PTO Accrual Calculator
See exactly how much paid time off you earn each pay period or per hour worked, convert PTO hours to days, and project your balance to any future date.
Enter your annual PTO allowance and pay schedule to see how many hours you accrue each pay period, and project your balance forward.
You Accrue per Pay Period
4.62 hours
120 hours per year (15 days x 8 hours)
Projected Balance After 6 Pay Periods
51.69 hours
= 6.5 days off
PTO accrual is the annual allowance divided across the year. 15 days of PTO is 120 hours; paid biweekly, that is 4.62 hours per paycheck, or 0.0577 hours for every hour worked. 120 hours of PTO is 15 days on an 8-hour schedule and 12 days on a 10-hour schedule. The tables below cover the common allowances, pay frequencies, and shift lengths, and the guide to what PTO is and how it works explains the policy rules behind the numbers.
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Track it automatically →How PTO Accrual Works
Most companies grant paid time off gradually rather than all at once. Accrual protects the employer from paying out a full year of leave to someone who leaves in February, and it scales naturally for part-time staff. The two most common structures:
Per pay period (most common for salaried teams)
Annual PTO hours = PTO days x hours per day
Accrual per period = Annual PTO hours ÷ pay periods per year
Example: 15 days of PTO = 120 hours. Paid biweekly (26 periods), the employee accrues 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours per paycheck.
Per hours worked (common for hourly teams)
PTO earned = Hours worked ÷ accrual ratio
Accrual ratio = 2,080 ÷ annual PTO hours
Example: At 1 hour of PTO per 30 hours worked, a 40-hour week earns 1.33 hours of PTO, roughly 69 hours or 8.7 days over a 2,080-hour year. Most state paid sick leave laws use this 1-per-30 formula.
Front-loaded and unlimited PTO
Some employers grant the full allowance on January 1 or the hire anniversary instead of accruing it, and some offer unlimited PTO with no balance at all. Neither needs an accrual rate, but front-loaded policies still need a payout rule for employees who leave mid-year. The calculator above covers accrued policies; see the unlimited PTO guide for how no-balance policies work.
PTO Hours to Days
PTO balances are tracked in hours because a day off costs different amounts on different schedules. 120 hours is 15 days for an office employee on 8-hour days, but only 10 days for a nurse or agent on 12-hour shifts. Divide the balance by the length of your normal shift:
| PTO hours | Days at 8 h/day | Days at 10 h/day | Days at 12 h/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 hours | 1 | 0.8 | 0.67 |
| 16 hours | 2 | 1.6 | 1.33 |
| 24 hours | 3 | 2.4 | 2 |
| 40 hours | 5 | 4 | 3.33 |
| 48 hours | 6 | 4.8 | 4 |
| 56 hours | 7 | 5.6 | 4.67 |
| 64 hours | 8 | 6.4 | 5.33 |
| 72 hours | 9 | 7.2 | 6 |
| 80 hours | 10 | 8 | 6.67 |
| 96 hours | 12 | 9.6 | 8 |
| 104 hours | 13 | 10.4 | 8.67 |
| 112 hours | 14 | 11.2 | 9.33 |
| 120 hours | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| 144 hours | 18 | 14.4 | 12 |
| 160 hours | 20 | 16 | 13.33 |
| 200 hours | 25 | 20 | 16.67 |
| 240 hours | 30 | 24 | 20 |
Going the other way, multiply days by your shift length: 10 days is 80 hours on 8-hour days, 100 hours on 10-hour days, and 120 hours on 12-hour days.
PTO Accrual Rate Table
Hours accrued per pay period, and per hour worked, for the most common annual allowances on an 8-hour day and a 2,080-hour work year:
| Annual PTO | Weekly (52) | Biweekly (26) | Semi-monthly (24) | Monthly (12) | Per hour worked | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 hrs (5 days) | 0.77 | 1.54 | 1.67 | 3.33 | 0.0192 | 1 per 52 |
| 80 hrs (10 days) | 1.54 | 3.08 | 3.33 | 6.67 | 0.0385 | 1 per 26 |
| 96 hrs (12 days) | 1.85 | 3.69 | 4.00 | 8.00 | 0.0462 | 1 per 21.7 |
| 120 hrs (15 days) | 2.31 | 4.62 | 5.00 | 10.00 | 0.0577 | 1 per 17.3 |
| 160 hrs (20 days) | 3.08 | 6.15 | 6.67 | 13.33 | 0.0769 | 1 per 13 |
Ratio means 1 hour of PTO per N hours worked. The 1-per-30 formula used by most state sick leave laws sits between the 40-hour and 80-hour rows: it produces about 69 hours a year for a full-time employee.
How to Calculate PTO by Hand
The calculator does this automatically, but the arithmetic is simple enough to check a pay stub or settle a dispute:
Convert the allowance to hours
Multiply PTO days by the hours in a normal workday. 15 days x 8 hours = 120 hours. Use 10 or 12 if that is the standard shift.
Divide by pay periods or hours worked
Biweekly pay has 26 periods: 120 / 26 = 4.615 hours per paycheck. For per-hour accrual, 120 / 2,080 = 0.0577 hours per hour worked.
Multiply by periods elapsed
After 9 paychecks the employee has accrued 9 x 4.615 = 41.5 hours, before any PTO taken.
Subtract hours used and apply the cap
If 16 hours were taken, the balance is 25.5 hours. If the policy caps the balance at 180 hours, accrual pauses once that is reached.
Worked example: hourly employee, 1 hour per 30 worked
A contact center agent works 36 hours in week one, 40 in week two, 42 in week three, and 38 in week four, for 156 hours in the month.
156 hours worked ÷ 30 = 5.2 hours of PTO accrued
Over a year of similar months that is about 62 hours, slightly under the 69 hours a 2,080-hour employee would earn, because the agent averaged 39 hours a week rather than 40.
Rounding and partial periods
Payroll systems usually carry accrual to two or three decimals and round only on display. A new hire who starts mid-period typically accrues a prorated amount for that first paycheck, or nothing until the first full period, depending on the policy. Write the rule down; small rounding differences are a common source of balance disputes.
PTO Accrual for Part-Time Employees
Part-time staff usually earn PTO in proportion to hours worked. Under a per-hour policy this happens automatically: the rate per hour is the same for everyone, so a 20-hour employee earns half as much as a 40-hour employee. Under a per-pay-period policy, employers prorate the allowance by full-time equivalent (FTE): a 0.5 FTE employee on a 120-hour policy receives 60 hours a year, or 2.31 hours per biweekly paycheck.
| Hours per week | FTE | Annual PTO (120-hour policy) | Per biweekly paycheck | Days at their shift length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 0.50 | 60 hrs | 2.31 hrs | 15 half-days (4 h) |
| 24 | 0.60 | 72 hrs | 2.77 hrs | 12 days (6 h) |
| 30 | 0.75 | 90 hrs | 3.46 hrs | 15 days (6 h) |
| 32 | 0.80 | 96 hrs | 3.69 hrs | 12 days (8 h) |
| 40 | 1.00 | 120 hrs | 4.62 hrs | 15 days (8 h) |
A part-time employee's day off costs fewer hours than a full-timer's, so the number of days works out the same when the allowance is prorated. Where a state sick leave law applies, the per-hour formula (usually 1 hour per 30 worked) sets the minimum regardless of FTE. Use the FTE calculator to work out FTE for a mixed team.
Accrual Caps, Carryover, and Negative Balances
Three policy rules change what the accrual math produces over time. The calculator applies a cap if you set one; the other two are worth writing into the policy before they come up.
Accrual cap
A ceiling on the balance, typically 1.5 to 2 times the annual allowance. On a 120-hour policy with a 180-hour cap, an employee accruing 4.62 hours per paycheck stops accruing once the balance hits 180 and resumes after taking time off. A cap is legal in every state because it only pauses future accrual; it does not take away hours already earned.
Carryover and year-end rollover
Whether unused hours move into the next year, and how many. A common rule is to carry over up to one year of accrual and forfeit the rest, but forfeiture is not allowed in California, Montana, or Nebraska, where accrued PTO is earned wages. Employers in those states use a cap instead of a year-end reset.
Negative balances and borrowing
Some policies let employees take PTO before it accrues, creating a negative balance that future accrual repays. If the employee leaves first, the employer may deduct the unearned hours from the final paycheck only where state law allows it and the employee agreed in writing. Many employers avoid the problem by limiting requests to the current balance plus what will accrue before the leave starts.
Estimating a PTO Payout
When an employee leaves, a PTO payout is the unused balance multiplied by the hourly rate. An hourly employee with 46 hours accrued at $22 per hour is owed $1,012. For a salaried employee, convert the salary to an hourly rate first: $62,400 a year ÷ 2,080 hours = $30 per hour, so a 46-hour balance is worth $1,380. The salary to hourly calculator does the conversion.
Whether the payout is required depends on the state. Several states treat accrued PTO as earned wages that must be paid with the final check; others follow the employer's written policy. See PTO payout laws by state before setting or applying a forfeiture rule, and the state labor law guides for the wider picture.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How is PTO accrual calculated?
Convert the annual PTO allowance to hours (days x 8), then divide by the number of pay periods in the year. An employee with 15 days (120 hours) paid biweekly accrues 120 / 26 = 4.62 hours per paycheck. For per-hour accrual, divide the annual hours by 2,080 to get the rate per hour worked: 120 / 2,080 = 0.0577 hours of PTO for every hour on the clock.
120 hours of PTO is how many days?
120 hours of PTO is 15 days on a standard 8-hour schedule (120 / 8). On a 10-hour shift it is 12 days, and on a 12-hour shift it is 10 days. Employers track PTO in hours because a day off costs more hours for employees on longer shifts.
How many hours is 10 days of PTO?
10 days of PTO is 80 hours for an 8-hour workday. On a 10-hour schedule it is 100 hours, and on a 12-hour schedule it is 120 hours. Multiply the days by the length of your normal shift to convert.
What does "accrue 1 hour per 30 hours worked" mean?
For every 30 hours on the clock, the employee earns 1 hour of paid time off. A full-time employee working 40 hours a week earns 1.33 hours of PTO weekly, which is about 69 hours (8.7 days) over a 2,080-hour year. This structure is common for hourly workers and is how most state and city paid sick leave laws are written.
How is PTO calculated for salaried employees?
Salaried employees usually accrue a fixed amount per pay period rather than per hour worked, because their hours are not tracked for pay. Convert the annual allowance to hours and divide by pay periods: 15 days paid semi-monthly is 120 / 24 = 5 hours per paycheck. For a payout estimate, the hourly rate of a salaried employee is annual salary divided by 2,080.
Does PTO accrue during PTO?
Under most per-pay-period policies, yes. Paid time off is paid time, so the employee receives the normal accrual for that pay period. Under per-hour-worked policies it depends on whether the employer counts PTO hours as hours worked; many do not, and state sick leave laws generally only require accrual on hours actually worked.
What is a PTO accrual cap?
A cap is the maximum balance an employee can hold; accrual pauses until the balance drops below it. Caps are commonly set at 1.5x to 2x the annual accrual rate. Whether unused PTO can expire at all depends on state law. Some states treat accrued PTO as earned wages that cannot be forfeited, though they still allow a reasonable cap on further accrual.
Do employers have to pay out accrued PTO when an employee leaves?
It depends on the state. Some states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Nebraska, require paying out all accrued, unused PTO as final wages. Others leave it to company policy. Check the specific rule in your state before setting policy.
Does PTO accrue during overtime hours?
Under most per-hours-worked policies, yes. Accrual is based on all hours worked, including overtime, unless the policy caps accrual at 40 hours per week. Per-pay-period accrual is unaffected by overtime because it grants a fixed amount each period.
Related Calculators and Guides
What Is PTO?
Meaning, types of paid time off, and how policies work.
PTO Payout Laws by State
Which states require paying out unused PTO at separation.
Work Days in a Year
How many working days are in any year.
Payroll Hours Calculator
Calculate hours for any pay period with overtime.
Salary to Hourly Calculator
Convert annual salary to an hourly rate.
Time Off Tracker Template
Spreadsheet for tracking balances and requests.
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