Paid time off · accrual
PTO calculator
Turn your employer's accrual rule into hours, days and dollars: what you earn each paycheck, over a year, and how long it takes to save up a week off.
Conversion table
Common PTO allowances, broken down
Full time: 40 hours a week, 2,080 hours a year, 8-hour days.
| Days a year | Hours a year | Per hour worked | 1 hour for every | Weekly | Biweekly | Semimonthly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days | 40 h | 0.0192 | 52.0 h | 0.77 h | 1.54 h | 1.67 h | 3.33 h |
| 10 days | 80 h | 0.0385 | 26.0 h | 1.54 h | 3.08 h | 3.33 h | 6.67 h |
| 15 days | 120 h | 0.0577 | 17.3 h | 2.31 h | 4.62 h | 5 h | 10 h |
| 20 days | 160 h | 0.0769 | 13.0 h | 3.08 h | 6.15 h | 6.67 h | 13.33 h |
| 25 days | 200 h | 0.0962 | 10.4 h | 3.85 h | 7.69 h | 8.33 h | 16.67 h |
The math
How PTO accrual works
Most employers let paid time off build up a little at a time instead of handing it all out on January 1. The rule is written one of three ways, and they all come down to the same number: hours of PTO per hour you work.
rate=PTO hours a year ÷ hours worked a year
earned=rate × hours worked
Fifteen days a year is 120 hours. Spread over 2,080 working hours that is 0.0577 hours per hour worked, so a 40-hour week earns 2.31 hours and a biweekly paycheck shows 4.62. If you work 32 hours a week on the same policy, you earn the same rate per hour but only 96 hours a year, unless the policy grants a fixed amount per paycheck.
Per paycheck versus per hour worked
A per-paycheck rule pays the same hours whether the period had 70 hours of work or 90, which suits salaried staff. A per-hour rule tracks what you actually worked, so overtime can earn more PTO, if the policy counts those hours, and unpaid leave earns none. Ask which hours count: many policies accrue on hours worked but not on PTO itself, so taking a week off earns nothing for that week.
Caps and use-it-or-lose-it
A cap stops accrual once your balance hits a ceiling, often one and a half to two times the yearly amount. Hit it and you stop earning until you take time off, which is the same as a pay cut you did not notice. Some states, California among them, ban use-it-or-lose-it rules for vacation but allow caps; others allow both. Your PTO is part of your pay: a $25-an-hour worker with 15 days a year is getting $3,000 of it as time off.
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Questions
PTO, answered
How do I calculate PTO accrual per hour?
Divide the PTO hours you earn in a year by the hours you work in a year. Two weeks (80 hours) on a full-time 2,080-hour schedule is 80 / 2,080 = 0.0385 hours of PTO for every hour worked, or about 1 hour for every 26 hours.
How much PTO is 1 hour for every 30 hours worked?
At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks it is 69.33 hours a year, which is 8.7 eight-hour days. It is the accrual rate California requires as a minimum for paid sick leave.
How much is my PTO worth?
Multiply the hours by your hourly rate. 80 hours at $25 an hour is $2,000. Salaried workers can use salary divided by 2,080 as their hourly rate.
Do I get paid for unused PTO when I leave?
It depends on your state and your employer's written policy. California, Colorado and Illinois, among others, treat earned vacation as wages that must be paid out. Many states leave it to the policy, and sick leave usually does not have to be paid out.