PaycheckHours

Lunch Break Calculator

Paid hours = shift length − unpaid break. 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM with a 30-minute unpaid lunch is 8 paid hours; at $18 an hour the break is $9.00 you are not paid. Under federal rules a break of about 20 minutes or less is paid rest time, and a meal period is unpaid only if you are fully relieved of duty.

Your shift

Your shift

Shift from start to end
–
Paid hours
–
Pay for the shift
–
Pay not received for the break
–

Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks, but short breaks that are given count as paid time. Source

Some states require meal or rest breaks. The US Department of Labor keeps a state table (last updated 2023-01-01); check your state labor office for the current rule: state meal period table

Your entries stay in this browser and are not sent to us. Clear removes them.

Report a problem with this calculatorOpens your email app with what you entered filled in. Check it before you send; we fix confirmed errors.

How it works

Shift = end − start (adding 24 hours if the shift crosses midnight). Paid hours = shift − unpaid break. Pay = paid hours × hourly rate. Pay not received = unpaid break × hourly rate.

Worked examples

  1. 8:00 to 16:30 with a 30-minute unpaid lunch at $18: 8:30 shift, 8:00 paid, $144.00 pay, $9.00 not paid.
  2. 22:00 to 06:00 with a 15-minute unpaid break at $20: 7:45 paid, $5.00 not paid, but a 15-minute break is usually paid rest time under federal rules.
  3. A 45-minute unpaid lunch on a 9-hour shift leaves 8:15 paid.

Common questions

Does my employer have to give me a lunch break?

Federal law does not require one. Some states do, often after 5 or 6 hours of work; see the state table linked on this page and your state labor office.

Can my employer take 15 minutes off for a short break?

Under federal rules short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes count as hours worked, so they should be paid.

When is a lunch break paid?

When you are not fully relieved of duty, for example if you eat at your desk while answering the phone or must stay at your machine, the time is work time and is paid.

Related tools

All tools

Cite this calculator

PaycheckHours, “Lunch Break Calculator”, https://paycheckhours.com/lunch-break-calculator/, accessed –.