PTO accrual calculator
PTO accrual means earning paid time off gradually, a little each pay period, instead of getting the full year's allowance on day one. This calculator turns a yearly allowance into a per-period rate, projects a balance to any date, and prorates a mid-year start.
How PTO accrual works
There are two ways to hand out paid time off. With a lump sum, everyone gets the whole year's allowance on January 1 (or on their work anniversary) and can use it from day one. With accrual, time off builds up as you work: a set amount every pay period, every month, or for every hour worked. By December you've earned the same total either way; what changes is when you can use it.
Companies accrue for a few practical reasons. It stops someone from taking a full year of PTO in February and leaving in March. It makes the balance a person sees match what they've actually earned so far. And in some places the law expects paid time off, or at least sick time, to be earned gradually. Whatever the reason, the math behind it is the same, and it's simpler than most policy documents make it look.
How to calculate PTO accrual
Divide the yearly allowance by the number of times it accrues. That's the whole formula:
PTO per period = PTO per year ÷ periods per year
There are 52 periods a year if PTO accrues weekly, 26 on a two-week pay cycle, 24 if you're paid twice a month and 12 if it accrues monthly. For accrual per hour worked, divide by the hours worked in a year instead (hours per week × 52).
Three worked examples, one for each common setup:
- Salaried, paid every two weeks, 15 days a year. 15 days × 8 hours is 120 hours. 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours added every paycheck.
- Hourly, 40 hours a week, the same 120 hours. 120 ÷ (40 × 52) = 0.0577 hours for every hour worked, which is about 1 hour of PTO for every 17.3 hours on the clock. A full 40-hour week adds 2.31 hours.
- Monthly, counted in days, 15 days a year. 15 ÷ 12 = 1.25 days on the first of each month.
To project a balance, start from what you have today, add one accrual for every period between now and the date you care about, and take off any time off you've already booked. The calculator's second tab does exactly that and lists every accrual date so you can check it against your payslips. Once you know the days are there, the free PTO request form counts the working days in your dates and writes the request to your manager.
PTO accrual chart
Hours added per period for the most common allowances, assuming an 8-hour workday:
| PTO per year | Weekly | Every two weeks | Twice a month | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Working a different day length? Multiply the days by your hours per day, then divide by the number of periods, or switch the calculator to days.
Prorating PTO for new hires
Someone who joins in June shouldn't get a full year's allowance for half a year of work, so most policies prorate the first year. There are two common ways to do it.
By whole months. Count the months left in the year and give that share of the allowance. Many policies count the start month if the person joins by the 15th. With 20 days a year and a June 10 start, that's June to December, 7 of 12 months: 20 × 7 ÷ 12 = 11.67 days. Start on June 20 instead and it's 6 months, or 10 days.
By days. Count the calendar days from the start date to December 31. June 10 to December 31, 2026 is 205 of 365 days, so 20 × 205 ÷ 365 = 11.23 days. It's more precise and slightly less generous for early-month starts.
Neither method is more correct. Pick one, write it in the handbook, and apply it the same way to everyone.
Caps, carryover and payouts
An accrual cap is the most PTO someone can hold at once. When the balance reaches it, accrual pauses until they take some time off, then resumes. Caps keep balances from growing without limit, and they nudge people to actually take a break. The calculator's balance tab has an optional cap for this: it stops adding PTO at the cap and never takes away time that was already earned.
Carryover is a separate rule about what happens at the end of the year: whether unused PTO rolls over, how much of it, and for how long. Payouts cover what happens to an unused balance when someone leaves. Both vary a lot by company, and payout rules also vary by US state and by country, so check the rules where your team works. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
How is PTO accrual calculated?
Divide the yearly allowance by the number of times it accrues. 120 hours a year on a two-week pay cycle is 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours per paycheck. For accrual per hour worked, divide by the hours worked in a year instead: 120 ÷ (40 × 52) = 0.0577 hours for every hour worked.
How much PTO per pay period is 80 hours a year?
3.08 hours if you're paid every two weeks, 3.33 hours if you're paid twice a month, 1.54 hours a week, or 6.67 hours a month.
What's a typical PTO accrual rate?
The rate follows the allowance. On a two-week pay cycle, 10 days a year is 3.08 hours per paycheck, 15 days is 4.62 hours and 20 days is 6.15 hours. The chart above covers the common allowances at every schedule.
Does PTO keep accruing while you're on PTO?
That's set by your company's policy rather than by the math, so check the employee handbook or ask HR. If it does, keep the accrual dates in the calculator as they are; if it doesn't, lower the yearly allowance by the time you expect to take.
What happens to accrued PTO when you leave a job?
It depends on where you work. Some US states and countries require unused PTO to be paid out and others leave it to the company's policy, so check your local labor department or your contract. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Working this out once is easy. Keeping every balance right, every payday, for a whole team is where spreadsheets fall apart. If your team lives in Slack, a PTO tracker that lives in Slack lets people request time off, get approvals and check their own balance without leaving it.