PTO accrual calculator: will I have enough?
See your PTO balance on any date, cap and carryover included. Free, no sign-up, nothing sent.
Your PTO balance
This calculator needs JavaScript. How PTO accrual works and the state rules are further down this page.
Some employers let you take PTO before you've earned it, and some don't. Your policy says which.
Assumes PTO lands on each payday, with no partial pay periods. When your PTO year starts on a payday, the carryover limit comes first. Time off is counted on your date. Your policy decides all of this, and state rules aren't applied. Rules checked October 7, 2026.
The Fair Labor Standards Act doesn't require paid time off. These figures come from your employer's policy, within applicable federal, state and city law. California, New York and Washington rules are listed further down this page.
If your balance and your policy don't line up, an employment lawyer can explain your state's rules. Setting up accrual for a team is what payroll and timekeeping services do.
This is an estimate from the figures you entered, not legal advice.
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How the PTO accrual calculator works
You've got a balance on your last pay stub and a date you care about. We get from one to the other in the same order every time, so you can check every line against your own stub.
First, your policy becomes hours per payday. A yearly amount is split over the paydays in your year: 52 if you're paid weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 twice a month and 12 monthly. Days become hours at your workday length. A rule like 1 hour for every 30 hours worked becomes the hours you work in a pay period divided by 30. We keep the exact fraction: 120 hours a year paid biweekly is 4.6154 hours a payday once rounded, but the figure we add is the unrounded one.
Then we find your real paydays. Give us any one payday and we count from it every week or every two weeks, or use the dates your employer pays twice a month or monthly. That matters more than it sounds. Some months have three biweekly paydays, so two a month is often wrong. A payday on the date of your balance is already in that balance, and a payday on your date counts.
Next we go through those dates in order. Each payday adds its PTO, but never past your cap. When your PTO year starts, anything above your carryover limit comes off. If that day is also a payday, the limit comes first and the payday's PTO lands after it. Time off you plan to take comes off on your date.
We round once, to hundredths of an hour. The lines in the result always add up to the balance shown.
What we leave out: PTO granted all at once at the start of the year, rates that rise with years of service, waiting periods before you can use PTO, yearly use limits, partial pay periods and the dollar value of your hours. We don't apply any state's law to your numbers.
The Fair Labor Standards Act doesn't require paid time off. Your employer's policy supplies the figures you enter, within applicable law. We've summarized what California, New York and Washington require, with the source and check date for each rule.
Who this is for
- You have a PTO balance and a date in mind: a trip, a holiday week, the end of a "use it or lose it" year. You'd rather know now than find out in December.
- You're weighing a job offer and want to know what "15 days a year" adds each payday.
- You're a small employer or office manager writing a PTO policy, and you want to see what a rate, a cap or a carryover limit does to a real balance before it goes in the handbook.
Employee and employer questions about PTO accrual
How do I calculate PTO accrual per pay period?
Divide your yearly PTO hours by the number of paydays in your year. Weekly pay has 52, biweekly 26, twice a month 24 and monthly 12. Fifteen days of 8 hours is 120 hours, so biweekly that's 4.6154 hours a payday. If your policy gives PTO per hour worked instead, take the hours you work in a pay period and divide by the rate: 50 hours at 1 for every 30 is 1.6667 hours.
How many days is 80 hours of PTO?
Ten days, if your workday is 8 hours. Divide the hours by the length of your usual day: 120 hours is 15 days of 8 hours but only 12 days of 10 hours. Going the other way, 15 days of PTO at 8 hours a day is 120 hours. If your days are longer or shorter, change your workday length and every result follows.
How does PTO accrual based on hours worked work?
You earn a set share of an hour for every hour you work, usually written as 1 hour of PTO for every 30 hours worked. Thirty hours earns 1 hour, and a 25-hour week earns 0.8333. Part-timers earn at the same rate, just on fewer hours. At 1 for every 26, a 40-hour week adds up to 80 hours a year and a 25-hour week to 50.
Does PTO accrue on overtime hours?
Your policy decides. A set amount each payday doesn't change when you work overtime. A per-hour policy may count every hour you work, overtime included, or only your regular hours, and handbooks differ on it. Check yours, then enter the hours that earn PTO in a typical week. The policy also says whether paid leave hours earn PTO.
What's the difference between a PTO cap and a carryover limit?
A cap stops your balance from growing: once you reach it, paydays add nothing until you take time off. A carryover limit lets the balance grow all year, then takes away whatever is above the limit when your PTO year starts. On 100 hours at 120 a year paid biweekly, a 120-hour cap leaves 120.00 hours on January 15, 2027. A 40-hour carryover limit leaves 49.23, because 87.69 hours go on January 1.
Is "use it or lose it" PTO legal in California?
Not for vacation or PTO, by the state Labor Commissioner's reading, which calls a "use it or lose it" policy "an illegal policy under California law." Earned vacation counts as wages there and can't be taken back. A cap that stops you earning more is allowed. Paid sick leave follows its own rules. Other states differ, and we don't apply any state's rules to your numbers.
Why doesn't my pay stub match this?
Usually it's rounding or timing. Payroll often rounds each payday's PTO to two decimals, so 4.6154 becomes 4.62, and 26 paydays then add 120.12 hours instead of 120. A stub also shows PTO only after the payday that adds it. If your stub lists a per-payday figure, pick Each payday and type it exactly. The estimate will then follow your payroll.
Why do some months add more PTO than others?
Because some months have three biweekly paydays. Paid every other Friday from January 2, 2026, you get three in January and July of 2026. On the other Friday schedule it's May and October. The first schedule has 27 paydays in 2027, starting January 1. A policy that divides 120 hours by 26 then adds 124.62 hours that year, and some employers divide by 27 instead.
Can I take more PTO than I have?
Only if your employer allows it. Some let you borrow PTO you haven't earned yet and some don't. Your policy says which. If your planned time off is more than your balance on the date, the result shows how many hours you'd be short, so you know what to ask. In California, the Labor Commissioner says advanced vacation can't be taken back out of a final paycheck.
Do you get paid for unused PTO when you quit?
It depends on your state and your policy. The Fair Labor Standards Act doesn't require a payout. In California, earned vacation or PTO must be paid at your final rate when you leave, unless a union contract says otherwise. Separate sick leave usually doesn't need to be paid out in California, New York or Washington. Washington has an exception for covered construction workers who leave before their 90th day of employment. We count hours, not dollars, so the calculator doesn't value a payout.
PTO accrual per pay period: five policies worked out
Each row shows what one payday adds under a given policy, to four decimals. The first three rows are yearly amounts. The last two show common state sick-leave accrual methods: 1 hour for every 30 hours worked in California and New York, and 1 for every 40 in Washington, at a 40-hour week. Covered employees and qualifying alternative plans differ by state.
| Policy | Weekly (52) | Biweekly (26) | Twice a month (24) | Monthly (12) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 hours a year (10 days of 8 hours) | 1.5385 | 3.0769 | 3.3333 | 6.6667 |
| 120 hours a year (15 days) | 2.3077 | 4.6154 | 5.00 | 10.00 |
| 160 hours a year (20 days) | 3.0769 | 6.1538 | 6.6667 | 13.3333 |
| 1 hour per 30 worked, 40 hours a week (69.33 a year) | 1.3333 | 2.6667 | 2.8889 | 5.7778 |
| 1 hour per 40 worked, 40 hours a week (52.00 a year) | 1.00 | 2.00 | 2.1667 | 4.3333 |
Hours added on each payday. A pay stub that rounds to two decimals drifts from these over a year.
PTO laws by state: federal, California, New York and Washington
Here's what we read in each law, and when we read it. None of it is applied to your numbers. Your employer's policy is the starting point, and these rules sit on top of it.
| Where | What the law says | Source | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal, every state | The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require paid vacation, sick leave or holidays. These benefits normally come from an agreement with your employer. Some federal service and construction contracts require vacation or holiday benefits. Separate rules require paid sick leave on certain federal contracts. | Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Vacation Leave and Fact Sheet 84 | Read: October 7, 2026; checked October 8, 2026 |
| California: vacation and PTO | Earned vacation is wages and vests as you work. A policy can't take back vested vacation, and unused vacation is paid at your final rate when you leave, unless a union contract says otherwise. The Labor Commissioner calls "use it or lose it" "an illegal policy under California law" and allows a reasonable cap. A combined PTO plan follows the same rules. | Source: Labor Code section 227.3; Labor Commissioner vacation questions 4, 5, 8 and 10 | Read: October 4 and October 7, 2026; checked October 8, 2026 |
| California: paid sick leave | Generally covers employees who work in California for the same employer for at least 30 days within a year, with some worker and union-plan exceptions. Standard accrual is at least 1 hour for every 30 hours worked; other qualifying plans are allowed. Overtime-exempt administrative, executive and professional employees count as working 40 hours a week, or their normal week if shorter. Use starts on the 90th day of employment. Under an accrual plan, unused hours carry over. Yearly use can be limited to 40 hours or 5 days, whichever is more; total accrual can be capped at 80 hours or 10 days, whichever is more. Giving the full 40 hours or 5 days, whichever is more, at the start of each year replaces accrual and carryover. A payout of separate sick leave is not required when you leave. | Source: Labor Code section 246 (SB 616, effective January 1, 2024); Labor Commissioner paid sick leave questions | Read: October 4, 2026; checked October 8, 2026 |
| New York: paid sick leave | At least 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year at employers with 5 to 99 employees and 56 at 100 or more. With 4 or fewer employees it is up to 40 hours unpaid, or paid if the employer's net income was greater than $1 million in the previous tax year. Unused leave carries over. Yearly use can be limited to 40 hours for employers with fewer than 100 employees, or 56 at 100 or more. Employers can give the full yearly amount up front; qualifying union agreements can provide different benefits. A payout is not required when you leave. | Source: Labor Law section 196-b (revision of January 3, 2025) | Read: October 7, 2026; checked October 8, 2026 |
| Washington: paid sick leave | Employees covered by the state Minimum Wage Act earn at least 1 hour for every 40 hours worked. Use starts on the 90th calendar day of employment. Unused hours carry over, though an employer does not have to carry over more than 40. A payout usually is not required when you leave. Construction workers covered by the payout rule who leave before their 90th day must be paid their unused balance at the end of the established pay period following separation. That rule excludes residential building construction employers. Some qualifying union construction plans are exempt from the state sick-leave rules. | Source: RCW 49.46.210 (last amended 2025); RCW 49.46.010 and 49.46.180 | Read: October 7, 2026; checked October 8, 2026 |
Other states and cities have their own paid sick leave and payout rules. We haven't built them in, and the calculator applies no state's rules to your numbers.
Sources and last checked
- Federal: U.S. Department of Labor, Vacation Leave, read October 7, 2026; Fact Sheet 84, Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors. Checked October 8, 2026.
- California: Labor Code section 227.3 and section 246, originally read October 4, 2026; the Labor Commissioner's vacation questions, originally read October 7, 2026, and paid sick leave questions. Checked October 8, 2026 using dated statutory archives and the live FAQs.
- New York: Labor Law section 196-b, on NYSenate.gov, originally read October 7, 2026. Checked October 8, 2026.
- Washington: RCW 49.46.210, with RCW 49.46.010 and RCW 49.46.180, on the Washington State Legislature site, originally read October 7, 2026. Checked October 8, 2026.
- Data version pto-law-caveats-2026-10-07.
California's statute site wouldn't load for us on October 8, 2026. So we checked sections 227.3 and 246 against archived copies of the official pages, dated August 31 and September 28, 2026, and against the Labor Commissioner's current questions and answers. They agree.
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