PTO Accrual Calculator
This free PTO accrual calculator works out how much paid time off you have earned and your current balance. Choose your accrual method (per pay period, per hour worked, or an annual lump), enter your rate and hours used, and see the balance in hours and days.
Enter your accrual rate and pay periods to see your balance.
The three ways PTO is handed out
Accrual means you earn PTO gradually instead of getting it all at once. There are three common setups, and which one you are on decides what this calculator should tell you.
Per hour worked is the most common for hourly staff: you earn a fraction of an hour of PTO for every hour on the clock, so a slow month earns less. Per pay period gives you a fixed amount each payday regardless of hours. A lump sum drops the whole year in at once, usually on 1 January or your work anniversary.
If you are not sure which applies to you, or what PTO covers in the first place, start with what PTO is and how it works.
Accrual rates at a glance
The table converts a yearly allowance into the smaller numbers you actually see on a payslip. It assumes 8-hour days, 26 biweekly pay periods, and a 2,080-hour work year, which is the standard US full-time basis.
Read it in whichever direction you need. If your policy says 4.62 hours a period, you are on 15 days a year. If it says 0.0577 per hour worked, same thing.
| Days a year | Hours a year | Per biweekly period | Per hour worked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days | 40 hours | 1.54 hours | 0.019 |
| 10 days | 80 hours | 3.08 hours | 0.038 |
| 12 days | 96 hours | 3.69 hours | 0.046 |
| 15 days | 120 hours | 4.62 hours | 0.058 |
| 20 days | 160 hours | 6.15 hours | 0.077 |
| 25 days | 200 hours | 7.69 hours | 0.096 |
Caps are where the surprises live
Two different caps get confused. A carryover cap limits how much unused time rolls into next year. An accrual cap limits your total balance at any moment, and once you hit it you stop earning until you take some time off. The second one is the one that quietly costs people days.
Part-time hours change the answer too. On a per-hour policy, half the hours earn half the PTO, so a yearly figure quoted for full-time staff does not apply to you unchanged.
For running this across a team rather than one person, TimeTracker's time off holds real policies with accrual rules and opening balances, and everyone can see their own balance. The free PTO tracker template is the spreadsheet version.
Frequently asked questions
Common queries and answers about the pto accrual calculator.
- How does per-hour accrual work?
- You earn a set fraction of PTO for each hour worked. For example, 0.05 hours of PTO per hour worked is roughly two weeks of PTO over a full year.
- How many days is my balance?
- The tool converts your hour balance to days using an 8-hour day. Adjust mentally if your standard day differs.
- Does it handle carryover and caps?
- Enter your carried-over hours as the starting balance. This calculator does not enforce accrual caps, so check your own policy for a maximum.
Tired of doing this by hand?
TimeTracker captures every hour automatically and turns it into timesheets, invoices, and live profitability.