How to Calculate PTO Accrual per Hour and per Pay Period

To calculate PTO accrual, divide your annual PTO allowance by the hours or pay periods it is earned over. Two weeks of PTO (80 hours) for a full-time employee is 80 ÷ 2,080 = 0.03846 hours of PTO per hour worked, or 80 ÷ 26 = 3.08 hours per biweekly paycheck. Multiply the rate by your hours or pay periods to project a balance, then apply your employer’s cap and carryover rules.

The accrual formulas

Per hour worked (common for hourly and part-time staff):

Per pay period (common for salaried staff):

Balance projection:

The PTO accrual calculator runs these for any policy.

Accrual rate table

Based on a 2,080-hour full-time year (40 hours × 52 weeks):

Most payroll systems carry accruals to at least four decimal places to avoid rounding drift.

Worked example: full-time, biweekly

Jordan earns 120 hours of PTO a year (15 days), accrued per biweekly paycheck, with a cap of 180 hours. She starts the year with 24 hours.

• Accrual per paycheck: 120 ÷ 26 = 4.615 hours
• After 10 paychecks: 24 + 10 × 4.615 = 70.15 hours
• She takes a 5-day vacation (40 hours): 70.15 − 40 = 30.15 hours
• By year-end (16 more paychecks): 30.15 + 16 × 4.615 = 103.99 hours

She stays under the 180-hour cap, so nothing is lost.

Worked example: part-time, hourly accrual

Sam works 25 hours a week. The policy grants 0.03846 hours of PTO per hour worked, the same rate as a full-timer with two weeks.

• Weekly accrual: 25 × 0.03846 = 0.96 hours
• Annual accrual: 25 × 52 × 0.03846 = 50 hours, or two weeks of Sam’s normal schedule (10 workdays of 5 hours)

Hourly accrual automatically scales PTO to the schedule, which is why many employers use it for variable-hour staff. Overtime hours may or may not accrue PTO; the policy decides. To total hours from time cards first, use the time card calculator, and convert minutes with the time to decimal calculator.

Accrual by years of service

Many employers increase PTO with tenure. A sample tiered policy:

When an employee crosses an anniversary mid-year, the new rate usually starts with the next pay period after the anniversary date.

New hires and partial years

For someone who starts mid-year, accrual simply begins with the first pay period, so the first year’s total is prorated. Under an 80-hour policy accrued monthly, a new hire starting April 1 earns 9 × 6.667 = 60 hours by December 31. With a front-loaded policy, employers usually prorate the grant instead: 80 × 9 ÷ 12 = 60 hours on the start date.

Many policies also include a waiting period, such as 90 days, during which PTO accrues but cannot be used. Check whether the waiting period delays accrual itself or only use; the difference is about 20 hours on an 80-hour policy. State sick leave laws often set their own limits on waiting periods, so a separate sick leave balance may be usable sooner than vacation.

Caps, carryover and payouts

• Accrual cap: accrual stops at a maximum balance and resumes after time is used. Caps of 1.5 to 2 times the annual allowance are common.
• Carryover limit: a policy might let you roll over up to 40 hours into the next year and forfeit the rest. Some states restrict forfeiture; California, for example, treats earned vacation as wages that cannot be forfeited, though caps are allowed.
• Payout at separation: federal law does not require paying out unused vacation, but several states do, either always or unless a written policy says otherwise. Check your state labor department.
• Front-loading: some employers grant the whole year’s PTO on January 1 instead of accruing it. If you leave mid-year after using it, the policy determines whether anything is deducted, subject to state wage deduction rules.

Paid sick leave laws

Separate from vacation, a growing number of states and cities require paid sick leave, and many set a minimum accrual of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (0.0333 per hour). Federal contractors covered by Executive Order 13706 also accrue 1 hour per 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours a year. At that rate, a full-time employee working 2,080 hours earns about 69 hours before any annual cap applies. Employers with a combined PTO bank can satisfy many sick leave laws if the PTO policy meets each law’s accrual, use and carryover requirements.

Turning PTO hours into days and dollars

• Days: divide hours by your normal daily hours. 104 hours ÷ 8 = 13 days.
• Dollars: multiply hours by your hourly rate. 104 hours at $30 = $3,120. For salaried employees, find the hourly equivalent first with the salary to hourly calculator.
• Planning time off: to see how many workdays a trip uses, the working days calculator counts weekdays in a date range, and how to calculate business days explains the counting rules.

Paid holidays are usually tracked separately from PTO; how to calculate holiday pay covers them.

Common accrual mistakes

1. Using 2,080 for part-time staff when the policy is per pay period rather than per hour, which gives part-timers full-time accruals.
2. Rounding each paycheck’s accrual to one decimal place, which can lose or add several hours a year.
3. Forgetting the cap, so the projection shows a balance the employee can never reach.
4. Counting unpaid leave hours toward accrual when the policy only counts hours worked or paid.

This guide describes common PTO policies for general information. It is not legal advice; vacation and sick leave rules vary by state and city, and your employer's written policy controls the details.