont | Reasonable opportunities during work periods to eat and use the toilet. |
| Washington | 30 minutes when a work period is more than 5 consecutive hours, between the 2nd and 5th hour of the shift, counted as work time if you must stay on duty; another 30 minutes for working 3 or more hours beyond the regular workday. |
| West Virginia | 20 minutes for 6 hours or more in a workday, where breaks or eating while working are not allowed. |
| Guam | 30 minutes after 5 hours, which can be waived by mutual consent if the workday is 6 hours or less. |
| Puerto Rico | 1 hour for work periods over 5 consecutive hours, starting after the 2nd hour and before the 6th; a written agreement can shorten it to 30 minutes (20 for some jobs). A second meal after 10 hours. |
Summarized from the Department of Labor's table, last revised January 1, 2023, and checked October 3, 2026. Each rule has its own coverage and exceptions, and states change their laws, so check with your state labor office. General information, not legal advice.
Paid rest breaks are rarer. The DOL's table of state rest period laws lists California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, plus Illinois for certain hotel room attendants. Six of them require a paid 10-minute rest period for every 4 hours of work. States not in that table do not require paid rest periods.
California meal and rest breaks
California sets its own rules. As general information from the state Labor Commissioner:
- If you work more than 5 hours in a day, you must be provided a meal period of at least 30 minutes, no later than the end of your fifth hour of work. If the workday is 6 hours or less, you and your employer can agree to waive it.
- If you work more than 10 hours, a second meal period of at least 30 minutes is due. It can be waived only if you work 12 hours or less and the first meal was not waived.
- If you are not relieved of all duty, the meal period is "on duty" and counts as paid time.
- For each workday a required meal period is not provided, the employer owes one extra hour of pay at your regular rate.
- Rest breaks are paid: 10 minutes for every 4 hours worked or major fraction of 4 hours. A missed rest break also carries one extra hour of pay.
In the first example on this page, lunch starts 3 hours 59 minutes into the shift and lasts 32 minutes. With California rules chosen as the overtime rule, the card notes days that may be missing a meal period. Sources: meal periods and rest periods, California Labor Commissioner, and the DOL state tables above.
Hours minus lunch in Excel
To do the same math in a spreadsheet, type In, Lunch out, Lunch in and Out in columns A to D as times, like 8:02 AM. The hours worked are:
=MOD(D2-A2,1)-MOD(C2-B2,1)
Format the cell as [h]:mm to see hours and minutes, or multiply by 24 for decimal hours: =(MOD(D2-A2,1)-MOD(C2-B2,1))*24. MOD keeps a shift that passes midnight from turning negative. For other unpaid break minutes in column E, also subtract E2/1440. Add the days with SUM and keep the [h]:mm format so a week over 24 hours shows correctly.
The time card template has a free Excel version with lunch columns that does this for you, and Excel on the card above downloads your filled-in week.
Split shifts and extra punches
A split shift is a workday in two separate blocks with a long unpaid gap between them, such as 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Enter it the same way as a lunch: the first block in In and Lunch out, the second block in Lunch in and Out. That day totals 8:00, and the six-hour gap is not counted.
In California, a split shift can come with a premium of one hour of pay at the minimum wage. Wages above the minimum count toward it, so higher earners may get less or nothing extra, and an unpaid meal period does not make a split shift. Source: California Labor Commissioner.
If you clock out more than once a day for unpaid breaks, choose Lunch times + other breaks and type the extra unpaid minutes in Break min. For a third work period, find each period with the hours calculator and add them with the time calculator. For payroll in decimals, see the decimal hours chart.
Questions
How do I calculate hours with a lunch break?
Take the time between clocking in and clocking out, and remove the unpaid lunch. 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM is 8:30 on the clock; less a 30-minute lunch, that is 8:00 hours. With lunch punches, you can add the morning and the afternoon instead.
How many hours is 8 to 5 with a 30-minute lunch?
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM is 9 hours on the clock. Take off a 30-minute unpaid lunch and you worked 8:30, or 8.5 hours; with a 1-hour lunch, 8:00. 9 to 5 less a 30-minute lunch is 7:30, or 7.5 hours.
Is a lunch break paid or unpaid?
It depends on whether you are completely relieved from duty. Under federal rules, a meal period of typically 30 minutes or more is not work time, so it can be unpaid, but only if you don't have to work while you eat. Short rest breaks are paid. If your employer pays for lunch, enter only In and Out so the time stays in your hours. Sources: the DOL page on breaks and meal periods and 29 CFR 785.19.
Does a lunch break count as hours worked?
An unpaid meal period doesn't, so it doesn't count toward overtime either. If you work through lunch, or eat at your desk while answering phones, that time counts as hours worked, and so does work your employer knows you are doing even if no one asked for it. Sources: 29 CFR 785.19 and 785.11.
Is lunch included in an 8-hour shift?
Not when lunch is unpaid. An 8-hour shift plus a 30-minute unpaid lunch runs 8 hours 30 minutes from clock-in to clock-out, such as 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. If your lunch is paid, it is part of the 8 hours. The clock out calculator works out your time either way.
How long is a lunch break for an 8-hour shift?
No federal rule sets a length, because federal law does not require lunch breaks. When lunch is unpaid, federal rules say 30 minutes or more is ordinarily long enough for a meal period. Most state meal break laws in the Department of Labor's table call for 30 minutes; a few, such as Illinois and West Virginia, set 20. Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, 29 CFR 785.19 and the state meal period table.
Is a 30-minute lunch break required by law?
Not by federal law. Some states require one: the Department of Labor's table lists meal period laws in 21 states, including California for more than 5 hours of work, New York for shifts over 6 hours that span the noon meal, and Washington for more than 5 hours. See lunch break laws by state.
Do I get a break on a 5-hour shift?
Not under federal law, which requires no breaks. In California, a meal period is due when you work more than 5 hours in a day, so exactly 5 hours needs none, and a day of 6 hours or less can waive it by mutual consent. In Ontario, Canada, you may not work more than five hours in a row without a 30-minute eating period free from work. It is unpaid unless your contract says otherwise, and by agreement it can be split into two that total 30 minutes. Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, California Labor Commissioner and Ontario's guide to the Employment Standards Act.
Are 15-minute breaks paid?
Yes, under federal rules. A rest break of about 5 to 20 minutes is paid work time and counts toward overtime, so leave it in your total. Enter only unpaid meal periods. Source: U.S. Department of Labor.
Are 15-minute breaks required by law?
Not under federal law. The Department of Labor's table of state rest period laws lists rules in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, plus Illinois for certain hotel room attendants. Most of them require a paid 10-minute break for every 4 hours of work. States not in that table do not require paid rest periods.
How do I enter two lunch breaks or several breaks?
Choose Lunch times + other breaks above the card. Punch your main lunch in Lunch out and Lunch in, and type any other unpaid break in Break min, such as 30 for a second 30-minute meal. Leave paid breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes out. Without punch times, choose Minutes per day and add the unpaid breaks together.
Can my employer automatically deduct lunch?
In its fact sheet on hours worked in health care, the Department of Labor says an employer that automatically deducts 30 minutes per shift must make sure employees get the full meal break, and that a meal break interrupted so often that it is mainly for the employer's benefit should be paid in full. Time you work through lunch counts as hours worked, so tell your employer when a deducted lunch did not happen. Sources: DOL Fact Sheet #53 and 29 CFR 785.11.
Do I have to clock out for lunch?
It depends on your employer's policy and your state. Federal law does not require lunch breaks. When an employer gives an unpaid meal break, which normally lasts 30 minutes or longer, you must be completely relieved from duty, which is why many employers ask you to clock out. If you keep working while you eat, that time counts as hours worked. Some states require meal periods: California, for example, requires at least 30 minutes when you work more than 5 hours in a day, which can be waived by mutual consent on days of 6 hours or less. This is general information, not legal advice. Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, 29 CFR 785.19, the DOL state meal period table and the California Labor Commissioner.
What time do I clock back in from lunch?
Add the length of your lunch to the time you clocked out. Out at 12:07 PM means back at 12:37 PM after a 30-minute lunch, or 1:07 PM after an hour. When you select Start lunch on this card, it shows both times. Your employer's policy sets how long lunch is.
What time should I clock out for 8 hours with a 30-minute lunch?
Add 8 hours 30 minutes to your start time: in at 8:00 AM means out at 4:30 PM, and in at 7:00 AM means out at 3:30 PM. If lunch ran shorter or longer, take the hours you worked before lunch away from 8:00 and add the rest to the time you came back. The card does this after End lunch, and the clock out calculator does it for one shift.
What if I forgot to clock back in from lunch?
Tell your supervisor or payroll as soon as you can, with the time you actually came back. Many employers have a missed-punch or time correction form. Under federal rules, employers must keep accurate records of the hours worked each day, and work your employer knows or has reason to believe you are doing counts as hours worked. On this card, type the time you came back into Lunch in. Sources: DOL Fact Sheet #21 and 29 CFR 785.11.
What if my lunch was shorter than 30 minutes?
Federal rules say 30 minutes or more is ordinarily long enough for a bona fide meal period, and a shorter one may be enough only under special conditions. A break of about 20 minutes or less is usually a paid rest break, and the card notes it. California requires at least 30 minutes. Enter your actual punches so the card shows what happened. Sources: 29 CFR 785.19 and 785.18.
Can I enter more than two in and out pairs?
The card has four punches a day, and Lunch times + other breaks takes off other unpaid minutes on top. For a third work period, find each one with the hours calculator and add them with the time calculator.