Vacation & PTO Calculator 2026
Calculate vacation accrual by hours per pay period or days per year. Track balance, carryover, and estimated payout value. Free—no sign-up.
Calculate your PTO balance
Enter your accrual rate, pay period, periods elapsed, and any used or carryover time.
= 0.58 days per biweekly period
6.92
days available
Accrued
6.92
days
Carryover
0.00
days
Used
0.00
days
Based on 8-hr days, 26 biweekly periods
Source: BLS National Compensation Survey
Labor Code §227.3 — accrued vacation = earned wages; use-it-or-lose-it prohibited
COMPS Order / SB 87 (2021) — use-it-or-lose-it prohibited
Employers must pay all accrued, unused vacation at separation
Required for employers with 11+ employees (state statute)
MGL c.149 §148 — earned vacation is wages
Traditional vacation pay = wages; use-it-or-lose-it prohibited
Accrued vacation = wages; use-it-or-lose-it prohibited
Required after 1+ year of employment
Most other states follow employer policy
How PTO accrual works
Your employer grants a set number of vacation days annually (e.g. 15 days). These spread evenly across all pay periods in the year.
Rate per period = days/yr ÷ periods/yr
e.g. 15 ÷ 26 = 0.577 days/period
= 4.62 hours/period (at 8 hrs/day)
Best for: salaried employees on standard schedules. Easy to compare across companies.
Your employer specifies a fixed number of hours you earn each pay period (e.g. 3.08 hrs biweekly). Common for hourly workers.
Accrued to date = rate × periods elapsed
e.g. 3.08 × 12 periods = 36.96 hours
= 4.62 days (at 8 hrs/day)
Best for: hourly employees, part-time workers, or employers who track time in hours.
Balance = Accrued to date + Carryover − Used
Accrued to date = Rate per period × Pay periods elapsed
Carryover = min(Prior year unused, Max carryover cap)
Example: 15 days/yr (biweekly), 18 periods elapsed, 3 days used, 5 days carryover: accrued = (15÷26) × 18 = 10.38 days; balance = 10.38 + 5 − 3 = 12.38 days.
Common accrual rates reference table
Hours accrued per pay period for the most common PTO allowances (based on 8-hour work days).
| Days/Year | Total Hours | Weekly (52) | Biweekly (26) | Semi-monthly (24) | Monthly (12) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days | 40 hrs | 0.77 hrs | 1.54 hrs | 1.67 hrs | 3.33 hrs |
| 10 days | 80 hrs | 1.54 hrs | 3.08 hrs | 3.33 hrs | 6.67 hrs |
| 15 days | 120 hrs | 2.31 hrs | 4.62 hrs | 5.00 hrs | 10.00 hrs |
| 20 days | 160 hrs | 3.08 hrs | 6.15 hrs | 6.67 hrs | 13.33 hrs |
| 25 days | 200 hrs | 3.85 hrs | 7.69 hrs | 8.33 hrs | 16.67 hrs |
PTO payout at termination
When you leave a job, whether your unused PTO is paid out depends on state law and your employer's policy. California, Colorado, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, and Nebraska treat accrued vacation as earned wages and always require payout. Rhode Island requires payout after 1+ year of service. Several more states require payout unless a written forfeiture policy exists. Most other states leave it to company policy.
To estimate the dollar value of your PTO balance, enter your annual salary in the calculator above. The tool uses your effective daily rate (salary ÷ 260 working days) for day-based accrual, or hourly rate for hour-based accrual.
Tax on PTO payout
PTO payouts at termination are typically taxed as supplemental wages (22% flat federal withholding, or aggregate with your last paycheck). See our Bonus Tax Calculator and Severance Pay Calculator.
California
Labor Code §227.3 — accrued vacation = earned wages; use-it-or-lose-it prohibited
Colorado
COMPS Order / SB 87 (2021) — use-it-or-lose-it prohibited
Louisiana
Employers must pay all accrued, unused vacation at separation
Maine
Required for employers with 11+ employees (state statute)
Massachusetts
MGL c.149 §148 — earned vacation is wages
Montana
Traditional vacation pay = wages; use-it-or-lose-it prohibited
Nebraska
Accrued vacation = wages; use-it-or-lose-it prohibited
Rhode Island
Required after 1+ year of employment
North Dakota
Required on involuntary separation; conditional for voluntary
Maryland / New Mexico
Required unless employer has written forfeiture policy
Texas / Florida / Georgia
No state mandate — governed entirely by employer policy
Types of PTO policies
Traditional accrual
Earns time off gradually each pay period. Balance grows as you work. Common in government and legacy employers.
Lump-sum (upfront)
Full year's allowance granted on Jan 1 or hire date. Balance depletes as time is used. No wait to use.
Unlimited PTO
No formal balance or accrual. Take time as needed with manager approval. Common at tech companies; studies show employees often take fewer days.
PTO bank
Combines vacation, personal, and sick days into one pool. Flexible—employees decide how to allocate. Replaces separate buckets.
How your PTO compares: 2026 benchmarks by tenure, company size, and industry — from BLS National Compensation Survey (March 2025)
Source: BLS National Compensation Survey, March 2025; Warp PTO Policy Guide 2026; BLS Employee Benefits Survey 2025
The BLS surveys thousands of US employers each year to track paid leave benchmarks. How you compare depends on your tenure, your employer's size, and whether your employer uses a separate vacation plan (vacation only) or a consolidated PTO bank (vacation + sick + personal). About 47% of workers with paid vacation are now on consolidated plans, up from 21% in 2010 (BLS).
| Years of service | Separate vacation plan | Consolidated PTO plan | Biweekly accrual (vacation plan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 8 days | ~11 days | 2.46 hrs/period |
| 1 year | 11 days | 14 days | 3.38 hrs/period |
| 3 years | 13 days | ~16 days | 4.00 hrs/period |
| 5 years | 15 days | 18 days | 4.62 hrs/period |
| 10 years | 17–18 days | 20 days | 5.23–5.54 hrs/period |
| 20+ years | 20 days | 23 days | 6.15 hrs/period |
BLS National Compensation Survey, March 2025. Private-sector employees. Biweekly accrual based on 8 hrs/day, 26 periods/yr.
By company size (new hire vacation days)
1–99 employees (small)
Many restrict PTO in first year
100–499 employees (mid)
More structured accrual schedules
500+ employees (large)
More competitive to attract talent
Fortune 500
Often plus personal days, flexible time
By industry (approximate — after 1 year)
Many offer unlimited PTO
Increases significantly with tenure
Higher at larger firms
Plus generous sick leave
Often on combined PTO bank
Often union contract-based
Part-timers often ineligible
State mandatory paid sick leave in 2026: 22 jurisdictions now require it — and how the law changed in 2025
Source: Inova Payroll — 2026 Paid Sick Leave Laws; GovDocs — State Paid Sick Leave 2026; Seyfarth Shaw (Virginia May 2026)
There is no federal paid sick leave mandate for private employers. However, 22 jurisdictions (21 states + DC) have enacted statewide requirements as of 2026. If your employer uses a combined PTO bank, it typically satisfies state sick leave requirements as long as the minimum accrual rate is met (commonly 1 hour per 30–40 hours worked).
States with mandatory paid sick leave (2026)
Paid leave for any reason (broader):
Illinois, Maine, Nevada — employees may use leave for any purpose, not just sick leave
2025–2026 changes at a glance
Alaska — NEW (Jul 1, 2025)
1 hr per 30 hrs worked; up to 56 hrs/yr
Nebraska — NEW (Oct 1, 2025)
1 hr per 30 hrs; 11+ employee employers
Michigan expanded (Oct 2025)
All employers now covered; accrual expanded to 72 hrs/yr
Connecticut expanded (Jan 2026)
Now covers employers with 11+ employees
Missouri REPEALED (Aug 2025)
Voter-approved law overturned by legislature
Virginia NEW (signed May 2026)
Phased: 50+ employees Jul 1, 2027; all employers Jan 1, 2029
California expanded (Jan 2026)
Crime victim court purposes now qualifying use
Oregon expanded (Jan 2026)
Blood donation added as qualifying reason
States with NO statewide paid sick leave mandate
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri (repealed), Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Note: Some cities/counties in these states (e.g. Austin TX, Philadelphia PA) have local sick leave ordinances. Always check local law.
The true dollar value of your unused PTO: how to calculate it, when to time your job change, and how PTO payouts are taxed
Source: IRS Publication 15 (Circular E) — supplemental wage withholding; state labor department payout rules
PTO has real monetary value — but many employees don't realize how to calculate it precisely or how to maximize it. In states that require PTO payout at termination (California, Colorado, Montana, etc.), unused PTO is legally your money and must be paid at your final rate of pay.
PTO dollar value formula:
Salaried: PTO value = (Annual salary ÷ 260 working days) × Unused PTO days
Hourly: PTO value = Hourly rate × Unused PTO hours
Example — $80,000 salary, 10 unused days:
$80,000 ÷ 260 × 10 = $3,077
Example — $40/hr hourly, 40 unused hours:
$40 × 40 = $1,600
Timing your departure in payout states
- In California, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Massachusetts, and other payout states, your accrued vacation is a legal wage debt — maximize it before leaving.
- If on a calendar-year accrual plan, consider timing your departure near year-end when your full year has accrued but before use-it-or-lose-it resets.
- In payout states, do NOT use all your PTO before resigning — let it accrue and receive cash payout instead.
- In non-payout states (TX, FL, GA, etc.), unused PTO is typically forfeited on termination unless your employer's written policy says otherwise.
How PTO payouts are taxed
Paid separately from regular wages
22% flat federal withholding (supplemental wage rate) + state income tax + 7.65% employee FICA (SS + Medicare)
Paid with final regular paycheck
Aggregate method — combined with wages and withheld at your marginal rate using tax tables
PTO in salary negotiation
5 extra vacation days at $80K salary = $1,538 in annual value (pre-tax). Negotiate PTO alongside salary — employers often have more flexibility on leave than on base pay.
See Bonus Tax Calculator and Severance Pay Calculator for related withholding.
The PTO balance and payout estimate above come from the accrual settings you enter—not a third-party feed. We calculate how much time off you have earned so far this year, add any carryover from last year (subject to your cap), subtract what you have already used, and optionally convert the remaining balance to dollars using your annual salary. Below are the formulas, the order we follow, and worked examples you can check by hand.
Formulas
| Line | Formula |
|---|---|
| Rate per pay period (days/year method) | Days per year ÷ pay periods per year |
| Rate per pay period (hours/period method) | Hours accrued each pay period (as entered) |
| Accrued to date | Rate per period × pay periods elapsed |
| Carryover applied | Carryover from last year, capped at max carryover if set |
| Available balance | max(0, accrued + carryover applied − used) |
| Payout value (hours) | Available hours × (annual salary ÷ 2,080) |
| Payout value (days) | Available days × (annual salary ÷ 260) |
| Percent used | Used ÷ (accrued + carryover applied) × 100 |
Order of operations
Choose how PTO accrues
Days per year · or · Hours per pay period
Most employers grant a fixed number of vacation days per year (e.g. 15) that accrue evenly each pay period. Others accrue a set number of hours per paycheck (e.g. 3.08 hours biweekly ≈ 15 days/year on a 8-hour day).
Calculate the accrual rate per period
Days/year: days ÷ periods per year · Hours/period: fixed hours
For days-per-year, divide your annual allotment by how many pay periods you have (26 biweekly, 24 semi-monthly, 52 weekly, or 12 monthly). For hours-per-period, use the hours your employer credits each paycheck.
Accrue PTO to date
Accrued = rate per period × periods elapsed
Multiply the per-period rate by how many pay periods have passed since your accrual year started (often January 1 or your hire anniversary). This is what you have earned so far—not your full annual grant unless all periods have elapsed.
Apply carryover from last year
Carryover applied = min(carryover, max cap) if cap set
If you rolled unused PTO from last year, add it here. When you set a max carryover cap, we only count up to that limit—excess is typically forfeited under use-it-or-lose-it policies.
Subtract time already used
Available = accrued + carryover applied − used (minimum 0)
Enter PTO you have already taken this accrual year. The result is your current available balance in hours or days.
Estimate payout value (optional)
Hours: balance × salary÷2,080 · Days: balance × salary÷260
If you enter an annual salary, we estimate what your remaining PTO is worth in gross dollars. We use 2,080 hours (52 weeks × 40 hours) for hourly conversion and 260 working days for daily conversion—these are standard full-time benchmarks, not your employer's exact policy.
Worked example
15 days/year, Biweekly (26/yr), 12 periods elapsed
15 days ÷ 26 biweekly periods = 0.58 days/period
0.58 × 12 periods = 6.92 days accrued
6.92 accrued − 0.00 used = 6.92 days available
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Accrual method | Days per year |
| Pay period | Biweekly (26/yr) |
| Rate per period | 0.58 days |
| Periods elapsed | 12 |
| Accrued to date | 6.92 days |
| Carryover applied | 0.00 days |
| Used | 0.00 days |
| Available balance | 6.92 days |
With carryover and salary: 15 days/year, Biweekly (26/yr), 12 periods elapsed → 7.92 days available, estimated payout $2,286 (7.92 days × $288/day ($75,000 ÷ 260) = $2,286).
Hours-per-period mode: 3.08 hrs × 12 periods = 36.96 hrs accrued, 26.96 hrs available after 10 used → payout $972 at $75,000 salary.
Constants we use
| Parameter | What we use |
|---|---|
| Weekly pay periods per year | 52 |
| Biweekly pay periods per year | 26 |
| Semi-monthly pay periods per year | 24 |
| Monthly pay periods per year | 12 |
| Full-time annual hours (payout) | 2,080 |
| Working days per year (payout) | 260 |
| 15 days/year on biweekly | 0.58 days/period |
| 3.08 hours/period biweekly | 80.1 hours/year |
What we do not model on this page
We model straightforward accrual math only—not employer-specific rounding rules, probationary waiting periods, front-loaded grants, state-mandated sick leave accrual schedules, part-time proration policies, negative balances or PTO advances, use-it-or-lose-it forfeiture beyond the carryover cap you enter, or tax withholding on a payout (PTO cashed out may be taxed as supplemental wages). Payout value is a gross estimate using 2,080 hours or 260 days; your employer may use different denominators. For take-home on a PTO payout, use our bonus tax calculator.