Lunch Break Deduction Calculator

Calculate your net working hours by automatically deducting your unpaid lunch break. Perfect for verifying timesheets and ensuring accurate pay.

Most employment contracts specify unpaid lunch breaks. To ensure you are being paid correctly, you need to deduct this time from your total hours on site. Use this calculator to determine your exact billable hours for the day.

Enter the total minutes of unpaid break time to deduct.

Why Calculate Hours Minus Lunch?

For most hourly employees, time spent on a lunch break is unpaid. If your timesheet shows 8 hours on site but you took a 30-minute unpaid lunch, you are only paid for 7.5 hours. Failing to account for this accurately can lead to payroll discrepancies.

Features of this Calculator

  • Time Range Mode: Enter your Start and End times, plus break duration.

  • Duration Mode: Enter your total gross hours (e.g., 8 hours), minus break duration.

  • Decimal Conversion: Automatically sees hours in decimal format for easy entry into payroll software.

Common Break Durations

30 Minutes

0.5 Hours

45 Minutes

0.75 Hours

60 Minutes

1.0 Hours

Use this tool daily to ensure your personal records match your employer's timesheet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate hours minus lunch?

To calculate your net hours manually:
  1. Determine your total time on site (e.g. 9am to 5pm is 8 hours).
  2. Convert your lunch break to decimal hours (e.g. 30 minutes = 0.5 hours).
  3. Subtract the break time from the total time (8 - 0.5 = 7.5 hours).

Is a lunch break mandatory in the USA?

Federal law (FLSA) does not require lunch breaks. However, many states have their own laws requiring meal periods (typically 30 minutes) for employees who work a certain number of hours (e.g., 5-6 hours). Check your specific state labor laws.

Are lunch breaks paid?

Under federal law, bona fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more) are NOT considered work time and are NOT required to be paid, as long as the employee is completely relieved from duty.

Related Tools

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Shift Hours Calculator

Calculate hours for overnight shifts and irregular schedules.

Did you know?

USA federal law requires overtime pay at 1.5x for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.