Lunch Break Calculator

How to use the lunch break calculator

1. In Out for lunch at, type the time on your punch or the clock when you left, such as 1207 for 12:07 or 12:30p.
2. Check Lunch length (minutes). It starts at 30; change it to 45, 60 or whatever your schedule allows.
3. Read Clock back in at. That is the latest time to punch back in without running over.
4. To plan the end of the day, type your start time in Clocked in at under the optional When your shift ends section and the hours you need on the card in Hours to work, which starts at 8.
5. Read Shift ends at. It adds the hours you work and the unpaid lunch to your start time, and says "next day" if the shift runs past midnight.

Clocking back in: the minutes column is where it goes wrong

A lunch that starts on the hour is easy: out at 12:00 for 30 minutes means back at 12:30. The trouble starts with the odd minutes a real punch shows. Out at 12:07 for 30 minutes is 12:37, since 7 + 30 = 37 and that is still under 60.

Out at 12:48 for 45 minutes is where people slip. 48 + 45 = 93 minutes, and 93 is one full hour plus 33, so the hour moves from 12 to 1 and you clock back in at 1:33 PM, not 12:93 and not 1:03. The calculator does the carry for you and shows 1:33 PM.

Clock times run on a 12-hour cycle, so after 12:59 PM comes 1:00 PM. Out at 12:40 for an hour is back at 1:40 PM. If you type a bare 1 or 1:15 in Out for lunch at, the calculator reads it as afternoon, because a lunch break at 1:15 in the morning is rare, and rewrites the box as 1:15 PM when you move on so you can see how it was read. Add a, as in 1:15a, for an overnight shift's meal break.

Lunch break chart: 30, 45 and 60 minutes

For a punch between the rows, start from the row above and add the extra minutes. Out at 12:22 for 45 minutes: the 12:15 row says 1:00 PM, and 12:22 is 7 minutes later, so you are due back at 1:07 PM.

What time does my shift end with lunch?

An unpaid lunch does not count toward your hours, so it pushes the end of the day back by its full length. The rule is start time + hours to work + lunch.

Say you clock in at 7:52 AM, need 8 hours on the card and take a 30-minute lunch. 7:52 + 8 hours is 3:52 PM. Add the 30-minute lunch: 52 + 30 = 82 minutes, which is 1 hour 22 minutes, so the hour goes from 3 to 4 and you clock out at 4:22 PM. Your card then shows 8 hours 30 minutes between first punch and last, minus the 30-minute lunch, which is exactly 8:00.

Hours to work can be a decimal. For 7.5 hours with a 1-hour lunch starting at 9:00 AM: 7.5 hours is 7 hours 30 minutes, so 9:00 + 7:30 = 4:30 PM, plus 1 hour is 5:30 PM. A night shift works the same way: in at 10:00 PM for 8 hours with a 30-minute meal ends at 6:30 AM, and the calculator marks it "next day".

If you take a lunch longer than planned, the end of the day moves with it. Back 6 minutes late from a 30-minute lunch means a 36-minute break, so a shift that would have ended at 4:22 PM now needs to run to 4:28 PM for the same 8 hours. Change Lunch length to 36 to see it.

Paid breaks and unpaid lunches are not the same thing

Under the federal rules, short rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are paid work time. You do not punch out for them, and they do not belong in this calculator. A real meal break, typically 30 minutes or more during which you are fully off duty, can be unpaid. That is the break you clock out for, and the one that shifts your end time.

Some states require meal or rest breaks after a set number of hours, and the rules differ. Check your state's labor department or your employer's policy for the length you are owed; this page does the clock arithmetic, not legal advice. For a full week of punches with a lunch each day, the time card calculator with lunch totals the hours, and the hours calculator measures the time between any two punches.

Frequently asked questions