Paid time off adds up a little at a time, and the details of the policy decide how fast. Some employers grant a yearly allowance split across paychecks, others give a fraction of an hour for every hour worked, and many stop accrual at a cap. This calculator converts any of those policies into hours per paycheck and per year, then projects your balance month by month — including planned vacation and any hours lost to a cap.
How to use the PTO accrual calculator
- Choose how PTO is earned: a yearly allowance, a rate per hour worked, or a fixed number of hours per pay period.
- Enter the amount — for example 15 days a year, or 1 hour for every 30 worked.
- Pick your pay frequency and enter your usual hours per week and hours per workday.
- Optionally add your current balance, the hours you plan to use and the policy’s cap.
- Choose how many months to project ahead and read the balance and the paycheck-by-paycheck table.
PTO accrual formulas
Hours worked per paycheck are your weekly hours × 52 ÷ paychecks per year — 80 hours bi-weekly at 40 hours a week.
Worked example
15 days of PTO a year, 8-hour days, paid bi-weekly, starting from zero and planning 40 hours off over the next 12 months.
Yearly hours = 15 × 8 = 120. Per paycheck: 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours. That works out to one hour of PTO for every 17.3 hours worked.
After 26 paychecks you will have earned 120 hours and used 40, leaving 80 hours — 10 days.
A second example uses a sick-leave style rate: 1 hour per 30 worked, 40 hours a week, paid weekly. Accrual is 40 ÷ 30 = 1.33 hours a paycheck and 69.33 hours a year. With a 60-hour cap and no time off, the balance reaches the cap at paycheck 45, and the last 9.33 hours of the year are not earned.
Common accrual rates
| Policy | Per year (40 h/week) | Bi-weekly | Semi-monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 days (80 h) | 80 h | 3.08 h | 3.33 h |
| 15 days (120 h) | 120 h | 4.62 h | 5.00 h |
| 20 days (160 h) | 160 h | 6.15 h | 6.67 h |
| 25 days (200 h) | 200 h | 7.69 h | 8.33 h |
| 1 h per 30 worked | 69.33 h | 2.67 h | 2.89 h |
| 1 h per 40 worked | 52 h | 2.00 h | 2.17 h |
Policy details that change the math
Waiting periods and front-loading
Some employers require 60 or 90 days of service before new hires can use PTO, and some front-load the full year on January 1 instead of accruing it. With front-loading there is no per-paycheck accrual; the whole allowance is available at once.
Carryover and use-it-or-lose-it
A cap limits the balance at any time; a carryover limit limits what rolls into the next year. Some states, including California, do not allow vacation that has been earned to be forfeited, which is why employers there rely on caps instead.
Overtime and unpaid leave
An hours-worked policy may or may not count overtime hours. Unpaid leave usually pauses accrual. Check your handbook for both.
This calculator models common accrual methods. Your employer's policy, union contract and state or local leave laws control what you actually earn.
To see how many working days are in a year or month — useful for turning PTO into a vacation plan — use the working days calculator. The business days calculator counts the workdays a trip will take, and the holiday pay calculator covers paid holidays.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate PTO accrual per pay period?
Divide the yearly PTO hours by the number of paychecks in a year. Fifteen days of 8 hours is 120 hours; paid bi-weekly (26 paychecks), that is 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours per paycheck. Paid semi-monthly (24 paychecks), it is 5 hours.
What does 1 hour for every 30 hours worked mean?
You earn one hour of leave for each 30 hours on the clock, or 0.0333 hours per hour worked. A full-time employee working 40 hours a week earns about 1.33 hours a week, or 69.3 hours a year. California and New York, among other states, use this rate for paid sick leave.
What is a PTO cap?
Many policies stop accrual once your balance reaches a maximum, often 1.5 to 2 times the yearly amount. While you are at the cap you earn nothing more, so hours you would have earned are effectively lost until you take time off.
Do part-time employees accrue PTO?
That depends on the employer's policy and state law. With an hours-worked rate, accrual scales automatically: someone working 20 hours a week earns half as much as someone working 40. Enter your actual weekly hours to see the effect.
Is PTO required by law?
There is no federal requirement for paid vacation. A growing number of states and cities require paid sick leave, and some require payout of unused vacation when you leave. Your employer's written policy is the starting point.