PTO Calculator — Accrual Rate & Balance Projector

Calculate PTO accrual per pay period or project your future vacation balance with rollover caps and use-it-or-lose-it rules by state.

July 5, 2026

Annual PTO Amount

Unit

Hours per Workday

Pay Frequency

PTO Accrued Per Pay Period

4.62 hrs (0.58 days)

120 annual hours ÷ 26 pay periods/year

No federal PTO mandate exists — accrual rates, rollover, caps, and use-it-or-lose-it rules are set entirely by employer policy (and, in some states, limited by law). California, Colorado, Montana, and Nebraska treat accrued PTO as earned wages and prohibit forcing employees to forfeit it at year-end — employers there can still cap total accrual but must allow carryover.

Accrual per pay period = Annual PTO hours ÷ Pay periods per year. Balance projections use 365.25 days/year to estimate the number of pay periods between today and your target date, so results are approximate — always confirm exact accrual timing and any caps against your employer's actual written PTO policy.

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Reference Values

Last verified: Jul 5, 2026

Category	Range	What It Means	Status
Under 1 year of service	≈4.5 hrs/pay period (≈10-11 days/yr)	Common starting accrual rate offered to new hires before their first tenure milestone.	Okay
1-4 years of service	≈10 days/yr	Bureau of Labor Statistics benchmark median for private-industry workers after 1 year of service.	Good
5-9 years of service	≈6.5 hrs/pay period (≈15-17 days/yr)	Typical accrual increase employers apply once an employee crosses the 5-year tenure mark.	Good
10+ years of service ★	≈15-19 days/yr	Bureau of Labor Statistics benchmark for long-tenured private-industry workers — the top of most accrual schedules.	★ Best
Weekly pay periods	÷52 per year	Divisor used to convert annual PTO hours into a per-paycheck accrual rate.	Good
Biweekly pay periods	÷26 per year	Most common US pay frequency — e.g. 120 annual hours ÷ 26 = 4.62 hrs/period.	Good
Semimonthly pay periods	÷24 per year	Two fixed paydays per month (e.g. 1st and 15th) — e.g. 120 annual hours ÷ 24 = 5.0 hrs/period.	Good
Monthly pay periods	÷12 per year	e.g. 120 annual hours ÷ 12 = 10.0 hrs/period.	Good
Hourly-employee accrual rate	≈0.0385-0.0577 hrs earned per hr worked	Common range for hourly/non-exempt employees — roughly equivalent to 10-15 annual PTO days for a full-time schedule.	Okay
Common accrual cap	≈1.5-2x the annual accrual rate	Even in states that ban use-it-or-lose-it, employers may still stop accrual once a balance hits this ceiling.	Okay
No-use-it-or-lose-it states ★	California, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska	These states treat accrued PTO as earned wages that must carry over — employers can cap accrual but cannot force forfeiture at year-end, and unused balances must be paid out at termination (e.g. California Labor Code §227.3).	★ Best

Source: SHRM PTO accrual benchmarking guidance; Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey (Employee Benefits in the United States); Deel PTO-accrual explainer; Shouse Law Group summary of California Labor Code §227.3 and use-it-or-lose-it rules. There is no federal PTO mandate — all figures reflect common employer policy and BLS survey benchmarks, not legal requirements, except where a specific state statute is cited.

Worked Examples

New Hire, Biweekly Pay

Annual PTO: 10 days (80 hrs)
Hours per Workday: 8
Pay Frequency: Biweekly (26/yr)

3.08 hrs (0.38 days) per paycheck

80 annual hours ÷ 26 pay periods = 3.08 hrs per paycheck — a typical starting rate before any tenure-based increase.

Standard 15-Day Policy, Biweekly Pay

Annual PTO: 15 days (120 hrs)
Hours per Workday: 8
Pay Frequency: Biweekly (26/yr)

4.62 hrs (0.58 days) per paycheck

120 annual hours ÷ 26 pay periods = 4.62 hrs per paycheck — the most common full-time PTO benchmark in the US.

5+ Year Tenure, Semimonthly Pay

Annual PTO: 17 days (136 hrs)
Hours per Workday: 8
Pay Frequency: Semimonthly (24/yr)

5.67 hrs (0.71 days) per paycheck

136 annual hours ÷ 24 pay periods = 5.67 hrs per paycheck, reflecting the accrual bump many employers apply after 5 years of service.

Balance Projector With a Cap

Current Balance: 150 hrs
Accrual Rate: 4.62 hrs/pay period
Pay Frequency: Biweekly (26/yr)
Cap: 160 hrs
Projection Window: 6 months (~13 pay periods)

160.00 hrs (capped)

Uncapped projection: 150 + (13 × 4.62) ≈ 210.06 hrs, but a 160-hr accrual cap (about 2x the 80-hr annual rate) stops further accrual once the balance hits the ceiling — the extra hours are not banked.

Hourly Employee Accrual

Hours Worked: 1,820 hrs/yr (35 hrs/week)
Accrual Rate: 0.04 hrs earned per hr worked

72.8 hrs (≈9.1 days) accrued per year

1,820 hours worked × 0.04 accrual rate = 72.8 hours accrued for the year — the per-hour-worked method commonly used for part-time and hourly staff instead of a flat per-pay-period rate.

How to Use This Calculator

1

Choose a mode

"Accrual Rate" calculates how much PTO you earn per paycheck; "Balance Projector" forecasts your future PTO balance on a specific date.
2

Enter your annual PTO amount

Type your annual PTO in days or hours, set your hours per workday, and pick your pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly).
3

Read your per-paycheck accrual rate

The result shows PTO earned per pay period in both hours and days, along with the annual-hours ÷ pay-periods math behind it.
4

Switch to Balance Projector

Enter your current PTO balance, your accrual rate per pay period, an optional accrual cap, and the future date you want to project to.
5

Check the cap and state note

If your employer caps accrual, toggle the cap on to see if your projected balance would hit the ceiling — and read the disclaimer on use-it-or-lose-it legality in your state.

What Each Value Means

PTO Accrual Rate (hours per pay period): The amount of paid time off an employee earns each pay period, calculated as annual PTO hours divided by the number of pay periods in a year.
PTO Balance (hours): The total unused paid time off an employee currently has banked, expressed in hours (or the day equivalent based on a standard workday length).
Accrual Cap (hours): A ceiling some employers set on how much PTO can accumulate — once a balance hits the cap, further accrual pauses until the employee uses time off and the balance drops below it again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a federal law requiring PTO?

No. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to offer paid vacation, sick leave, or any other form of PTO — it's entirely a matter of employer policy or, in some states and cities, locally mandated sick leave. Everything about how PTO accrues, rolls over, or gets paid out comes from your employer's written policy and any applicable state law, not federal law.

Is use-it-or-lose-it PTO legal?

It depends on your state. Most states allow employers to set a "use it or lose it" policy that forfeits unused PTO at year-end, as long as the policy is written down and communicated in advance. California, Colorado, Montana, and Nebraska are the main exceptions — they treat accrued PTO as earned wages, so forcing forfeiture is illegal (California Labor Code §227.3 is the most cited example). Employers in those states can still cap how much PTO you accumulate, they just can't erase what you've already earned.

How is PTO accrual per paycheck calculated?

The standard formula is Annual PTO hours ÷ Pay periods per year. For example, 15 days (120 hours) of annual PTO divided by 26 biweekly pay periods works out to about 4.62 hours added to your balance every paycheck. Switch the pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly) in the calculator above and the per-period rate updates automatically.

Does PTO accrual rate increase with tenure?

At most employers, yes. A common pattern is roughly 4.5 hours per pay period (about 10-11 days a year) for employees under a year of service, rising to around 6.5 hours per pay period (15-17 days a year) after 5 years, and topping out around 15-19 days a year for employees with a decade or more of tenure. These are common benchmarks reported by SHRM and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not universal rules — your own accrual schedule depends entirely on your employer's policy.

What happens to unused PTO when I leave my job?

In California, Colorado, Montana, and Nebraska, accrued and unused PTO is treated as earned wages and must be paid out in your final paycheck when you leave, regardless of whether you quit or were let go. In most other states, payout at termination depends entirely on what your employer's written policy says — some pay out unused PTO in full, some pay out nothing, and some fall somewhere in between. Always check your employee handbook or offer letter for the exact language that applies to you.