Time card calculator with lunch break

How to use the calculator with lunch punches

• This page opens with Clock out and in for lunch selected, so each day has two pairs: In / Out, then Back from lunch / Out.
• Type your morning in and out, such as 8 and 12. Then type when you came back and when you left, such as 12:30 and 4:30.
• Check the time under each box. A back-from-lunch time of 1 reads as 1:00 AM, so type 1p or 13:00, or tap the time to switch it to PM.
• If you take a second unpaid break, choose Two breaks to get a third pair.
• If you don't punch for lunch and just know the length, choose Unpaid break in minutes and type the minutes for each day.
• Add your rate and pick the overtime rule. Then download the PDF or CSV.

Worked example: five days with lunch punches

Each day is (lunch out − in) + (out − back from lunch). Monday is 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, which is 4:00, plus 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM, also 4:00. Monday is 8:00.

Tuesday is 7:55 to 12:05 (4:10) plus 12:35 to 4:40 (4:05), or 8:15. Wednesday is 8:00 to 11:45 (3:45) plus 12:45 to 5:15 (4:30), or 8:15. Thursday is 4:00 + 5:00 = 9:00. Friday is 8:00 to 12:15 (4:15) plus 12:45 to 4:00 (3:15), or 7:30.

Week total: 8:00 + 8:15 + 8:15 + 9:00 + 7:30. The minutes are 0 + 15 + 15 + 0 + 30 = 60, or 1 hour. The hours are 40. So the total is 41:00, or 41.00 decimal hours.

At $16 an hour with the federal rule, that is 40 regular hours (40 × $16 = $640.00) and 1 overtime hour (1 × $24 = $24.00). The estimated gross pay is $664.00, and the calculator shows the same.

When is a lunch break unpaid?

Under federal rules, a meal break is unpaid only if it is a bona fide meal period. The regulation says you must be "completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals". It adds that 30 minutes or more is ordinarily long enough, and a shorter period may be long enough under special conditions (29 CFR 785.19).

You are not relieved if you must do any duties while you eat. The regulation's examples are an office worker required to eat at the desk and a factory worker required to stay at the machine. That time is work time. You don't have to be allowed to leave the building, as long as you are fully free of duties.

If your employer automatically deducts 30 minutes, the Department of Labor says the employer must make sure you actually get the full meal break (Fact Sheet #53). If you worked through lunch, that time should be counted.

Rest breaks are paid

Coffee breaks and short rest breaks are different from meal periods. Rest periods of about 5 to 20 minutes are "customarily paid for as working time" and must be counted as hours worked (29 CFR 785.18).

So don't subtract a 15-minute afternoon break. Only subtract time that was unpaid. If you clock out for a short break that your employer pays, enter that day as one pair from your first clock-in to your last clock-out, so the paid break stays in.

Federal law does not require employers to give lunch or coffee breaks at all (DOL: breaks and meal periods). Many states do. California, for example, requires a 30-minute meal period for work periods of more than five hours, with some exceptions (DOL state meal break table).

Paid or unpaid? A quick guide

Use this as a guide to what you should subtract. It follows the federal rules linked above. Your state or employer may be more generous.

How the calculation works

With lunch punches: the calculator adds each in-and-out pair. The gap between pairs is the lunch, and it isn't counted. You never have to subtract the lunch yourself.

With break minutes: the day is out time minus in time, minus the minutes you typed. 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM with a 30-minute break is 8:30 − 0:30 = 8:00.

Overnight: if a pair's out time is at or before its in time, that pair crossed midnight and 24 hours are added.

Decimal: minutes ÷ 60. 8:15 is 8.25 and 7:30 is 7.50.

Rounding: if you choose a rounding step, all four punches are rounded, including the lunch punches. That can change your lunch length by a few minutes either way.

Common mistakes with lunch breaks

• Subtracting lunch twice. With lunch punches, the lunch is already left out. Don't also type break minutes. The break minutes box is hidden in this mode for that reason.
• Back-from-lunch time read as AM. Type 1p or 13:00 for 1:00 PM and check the read-back.
• Subtracting a paid rest break. Breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are normally paid.
• Deducting lunch you didn't get. If you ate at your desk while working, that time counts as work.
• Writing 8:15 as 8.15. 8 hours 15 minutes is 8.25 hours.

Save and print your time card

The calculator saves your punches in this browser as you type. Come back later in the week and they are still there. Nothing is sent to a server.

Download a PDF that lists every punch pair for each day, or export a CSV for Excel or Google Sheets. Copy totals gives you a short summary to paste into a message to your manager.

Legal basics

This is general information, not legal advice. The calculator gives an estimate. Your employer's policy, your state's law and any union contract decide your breaks and pay.

Federal overtime is 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek (DOL overtime). Paid rest breaks count toward that 40. Unpaid meal periods don't.