GA Paycheck CalculatorGeorgia · Tax year 2026

Lunch Break Deduction Calculator

Enter a shift’s start and end times and the lunch length. See paid hours with the break deducted, what a paid break would change, and the weekly effect.

Last reviewed · Runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent to us · Formula and assumptions

Results update as you type. Pre-filled with the worked example described below.

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Results

Paid hours per shift
8
8h 00m · lunch is unpaid (deducted)
Time on the clock
8h 30m
Pay per shift
$136.00
Paid hours per week
40
Pay per week
$680.00
Unpaid hours per week
2.5

How an unpaid lunch changes your hours

An 8:00-to-4:30 shift is 8.5 hours on the clock. If the 30-minute lunch is unpaid, you are paid for 8 hours; if it is paid, for all 8.5. The difference sounds small, but across a week it is 2.5 hours, and across 52 weeks it is 130 hours, more than three 40-hour weeks of pay.

Worked example (pre-filled). 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM with an unpaid 30-minute lunch gives 8h 00m of paid time and $136.00 at $17 an hour. Five shifts are 40 hours and $680.00. Tick the "paid" box to see the same week with the lunch counted.

The legal rule, which Georgia follows because it has no meal-break law of its own, is in 29 CFR 785.19: a bona fide meal period is not work time, and ordinarily 30 minutes or more is long enough, but only if the employee is completely relieved from duty. An office worker required to eat at the desk while answering the phone is working and must be paid (29 CFR 785.19). Short rest breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are different: they count as hours worked and cannot be deducted (29 CFR 785.18). Neither federal nor Georgia law requires employers to provide a lunch break at all (Georgia DOL).

An automatic 30-minute deduction on a time clock is lawful only when the break is actually taken. If you regularly work through lunch, the deducted time is unpaid work; the time card calculator lets you record the actual break each day.

Formula and assumptions

time on the clock = end − start
paid hours = time on the clock − (lunch minutes ÷ 60, if unpaid)
weekly pay = paid hours × shifts per week × rate
  • Rest breaks under 20 minutes are not entered; they are paid time by regulation.
  • An end time before the start time is treated as an overnight shift.

Frequently asked questions

Is a 30-minute lunch break paid in Georgia?

Not necessarily. A meal period of ordinarily 30 minutes or more can be unpaid if you are completely relieved of duty. If you must work or stay on call during it, it is paid time under 29 CFR 785.19.

Does Georgia require a lunch break?

No. Neither Georgia law nor the federal FLSA requires employers to provide meal or rest breaks. Breaks that are given must follow the federal paid-time rules.

Can my employer automatically deduct 30 minutes for lunch?

Only if you actually take the break free of duties. Time worked during an auto-deducted lunch is hours worked and must be paid.

Are 10-minute breaks deducted from hours?

No. Rest periods of 5 to about 20 minutes are hours worked under 29 CFR 785.18 and must be paid.

Related calculators

Sources

  1. 29 CFR 785.19, Meal periods (bona fide meal periods are not work time), via Cornell LII
  2. 29 CFR 785.18, Rest periods of 5 to 20 minutes are hours worked, via Cornell LII
  3. Georgia Department of Labor, Individuals FAQs: Fair Labor Standards Act
  4. Georgia Department of Labor, Obtain Information About an Employment Issue

This calculator gives general estimates from the figures you enter. It is not tax, legal, payroll or financial advice. See our disclaimer.