Free calculator
How much PTO you earn, and when you'll have enough.
Enter your PTO days a year and how often you're paid. See what you earn each paycheck and per hour worked, your balance over the next twelve months with your company's cap, and the date you'll have enough for the trip.
Each paycheck
4.62 h
0.58 days
Per hour worked
0.0577
about 1 hour per 17 worked
80 h by
Apr 18, 2027
How PTO accrual works, in plain terms.
Most US companies don't hand out a year's PTO on January 1. You accrue it: a slice each paycheck, or a fraction of an hour for every hour you work. The math is the same either way: your annual allowance in hours, divided by pay periods or by about 2,080 working hours.
Two rules change the picture. A cap stops your balance growing once it hits a limit, so an untouched balance stops earning. And a carryover limit decides how much survives December 31. If either applies, the chart above shows you when to book time off before you lose anything. See use-it-or-lose-it PTO for the rules.
Planning the trip itself? The PTO planner finds the bridge days that turn a few PTO days into the longest breaks.
For managers: a team's PTO is a calendar, not a balance.
Balances say how much people can take. The calendar says when they will, and who's out on release day. This board is live.
- Everyone's time off on one board
- Release dates warn who's away
- Holidays per person's country
- Drag across a row to add time off
Questions
How do you calculate PTO accrual?
Divide the PTO hours you get a year by the number of pay periods. 15 days at 8 hours is 120 hours: 4.62 hours every two weeks, 5 hours twice a month or 10 hours a month. Per hour worked, it's 120 ÷ 2,080, about 0.058 hours, or one hour for every 17 worked.
What is a typical PTO accrual rate?
For 10 days a year it's about 3.08 hours every two weeks, for 15 days about 4.62 and for 20 days about 6.15. Many companies raise the rate with years of service.
What is a PTO accrual cap?
A maximum balance. Once you reach it you stop earning PTO until you use some. Caps are often 1.5 to 2 times the annual allowance. In states like California, a cap is allowed but a use-it-or-lose-it rule isn't.
Does PTO accrue on overtime?
If your PTO accrues per hour worked, overtime hours usually count unless the policy says otherwise. If it accrues per pay period, overtime doesn't change it.