🥗 Lunch Break Calculator

Find out exactly how much unpaid lunch and break time reduces your hours and pay. Compare different break lengths and see the annual cost of unpaid breaks.

Shift & Break Details

$
Net Hours Worked (per day)
0:00
Gross Shift
0:00
Total Break Deducted
0 min
Daily Pay
$0
Weekly Pay (5 days)
$0
Annual Pay
$0
Annual Pay Lost to Breaks
$0

How Break Deductions Work

Gross Shift = End Time − Start Time
Total Break = Lunch Break + Other Breaks (unpaid only)
Net Hours = Gross Shift − Total Break
Daily Pay = Net Hours × Hourly Rate

Paid vs Unpaid Breaks — Know Your Rights

  • Short rest breaks (under 20 min): Must be paid under federal FLSA. Enter these as $0 in the break fields since they don't reduce your pay.
  • Meal/lunch breaks (30+ min): May be unpaid if you are completely relieved of all duties. These reduce your paid hours — enter them above.
  • State rules vary: California requires 30-min meal break after 5 hours; Illinois requires 20-min meal break after 7.5 hours. Check your state labor board for specifics.
  • Auto-deduction: Some employers automatically deduct 30 minutes for lunch even if you worked through it. This is illegal if you actually worked during that time.

Annual Cost of Unpaid Breaks

A 30-minute unpaid lunch at $20/hr costs you $10/day, $50/week, and $2,600/year — not including your 2 weeks of vacation. Many workers don't realize how significant this is when negotiating pay.

Can my employer automatically deduct for lunch? +
Many employers use automatic deduction systems that remove 30 minutes from every shift for lunch. This is legal only if you actually took an uninterrupted unpaid meal break. If you worked through lunch or were interrupted during your break, you must be paid for that time. Keep your own records and report discrepancies to HR or your state labor department.
Does a 15-minute break count against my hours? +
No — under the FLSA, rest breaks of 20 minutes or less must be counted as paid work time. Only enter breaks in this calculator that are genuinely unpaid (typically 30-minute+ meal breaks). A 15-minute coffee break should not reduce your pay, and if your employer deducts it, they may be violating wage laws.