PTO accrual calculator
Enter the hours of paid time off you earn each pay period, how often you are paid, your current balance and how many pay periods to look ahead. The calculator shows the balance at the end, the hours earned, and what is lost if your balance hits a cap.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Enter the hours you earn per pay period and choose how often you are paid.
- Enter your current balance and how many pay periods to look ahead.
- Optionally enter a cap and the hours you plan to take.
How it works
Each pay period adds the accrual rate to the balance. With a cap, the amount added is limited to what fits under the cap, and the rest is counted as lost. At the end the planned hours taken are subtracted. Working days are the final balance divided by the hours in a working day.
Worked example
Accrual of 4 hours every two weeks for 26 periods, starting from a balance of 10 hours, adds 26 × 4 = 104 hours and ends at 114 hours, which is 14.25 working days of 8 hours. With a cap of 160 and a start of 150, the balance goes 154, 158, 160, then stays there: out of 5 periods, 10 hours are earned and 10 are lost.
Notes
- Policies differ: waiting periods, front-loaded grants, carryover and payout are not modelled.
- Accrual per pay period does not depend on holidays or hours worked here.
Frequently asked questions
How is PTO accrual calculated?
The hours earned each pay period are added once per period. With 4 hours every two weeks, a year of 26 periods adds 104 hours. Check your employer's policy: some start accruing after a waiting period.
What does the cap do?
Many policies stop accruing when the balance reaches a limit. Here, hours that would go over the cap are not added and are shown as lost. Your own policy may differ, for example by paying out or carrying over.
When are the hours you plan to take subtracted?
At the end, after all periods have accrued. That is a simplification, because taking time earlier would keep you further from a cap.
Does the result depend on the hours in a working day?
Only the working days line does. The balance in hours is converted by dividing by the hours in a working day, such as 8.