PTO Accrual Calculator

How to use this PTO accrual calculator

1. Pick how your employer calculates accrual: hours per pay period (it is printed on your pay stub), 1 hour for every X hours worked, or days or hours per year.
2. Choose your pay schedule: weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly.
3. Enter the date accrual starts and the date you want a balance for.
4. Add your starting balance, PTO hours already used and any accrual cap. The cap stops your balance from growing past a set number of hours.
5. Optionally enter a target balance to find the date you will reach it.

How is PTO accrual calculated?

There are three common methods, and the calculator supports all of them.

• Per pay period. You earn a fixed number of hours each pay period. After 13 biweekly periods at 3.08 hours you have about 40 hours.
• Per hour worked. You earn PTO in proportion to the hours you work, such as 1 hour for every 30 hours. Per period accrual = hours worked in the period ÷ hours per 1 hour of PTO.
• Annual amount. Your yearly PTO is spread evenly over the pay periods. 15 days × 8 hours = 120 hours, and 120 ÷ 26 biweekly periods = 4.62 hours per period.

How much PTO do I earn each period?

Hours earned per pay period for an 8-hour day:

Annual PTO	Weekly (52)	Biweekly (26)	Semi-monthly (24)	Monthly (12)
5 days (40 h)	0.77	1.54	1.67	3.33
10 days (80 h)	1.54	3.08	3.33	6.67
15 days (120 h)	2.31	4.62	5.00	10.00
20 days (160 h)	3.08	6.15	6.67	13.33
25 days (200 h)	3.85	7.69	8.33	16.67

How much PTO do I earn per hour worked?

Accruing per hour worked is common for hourly and part-time staff. The table shows the yearly total for a full-time worker at 2,080 hours a year and the PTO earned in a 40-hour week.

Accrual rate	Hours per year	Days per year (8 h)	Hours per 40-hour week
1 hour per 17.33 hours worked	120.0 h	15.0 days	2.31 h
1 hour per 20 hours worked	104.0 h	13.0 days	2.00 h
1 hour per 25 hours worked	83.2 h	10.4 days	1.60 h
1 hour per 30 hours worked	69.3 h	8.7 days	1.33 h
1 hour per 40 hours worked	52.0 h	6.5 days	1.00 h

How many days is my PTO in hours?

Multiply days by the number of hours in your workday. With 8-hour days, 15 days is 120 hours. With 10-hour days it is 150 hours. To go the other way, divide hours by hours per day.

PTO hours	Days (8-hour day)	Days (10-hour day)	Days (7.5-hour day)
4 h	0.50	0.40	0.53
8 h	1.00	0.80	1.07
16 h	2.00	1.60	2.13
40 h	5.00	4.00	5.33
80 h	10.00	8.00	10.67
120 h	15.00	12.00	16.00
160 h	20.00	16.00	21.33

When will I reach a specific PTO balance?

Enter a target balance in hours and the calculator counts pay periods until you reach it, adding your starting balance and subtracting hours already used. If your cap is lower than the target, the balance never gets there and the calculator tells you so.

What is a PTO accrual cap?

An accrual cap is the most PTO you can hold at once. When your balance reaches the cap, you stop earning until you use some. Employers use caps to limit the amount of unused time on the books. The calculator applies the cap after each pay period, then subtracts the hours you entered as used. Because the real order of earning and using affects a capped balance, treat a capped result as an estimate.

Does unused PTO roll over?

It depends on your employer's policy. Some plans carry the whole balance forward, some carry a limited amount and some reset the balance at the end of the year. Some states treat earned vacation as wages that cannot be taken away, so check your state and your handbook.

Accrual, front-loading and tenure

• Accrued PTO builds up gradually through the year.
• Front-loaded PTO gives you the full year's amount on a set date, such as January 1 or your work anniversary.
• Tenure-based plans raise the accrual rate as you pass years of service. If your rate changes, run the calculator for each period separately and add the results.

Why your balance might not match

Employers differ in the details. Some credit PTO on a specific pay date, some at the end of the period, and new hires often have a waiting period before accrual starts. Part-time staff are usually prorated by hours, so the "per hour worked" method fits them better. Check whether you keep accruing during unpaid leave. Two mistakes cause most mismatches: using 24 pay periods for a biweekly schedule that has 26, and mixing up days and hours when the workday is not eight hours.