Time Card Calculator · Practical guide
Time Card Calculator with Lunch Break
Unpaid lunches are deducted automatically — enter break minutes once per day and totals stay accurate.
At a glance
The Short Answer
An unpaid lunch break is not paid work time, so it must come out of your daily total. An 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM shift is 9 hours on the clock, but with a 60-minute unpaid lunch it counts as 8.0 hours — 40.0 over a five-day week. This calculator has a break-minutes field on every day that subtracts the lunch before totaling.
Interactive tool
Time Card Calculator
Enter your own values, then compare the result with the examples below.
| Day | Clock In | Clock Out | Break (min) | Daily Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | - | |||
| Tuesday | - | |||
| Wednesday | - | |||
| Thursday | - | |||
| Friday | - | |||
| Saturday | - | |||
| Sunday | - |
Results
How Break Deduction Changes Your Week
| Schedule | Lunch Break | Paid Hours/Day | Paid Hours/Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 - 17:00 | 60 min | 8.0 | 40.0 |
| 9:00 - 17:00 | 30 min | 7.5 | 37.5 |
| 7:00 - 15:30 | 30 min | 8.0 | 40.0 |
| 6:00 - 14:30 | 0 min | 8.5 | 42.5 |
Paid vs Unpaid Breaks
Short rest breaks (usually 5-20 minutes) are generally paid under federal rules and should not be entered in the break field. A bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more, where you are fully relieved of duties, is typically unpaid and should be entered so it is deducted from your hours.
Lunch Breaks and Overtime
Because the deduction happens before totaling, breaks directly affect overtime. Work 8:00-18:00 with a 60-minute lunch five days straight and you log 45 paid hours — 40 regular plus 5 at the overtime rate. At $18 per hour that is $720 + $135 = $855 gross. Forget to deduct the lunches and you would overstate your week by 5 hours.
Enter your clock times and break minutes above; daily hours, weekly totals, overtime, and gross pay update together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my 30-minute lunch required to be paid?
Usually not. Federal law allows meal periods of 30 minutes or more to be unpaid if you are completely relieved of duties. If you must work through lunch, it is compensable time.
What if I take different break lengths each day?
Enter each day's actual break minutes in its own row — the calculator deducts them independently before adding up the week.
Should smoke or coffee breaks go in the break field?
No. Short breaks of about 5-20 minutes are generally counted as paid work time under federal rules, so leave them in your hours.
Does deducting lunch affect overtime calculation?
Yes, correctly so. Overtime is based on hours actually worked, so unpaid meal breaks come out first; only the remaining paid hours count toward the 40-hour threshold.