Lunch Break Calculator
Subtract lunch break from your shift to get net work hours.
Shift times
Enter when you started and finished work
Lunch break
Unpaid meal time to deduct from your shift
Enter shift times and lunch duration, then click Calculate.
Examples
Standard 8-hour shift
9:00 AM → 5:00 PM
Lunch: 30 minutes
7h 30m — 7.50 hours
8 hours gross minus 30 min lunch
Early shift, 45-min lunch
8:00 AM → 4:30 PM
Lunch: 45 minutes
7h 45m — 7.75 hours
8.5 hours gross minus 45 min lunch
Short shift, 15-min break
1:00 PM → 5:00 PM
Lunch: 15 minutes
3h 45m — 3.75 hours
4 hours gross minus 15 min lunch
What is a Lunch Break Calculator?
A lunch break calculator helps you figure out how many hours you actually worked after subtracting an unpaid meal break. Enter your clock-in and clock-out times, choose or type your lunch length, and get net hours in both hours-and-minutes and decimal format for timesheets and payroll.
Employers often require 30-minute unpaid lunches on shifts over a certain length. Use the preset buttons for common lunch lengths (15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes) or enter a custom duration. The tool shows gross shift time, lunch deducted, and your final net hours.
Pair this with our work hours calculator for multiple breaks, or the break time calculator to total several rest periods in one shift.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about subtracting lunch from work hours.
Enter your shift start and end times, then enter how long your unpaid lunch break was. The calculator subtracts lunch from the gross shift length and shows net paid hours.
In most U.S. workplaces, meal breaks of 30 minutes or more are unpaid. This calculator treats lunch as unpaid time deducted from your shift.
Decimal hours express minutes as a fraction of an hour. For example, 30 minutes equals 0.50 hours and 45 minutes equals 0.75 hours — common on payroll timesheets.
Yes. Enable the overnight shift option when your shift crosses midnight, such as 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM, then enter your lunch duration.
Yes. All calculations run in your browser with no signup or data sent to a server.