PTO Calculator
Work out exactly how much paid time off you've earned, what it's worth in cash, how much a new hire gets this year, and how many business days sit between two dates — built around real US pay periods and federal holidays.
Projected balance
Estimated PTO payout
Prorated PTO
Days in range
§ 01What This PTO Calculator Actually Does
Most "PTO calculators" online do one thing: multiply a rate by a number of pay periods. This one is built to answer the four questions people actually type into Google when they're staring at a pay stub or an offer letter — how much PTO have I earned so far, what is my unused time off worth in cash, how much do I get if I'm starting or leaving mid-year, and how many actual usable days fall between two dates once weekends and federal holidays are stripped out. Each mode above runs independently, so you can jump straight to the one that matches your situation without re-entering data.
§ 02How PTO Accrual Math Works, Step by Step
PTO accrual is simply your annual allowance divided into equal slices, one slice added to your balance every time you get paid. The two numbers that decide the size of each slice are your pay frequency and your annual hours allowance.
- Weekly pay (52 periods/year): 120 annual hours ÷ 52 ≈ 2.31 hours per paycheck.
- Biweekly pay (26 periods/year): 120 annual hours ÷ 26 ≈ 4.62 hours per paycheck.
- Semimonthly pay (24 periods/year): 120 annual hours ÷ 24 = 5.00 hours per paycheck.
- Monthly pay (12 periods/year): 120 annual hours ÷ 12 = 10.00 hours per paycheck.
Two employees with the same 15-day annual allowance can see very different numbers on their pay stub purely because of pay frequency — this trips up a lot of people comparing offers, and it's exactly why the calculator above lets you switch the unit instead of forcing you to do the conversion by hand.
A second variable many calculators ignore: the accrual cap. A large share of US employers cap how much PTO can accumulate — commonly somewhere between 1.5x and 2x the annual allowance — after which accrual pauses until the balance drops. If your employer enforces a cap, enter it in the "Annual accrual cap" field so the projection doesn't overstate your real balance.
§ 03What Happens to Unused PTO When You Leave a Job
This is the single most searched PTO question, and the honest answer is: it depends on where you work and what your employer's written policy says. In the US there is no single federal rule requiring PTO payout — the Fair Labor Standards Act doesn't classify PTO as wages the way it does hourly pay. Instead, the rule comes from a patchwork of state statutes and, absent a state law, whatever your employer's PTO policy states in writing. Broadly, states fall into three buckets:
A number of states treat accrued, unused PTO as earned wages once it's credited to an employee, meaning it generally must be paid out at separation regardless of the reason for leaving, unless a clear forfeiture policy was agreed to in advance.
Many states leave the payout decision to the employer's written policy — if the handbook says unused PTO is forfeited on exit, that generally holds, as long as it was clearly communicated before the time was earned.
A smaller group of states specifically prohibit "use-it-or-lose-it" forfeiture policies, though they may still allow reasonable accrual caps that stop future accrual without erasing what's already banked.
Because these rules change and vary by state — and sometimes by whether PTO is bundled with sick leave or kept separate — treat the categories above as a starting point, not a final answer. Before relying on a number for a resignation or negotiation, confirm the current rule with your state's Department of Labor and your own employee handbook. The Payout Value tab above gives you the dollar value of your unused balance once you know whether it's owed to you.
How PTO payout is usually calculated
Regardless of state, the formula employers use to calculate the payout amount is consistent: unused PTO hours × your regular hourly rate at the time of separation. If you're salaried, your effective hourly rate is generally your annual salary divided by your standard annual hours (2,080 for a 40-hour week). That's exactly the math running in the Payout Value tab — switch to "Annual salary" if that's the number on your offer letter instead of an hourly wage.
§ 04Prorating PTO for New Hires and Departing Employees
If you start a job on August 1st with a 15-day annual allowance, you typically don't get all 15 days — you get a share proportional to the months left in the calendar year, unless your employer front-loads the full amount on day one as a hiring perk. The standard proration formula is:
Prorated PTO = Annual Allowance × (Days Remaining in Year ÷ Total Days in Year)
The same formula runs in reverse for someone leaving mid-year: their earned allowance is the annual amount multiplied by the share of the year they actually worked. Employers vary on whether they round to the nearest half-day, whole day, or leave it as a decimal — the Prorated PTO tab above gives you the exact decimal figure so you can compare it against whatever your HR system reports.
§ 05Accrual Structures Compared: Which One Do You Have?
| Structure | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Per-pay-period accrual | A fixed number of hours is added to your balance every paycheck, up to an optional cap. | Hourly and non-exempt employees; most common structure in the US. |
| Front-loaded / lump sum | The full annual allowance is deposited on January 1st (or hire date), with no further accrual that year. | Employers who want simpler payroll admin and employees who want predictable time off early in the year. |
| Unlimited PTO | No fixed bank of hours; time off is approved case by case against company norms, so there's technically nothing to "accrue" or pay out. | Salaried, exempt roles at companies prioritizing flexibility over a tracked balance. |
| Tenure-based accrual | The accrual rate itself increases at set milestones (e.g., 1 year, 5 years) so longer-tenured employees earn PTO faster per paycheck. | Companies rewarding retention with a growing benefit rather than a flat rate. |
§ 06Frequently Asked Questions
How is PTO accrual calculated?
Divide your annual PTO allowance by the number of pay periods in your work year, then add that amount to your running balance each time you're paid. A 120-hour annual allowance on a biweekly schedule accrues about 4.62 hours per paycheck; the same allowance on a monthly schedule accrues 10 hours per paycheck.
Is unused PTO paid out when you quit or get laid off?
It depends on your state's laws and your employer's written policy. Some states require payout of earned PTO regardless of the reason for separation, some leave it entirely to the employer's policy, and a few restrict "use-it-or-lose-it" forfeiture specifically. Check your state labor department and your handbook for the exact rule.
Does PTO roll over to the next year?
Rollover rules are set by the employer's policy and sometimes shaped by state law. Common setups include unlimited rollover, a capped carryover amount, full forfeiture at year-end, or a hybrid where part of the balance carries over and the rest is paid out or lost.
How much PTO does a new employee get in their first year?
Most employers prorate the annual allowance based on the start date, so a mid-year hire earns a proportional share of the full-year amount rather than the entire balance — unless the company front-loads PTO in full as part of onboarding.
Is a PTO payout taxed differently than a regular paycheck?
PTO payouts are usually treated as supplemental wages by the IRS, which employers commonly withhold at a flat federal rate near 22%, on top of standard Social Security, Medicare, and applicable state taxes. Your actual year-end tax bill depends on total annual income, so the withholding rate isn't necessarily your final tax rate.
What's the difference between PTO and vacation time?
"PTO" is usually a combined bank of hours that can cover vacation, personal days, and sometimes sick time in a single balance. "Vacation time" often refers to a separate, narrower category used specifically for planned time away from work, with sick leave tracked and accrued on its own.
Do part-time employees accrue PTO?
Many employers do offer prorated PTO to part-time staff, typically based on hours actually worked rather than a flat rate, but this is determined entirely by company policy since there's no federal requirement to offer PTO at all.
§ 07Methodology & Data Sources
The accrual engine uses standard US pay-frequency conventions (52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, and 12 monthly periods per year) and a 365.25-day year to smooth leap-year variance across multi-year projections. The business-day engine calculates the eleven federally recognized US holidays for any year in your selected range, applying the standard federal observance rule — a holiday landing on a Saturday is observed the preceding Friday, and one landing on a Sunday is observed the following Monday. Payout and proration figures use plain proportional math with no rounding applied, so you can compare the raw figure against your employer's own rounding convention.
This calculator provides general estimates for informational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or HR compliance advice. PTO accrual, payout, and rollover rules vary by state, employer policy, and employment classification. Always confirm figures against your official pay records, employee handbook, and applicable state labor law, or consult a qualified HR or legal professional for decisions that affect your pay.