PTO accrual calculator

How PTO accrues

Paid time off, or PTO, is the bank of hours an employer lets you take as paid leave. Most employers either credit a fixed number of hours on each pay period or credit hours in proportion to the hours you work. The first is simple to forecast: a yearly allowance divided by the number of paychecks. The second varies with your schedule, which is why part-time employees accrue less. Employers differ on when accrued hours can be used (some have a waiting period), on a cap for the balance and on what carries into the next year, so this calculator asks for each as a separate input.

The formulas

Fixed mode: hours per period = yearly hours ÷ pay periods per year. Hours-worked mode: hours per year = weekly hours × 52 ÷ N, where you earn 1 hour for every N hours worked, and hours per period = hours per year ÷ pay periods. The year-by-year table then applies, for each pay period: add the accrual; if a cap is set and the balance reaches it, hold the balance at the cap; subtract the time taken. The hours already used are spread evenly over the periods that have passed, which is an assumption, because real time off is lumpy. The projected year-end balance assumes you take no further time off after the periods entered.

Worked example

An employee earns 80.00 hours of PTO a year (10.00 eight-hour days) and is paid every two weeks, 26 times a year. Each paycheck adds 3.08 hours. After 10 pay periods the employee has earned 30.77 hours and taken 16, so the balance is 14.77 hours. If no more time is taken, the year ends with 64.00 hours (80.00 earned minus 16 taken); the table shows the balance after each paycheck. The inputs are an example; your employer's policy decides the real numbers.

What the law says and what it does not

There is no federal requirement to provide paid vacation or paid sick days. The U.S. Department of Labor states that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require pay for time not worked and that such benefits are a matter of agreement between employer and employee. That is why most of the rules that matter come from states, cities and your own offer letter or handbook. The examples above are only examples: the state pages cited below give the current text, and cities can add rules of their own.

Mistakes to avoid: treating a sick leave minimum as a ceiling for your PTO plan; assuming that the balance on your pay stub counts days when your hours vary; forgetting that an accrual cap and a carryover limit are two different limits; and assuming that unused hours are paid out when you leave. Payout at separation differs from state to state, and California is an example where earned vacation must be paid at termination.

Does federal law require employers to give paid time off?

No. The U.S. Department of Labor says the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or holidays; those are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee. Two exceptions exist for federal contracts: holiday and vacation benefits can be required by a wage determination under the Service Contract Act or the Davis-Bacon Act. Some states and cities do require paid sick leave, and a few treat earned vacation as wages, so the rules that actually apply to you are usually the state's and your employer's written policy.

How do I convert days of PTO a year into hours per paycheck?

Multiply the days by the hours in your workday and divide by the number of pay periods. For 10.00 days of 8 hours (80.00 hours) paid every two weeks (26 periods) you earn 3.08 hours per paycheck; paid semi-monthly (24 periods) it is 3.33. Some employers use hours worked instead, which makes the amount vary with the paycheck. The calculator does both: pick the mode at the top.

What does an accrual rate of one hour per 30 hours worked mean?

It means you earn 1 hour of paid leave for every 30 hours you work. A full-time employee working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks (2,080 hours) accrues 69.33 hours, about 2.67 per two-week pay period. A half-time employee at 20 hours a week accrues 34.67 hours. At one hour per 40 hours the full-timer would accrue 52.00 hours. These rates appear in state paid sick leave laws, not in federal law.

What is an accrual cap and what is carryover?

A cap is a ceiling on the balance: once you reach it you stop earning until you use some. In the example of 120 hours a year over 24 pay periods with a cap of 80 hours and no time off, the balance reaches the cap in period 16 and 40.00 hours of the year's accrual is never earned. Carryover is how much of the balance moves into the next year. With a balance of 96.00 hours at year end and a carryover limit of 40 hours, 40.00 hours carry over and 56.00 hours are lost, unless your state treats earned vacation as wages (see the next question).

Can an employer take away unused vacation at year end?

It depends on the state and the policy. In California, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement says vacation pay is a form of wages that vests as it is earned, and that a policy forfeiting unused vacation by a set date (use it or lose it) is illegal there; an accrual cap, which simply stops further accrual at a reasonable ceiling, is allowed. California Labor Code section 227.3 also requires accrued vacation to be paid at termination. Other states differ, and many leave it to the employer's policy, so read your handbook and ask your state labor department.

Is paid sick leave the same as PTO?

Not in law. Paid sick leave laws set minimum amounts and uses by state or city. California requires at least one hour per 30 hours worked and lets an employer cap use at 40 hours or 5 days a year and the balance at 80 hours or 10 days; Colorado requires one hour per 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours a year; Washington requires one hour per 40 hours worked and carryover of up to 40 unused hours. An employer's PTO plan can satisfy such a law if it gives at least as much, but the plan must meet the law's rules on accrual, use and carryover. These rules were checked on the state agencies' pages in October 2026 and change from time to time.

Sources, checked October 28, 2026: U.S. Department of Labor, Vacation leave and the Wage and Hour Division FLSA FAQ (no federal PTO mandate; Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon exceptions, 29 CFR 4.173); California DLSE, Vacation FAQ (Labor Code §227.3) and Paid sick leave; Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Healthy Families and Workplaces Act: employer and employee rights (INFO #6B) (July 2023: one hour per 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours a year); Washington L&I, Paid sick leave (one hour per 40 hours worked; carryover of up to 40 hours). Related: paycheck calculator, overtime calculator, salary calculator and business days calculator.

Estimates for planning only — not legal, tax or financial advice. Your employer's policy and your state's law decide. How we check our calculators.