Free calculator
What your unused PTO is worth, and whether you'll get it.
Enter your unused hours and your salary or hourly rate to see what the balance is worth before taxes. Below: when PTO has to be paid out, how it's taxed, and what changes with unlimited PTO.
Salary is turned into an hourly rate over 2,080 hours (52 weeks of 40). Payouts are taxed as wages.
Your unused PTO is worth about
$3,654
before taxes, for 80 hours (10.0 days)
When PTO gets paid out, and when it doesn't.
There's no federal law that says unused PTO must be paid out. It's set by the states and by company policy. A few states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana and Nebraska, generally treat earned vacation as wages, so it has to be paid when you leave and can't simply expire. In most other states, the company's written policy decides, and many say unused PTO is forfeited.
Two details matter. If your company has one PTO bank for vacation and sickness, the whole bank may count as vacation for payout. And with unlimited PTO, there's usually no balance to pay out at all. This page is general information, not legal advice: check your state labor department or HR.
If you're leaving soon, it's often worth using the PTO instead: the PTO planner shows the bridge days that stretch it furthest.
Questions
Do you get paid for unused PTO when you quit?
It depends on your state and your company's policy. A few states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana and Nebraska, generally treat earned vacation as wages that must be paid out. In most other states it depends on the written policy.
How is PTO payout calculated?
Unused hours times your regular hourly rate. For a salary, the hourly rate is usually the salary divided by 2,080 hours.
Is PTO payout taxed?
Yes. It's paid as wages, so income tax and payroll taxes apply. It's often taxed as supplemental wages, which can make the withholding look higher than on a normal paycheck.
What happens to unlimited PTO when you leave?
Usually nothing is paid out, because there's no accrued balance. That's one reason companies like unlimited PTO. Read the policy carefully if you're weighing a job offer.
Is sick leave paid out when you leave?
Usually not. Most states don't require unused sick leave to be paid out, unless it's part of a single PTO bank that is.