PTO Accrual Calculator guide
Enter your annual PTO or an hours-worked accrual rule, your pay frequency and current balance. See how much PTO you earn each paycheck, your projected balance on a future date, and when an accrual cap stops you earning more.
How PTO accrual works
Most US employers do not hand over a year of paid time off on January 1. You earn it gradually, a few hours every paycheck or a fraction of an hour for every hour you work. That drip is called accrual, and it is why a new hire with '15 days of PTO' often has only a day or two banked after their first month.
There are two common methods. The first spreads an annual allowance evenly across pay periods. The second ties accrual to hours actually worked, which is standard for hourly and part-time staff and for state paid sick leave laws. This calculator handles both, projects your balance to any date, and shows when an accrual cap will stop you from earning more.
The formulas
Per pay period method: accrual per period = annual PTO hours ÷ number of pay periods per year. There are 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semi-monthly, or 12 monthly pay periods.
Per hour worked method: accrual per period = hours worked in the period ÷ the 'every X hours' figure in your policy. One hour for every 30 worked is 1 ÷ 30 = 0.0333 hours per hour.
Projected balance = current balance + (accrual per period × pay periods until the date) − hours you plan to use, never more than the cap.
Worked example
An employee gets 15 days a year, 8 hours a day, so 120 hours. Paid biweekly, that is 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours per paycheck. Working 80 hours per pay period, the rate is 4.6154 ÷ 80 = 0.0577 hours per hour worked, or one hour of PTO for every 17.33 hours worked.
With 16 hours already banked, 13 paychecks (about six months) later the balance is 16 + 4.6154 × 13 = 76 hours, or 9.5 days. If the policy caps balances at 180 hours (1.5 times the annual amount), the employee hits the cap after (180 − 16) ÷ 4.6154 = 35.5, so 36 pay periods. After that, the paycheck still shows the accrual line, but nothing is added until they take time off.
Now a part-timer under a 1-for-30 rule working 50 hours a biweekly period: 50 ÷ 30 = 1.67 hours per paycheck, 43.3 hours a year. That rule is the minimum accrual rate in California's paid sick leave law.
What US law actually requires
No federal law requires private employers to offer paid vacation or paid holidays. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not cover them. PTO is a benefit set by your employer's policy or contract, which is why the terms vary so much.
Paid sick leave is different. A growing number of states and cities require it. California requires employers to provide at least 40 hours (5 days) of paid sick leave a year, with accrual at no less than 1 hour per 30 hours worked; employers may cap accrued sick leave at 80 hours (10 days). Other states with mandatory paid sick leave include New York, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Oregon, each with its own rate and cap.
Payout at termination also depends on the state. States including California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana, and Nebraska treat accrued vacation as earned wages that must be paid out when employment ends, and California bans 'use it or lose it' forfeiture (caps on future accrual are allowed). Many other states let the written policy decide.
Common mistakes
Counting overtime hours inconsistently. Many policies accrue only on regular hours, not overtime. If yours does, enter regular hours per period, not total hours.
Mixing days and hours. A '10 day' allowance for someone on 10-hour shifts is 100 hours, not 80. Set the workday length to match the schedule.
Forgetting the cap. Employees who never take time off can hit the cap and stop earning, which quietly turns part of the benefit into nothing. Check the 'cap reached in' figure and plan vacations before that date.
Assuming unlimited PTO means no balance. Under unlimited policies nothing accrues and, in most states, nothing is paid out at exit.
For employers
Accrued PTO is a liability on your books: every banked hour is future wages. Multiply total banked hours by each employee's hourly rate to size it, and use the employee cost calculator to see PTO's effect on cost per working hour. Payroll platforms such as Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll can track accrual automatically, but the policy numbers you enter there come from exactly this math.
How we calculate: sources
Frequently asked questions
How is PTO accrual calculated?
Divide annual PTO hours by pay periods per year. 120 hours (15 days) paid biweekly accrues 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours per paycheck.
How do I calculate PTO per hour worked?
Divide PTO earned per period by hours worked per period. 4.62 hours over 80 worked is 0.0577 hours per hour, or 1 hour for every 17.33 hours worked.
What does 1 hour for every 30 hours worked mean?
You earn 1 hour of paid leave for each 30 hours you work, 0.0333 hours per hour. It is the minimum accrual rate under California's paid sick leave law.
What is a PTO accrual cap?
A maximum balance. Once you reach it, you stop earning PTO until you use some. Caps of 1.5 to 2 times the annual allowance are common.
Are employers required to offer PTO?
Not under federal law. Paid vacation is set by company policy, but many states and cities require paid sick leave, such as California's minimum of 40 hours a year.
Do I get paid for unused PTO when I leave?
It depends on the state and policy. California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana and Nebraska require payout of earned vacation; many states follow the written policy.
Is my PTO data stored online?
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded to a server or stored by us.