PTO Calculator
Enter how your employer grants paid time off and see how many hours you earn each paycheck and what your balance will be on a future date.
Free, no sign-upRuns in your browserHow we calculate
26 = one year of biweekly pay.
Leave empty if your policy has no cap.
Shows what the balance is worth.
- Earned per pay period
- 4.615 h
- Earned per year
- 120 h
- Earned per year (days)
- 15
- Balance before cap
- 120 h
How this was calculated
- Hours earned per pay period: 4.6154 (26 pay periods a year).
- Hours earned per year: 4.6154 × 26 = 120.00 h, or 15.00 days of 8 h.
- Balance: 0 + 4.6154 × 26 − 0 planned = 120.00 h.
Your employer's policy decides how PTO accrues, caps and pays out; this is an estimate. Educational, not legal or financial advice.
How PTO accrual works
Paid time off (PTO) is usually earned a little every pay period instead of arriving all at once. Employers describe it in one of three ways: a number of days per year, a number of hours per pay period, or hours earned for every hours worked (for example 1 hour for every 30 hours). This PTO calculator converts any of the three into hours per paycheck, hours per year and the balance you will have at a future date.
Worked examples
15 days a year at 8 hours a day is 120 hours. Paid every two weeks (26 paychecks) that accrues 4.615 hours per pay period; paid twice a month (24 paychecks) it is 5 hours. A policy of 1 hour per 30 hours worked gives a full-time employee 40 ÷ 30 = 1.333 hours a week, or 69.3 hours over a 52-week year. Start with a balance of 20 hours, earn 4 hours for each of 10 pay periods and take 16 hours off, and the balance is 20 + 40 − 16 = 44 hours.
Caps, carryover and payout
Many policies stop accruing once your balance reaches a cap, often 1.5 to 2 times the yearly amount. Enter the cap and the calculator holds your balance there, so you can see when time off is lost. Carryover at year end and payout when you leave are decided by your employer and, in some states, by state law. Federal law does not require employers to provide paid vacation or pay it out, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, so your handbook is the authority.
How much PTO is typical?
Surveys by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (National Compensation Survey) show that private-sector workers with one year of service usually receive around 10 days of paid vacation, and the figure grows with years of service. The calculator's days per year field lets you compare your own offer to that range. Sick leave is often a separate bank, so enter it separately if you want to track it.
What your PTO is worth
Add your hourly pay to see the dollar value of the balance, useful when you negotiate an offer or are deciding whether to cash out where that is allowed. If you are paid a salary, find the hourly figure with the salary to hourly calculator, and to count the hours you actually worked in a pay period use the hours calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate PTO accrual per pay period?
Multiply your yearly PTO hours by 1 ÷ number of pay periods. 15 days × 8 hours = 120 hours, so 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours per biweekly paycheck.
How much PTO is 1 hour per 30 hours worked?
A full-time employee working 40 hours a week earns 40 ÷ 30 = 1.33 hours a week, about 69 hours over a 52-week year.
How many PTO hours is 15 days?
15 days × 8 hours = 120 hours. For a 10-hour workday it is 150 hours.
Does federal law require PTO?
No. The U.S. Department of Labor states the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, including vacation, so PTO depends on your employer's policy and your state's rules.
What is a PTO accrual cap?
A cap is the maximum balance your policy lets you hold. Once you reach it you stop earning PTO until you use some, which is why people often plan time off before reaching it.