What this PTO calculator works out
Paid time off usually builds up a little with every paycheck rather than arriving all at once. This calculator takes the plan as your handbook describes it, a yearly amount spread over the pay periods or a rate per hour worked, and turns it into the figures you actually want: how much is added per paycheck, how much you will have on a given date, when you reach the amount a trip needs, and a table of the coming twelve periods. Optional limits for a cap and for carryover at the turn of the year are applied period by period. Everything is counted in hours and shown in hours and days; the hours in a workday set the conversion. For the full method with more examples, see the guide how to calculate PTO accrual.
Accrual per pay period
The number of pay periods follows from the pay frequency:
| Pay frequency | Periods a year | 120 hours a year gives | Period ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | 2.31 h per paycheck | Every 7 days from the start date |
| Every two weeks | 26 | 4.62 h per paycheck | Every 14 days from the start date |
| Twice a month | 24 | 5 h per paycheck | The 15th and the last day of the month |
| Monthly | 12 | 10 h per paycheck | The last day of the month |
With an hourly rate the yearly total depends on the hours you work. The rate itself is often set from a yearly target: 80 hours of PTO over 2,080 working hours (40 hours a week for 52 weeks) is 80 ÷ 2,080 = 0.0385 hours per hour worked. Part-time hours then earn less, overtime hours more, depending on what the plan counts.
A worked example
Take 15 days a year at 8 hours a day, that is 120 hours, paid every two weeks from January 1, 2026 with no balance to start. Each paycheck adds 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours, about 0.58 days. By July 1, 13 periods have ended, and the balance is 60 hours or 7.5 days. A five-day trip needs 40 hours; the balance first reaches that after the period ending May 6, 2026. If the plan lets only 40 hours carry into the next year, the 120 hours left on December 31 are cut to 40 on January 1 and 80 hours are lost; the first paycheck of the new year then brings the balance to 44.62 hours.
How caps and carryover are applied
A cap is the most PTO you can hold at once. The calculator adds each period's accrual only up to the cap, so with a cap of 80 hours and a balance of 78, the next paycheck adds 2 hours and the ones after it add nothing until you take time off. A carryover limit works once a year: on January 1 the balance is cut to the limit, and the lost hours are listed. Leave the field empty if everything carries over, and enter 0 for a use-it-or-lose-it plan. Some plans run on the hire date instead of the calendar year; this calculator always uses January 1, so for an anniversary-based plan set the start date to the anniversary and read the figures for one year at a time.
What the law says
The US Department of Labor states that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays, and that these benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee or the employee's representative. The amounts, the accrual schedule, caps and carryover are therefore set by your employer's policy or your contract, and some states have their own rules on paid leave and on paying out unused time. This page does the arithmetic of the plan you enter; it does not say what your plan must contain. Check your handbook or your state labor department for the rules that apply to you.
What the calculator leaves out
- Waiting periods before accrual starts and tiers that raise the rate after a number of years. Set the start date to when accrual actually begins, and run the calculator again with the higher rate for later years.
- Lump-sum grants at the start of the year. For those, enter the grant as the balance and 0 as the yearly amount.
- Time you take off. The balance shown is what you accrue; subtract the days you use, or enter today's real balance and today as the start date.
- Payouts when you leave and the state rules about them.
To add up the hours you work before entering them per period, the hours calculator and the timesheet calculator help; to count the working days a trip costs, use the business days calculator.
How to use the PTO accrual calculator
- 1Choose whether amounts are shown in days or hours, and enter the hours in your workday.
- 2Enter your yearly PTO, or switch to Per hour worked and enter the rate and your hours per pay period.
- 3Pick your pay frequency and the start date, and enter your balance on that date if you have one.
- 4Set the date you want the balance for. Open Cap, carryover and target for the limits of your plan and the amount you are saving up for.
- 5Read the accrual per paycheck, the balance and the target date, check the table of the next periods, and copy the result or a link.
Sources
- US Department of Labor: Vacation Leave: the FLSA does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations; these benefits are matters of agreement between employer and employee.
Guide on this topic
Frequently asked questions
How is PTO accrual per pay period calculated?
Divide the yearly amount by the number of pay periods in a year: 52 for weekly pay, 26 for pay every two weeks, 24 for twice a month and 12 for monthly pay. With 120 hours a year and pay every two weeks, that is 120 divided by 26, about 4.62 hours per paycheck. The calculator does this division for you and shows the result in hours and days.
What is the difference between biweekly and semimonthly accrual?
Pay every two weeks gives 26 paychecks a year, twice-a-month pay gives 24. The same yearly amount is split into smaller pieces when there are more paychecks, so each accrual is a little lower with biweekly pay, but the yearly total is the same. The periods also end on different days: every 14 days from your start date, or on the 15th and the last day of each month.
How does accrual per hour worked work?
Some plans add a fraction of an hour of PTO for every hour you work. To accrue 80 hours over 2,080 working hours a year, the rate is 80 divided by 2,080, about 0.0385 hours of PTO per hour worked. Pick Per hour worked, enter the rate and the hours you work in one pay period, and the calculator multiplies them for each period.
What do cap and carryover mean here?
A cap is the most PTO you can hold at once; the calculator stops adding time while your balance sits at the cap. A carryover limit is the most time that survives the turn of the year; the calculator cuts the balance to that limit on January 1 and shows how much was lost. Both are optional, and both follow your employer's policy, not a law.
Does the law require PTO or vacation pay?
The US Department of Labor states that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays, and that these benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee. State laws and your employer's policy may add rules; this calculator shows the arithmetic of a plan and is not legal advice.
Is anything sent to a server?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. Copy link puts the amounts, the frequency, the dates and the limits into the link, nothing else.