To calculate PTO accrual, divide your yearly PTO hours by your number of pay periods. 15 days of PTO is 120 hours a year, so on biweekly pay you earn 4.62 hours per paycheck. If you accrue by hours worked, 1 hour per 30 hours at 40 hours a week comes to about 69 hours a year.
How to use this calculator
- Choose how your employer grants PTO: a fixed number of days a year, or so many hours per hours worked (such as 1 hour per 30).
- Enter your allowance and your hours per day, or the earn/per-hours ratio from your policy.
- Set the hours you work each week and how often you're paid.
- Read your accrual per pay period, per month, per year and per hour worked.
- Open “Project my balance”, enter your current balance, any cap and a date, and see what you'll have by then.
How it's calculated
Fixed allowance: annual hours = days × hours per day. Hours-worked policy: annual hours = (hours earned ÷ hours worked) × hours per week × 52.
Per pay period = annual hours ÷ pay periods (52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semi-monthly, 12 monthly). Per hour worked = annual hours ÷ (hours per week × 52).
The balance projection counts whole pay periods between today and your chosen date (one period every 365.25 ÷ periods-per-year days), adds that many accruals to your current balance, and stops at your cap if you set one. It doesn't subtract time you plan to take, so subtract that yourself.
Worked examples
15 days of PTO, paid biweekly
15 × 8 = 120 hours a year. 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours per paycheck, or 10 hours a month. Per hour worked that is 0.0577 hours.
1 hour for every 30 hours worked, part time
At 25 hours a week: (1 ÷ 30) × 25 × 52 = 43.3 hours a year, or 1.67 hours per biweekly check. A capped policy may stop you earning sooner, so check any limit.
Projecting a balance with semi-monthly pay
20 days a year is 160 hours, or 6.67 hours per semi-monthly paycheck. Starting from 20 hours, 8 more paychecks bring you to 73.33 hours — about 9.2 days.
PTO accrual rates by pay frequency
Hours earned each paycheck, based on 8-hour days.
| PTO / year | Hours | Weekly | Biweekly | Semi-monthly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days | 40 | 0.77 | 1.54 | 1.67 | 3.33 |
| 10 days | 80 | 1.54 | 3.08 | 3.33 | 6.67 |
| 12 days | 96 | 1.85 | 3.69 | 4 | 8 |
| 15 days | 120 | 2.31 | 4.62 | 5 | 10 |
| 18 days | 144 | 2.77 | 5.54 | 6 | 12 |
| 20 days | 160 | 3.08 | 6.15 | 6.67 | 13.33 |
| 25 days | 200 | 3.85 | 7.69 | 8.33 | 16.67 |
| 30 days | 240 | 4.62 | 9.23 | 10 | 20 |
Accrual per hours worked
| Policy | Per year (40 h/wk) | Per year (30 h/wk) | Per biweekly check (40 h/wk) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 h per 20 h | 104 h | 78 h | 4 h |
| 1 h per 26 h | 80 h | 60 h | 3.08 h |
| 1 h per 30 h | 69.3 h | 52 h | 2.67 h |
| 1 h per 35 h | 59.4 h | 44.6 h | 2.29 h |
| 1 h per 40 h | 52 h | 39 h | 2 h |
Federal employee leave (OPM)
If you're a federal employee, your leave is set by law rather than by employer policy. Full-time rates per biweekly pay period:
| Service | Annual leave per pay period | Annual leave per year | Sick leave per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 3 years | 4 h | 104 h | 104 h |
| 3 to 15 years | 6 h (10 h in last pay period) | 160 h | 104 h |
| 15+ years | 8 h | 208 h | 104 h |
Part-time federal employees earn annual leave at 1 hour per 20, 13 or 10 hours in a pay status, by the same service bands. Employees stationed in the U.S. can generally carry 240 hours (30 days) of annual leave into the new leave year; sick leave has no cap.
What affects your PTO balance
- Accrual caps. Many policies stop accrual once your balance reaches a maximum. When you hit it, taking time off is the only way to keep earning.
- Carryover limits and use-it-or-lose-it. Some employers limit how much rolls into the new year. California doesn't allow vested vacation to be forfeited, though it does allow caps.
- Hours that count. Hours-worked policies may leave out overtime, unpaid leave or on-call time. Your handbook says which hours count.
- Waiting periods and tenure tiers. Many plans give more PTO after a set number of years. Re-run the calculator with your new allowance when you move up a tier.
- Separate buckets. Some employers track vacation and sick leave separately; others combine them into one PTO bank. Work out each bucket on its own.
Common mistakes
- Dividing by 24 when you're paid every two weeks. Biweekly pay has 26 periods; semi-monthly (the 15th and last day) has 24.
- Assuming PTO is paid out when you leave. Payout rules depend on your state and employer — California requires vested vacation to be paid at termination, but there is no federal rule.
- Counting a 40-hour week when you actually work fewer hours. Hours-worked accrual scales with the hours you really work.
Is PTO required by law?
The Fair Labor Standards Act doesn't require payment for time not worked, such as vacations or holidays (U.S. Department of Labor). Paid vacation is a matter of your employer's policy or contract. Paid sick leave is different: 18 states and DC required it as of December 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and states such as California and Alaska set the rate at 1 hour per 30 hours worked. California's law lets employers limit use to 40 hours or 5 days a year. This page is general information, not legal or HR advice — your employer's written policy and your state labor agency have the final word.
Related: see what your time off is worth in pay with the hourly to salary calculator, or count the days until your vacation with the days from today calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How is PTO accrual calculated?
Divide your annual PTO hours by the number of pay periods. 15 days × 8 h = 120 h a year; with biweekly pay that's 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours per paycheck.
How much PTO is 1 hour for every 30 hours worked?
At 40 hours a week that's about 69 hours (8.7 days) a year, or 2.67 hours per biweekly paycheck. At 25 hours a week it's about 43 hours a year.
What is the PTO accrual rate per hour?
Annual PTO hours ÷ annual hours worked. 80 hours of PTO on a 2,080-hour year is 0.0385 hours per hour worked, or 1 hour for every 26 hours.
How many hours of PTO per pay period is 2 weeks of vacation?
Two weeks is 80 hours. That's 3.08 hours per biweekly paycheck, 3.33 semi-monthly, 1.54 weekly or 6.67 a month.
How many days is 80 hours of PTO?
10 working days at 8 hours a day, or 8 days if you work 10-hour shifts. Enter your hours per day in the calculator to convert.
Can PTO accrual be capped?
Usually, yes. Federal law does not require paid vacation, so caps are set by your employer's policy and state law. In California, vacation caps are allowed but use-it-or-lose-it forfeiture is not; California paid sick leave may be capped at 80 hours (10 days) accrued and 40 hours (5 days) used per year. Enter your cap in 'Project my balance'.
Is PTO required by law?
No federal law requires paid vacation or paid sick leave for private employers. As of December 2024, 18 states and DC required paid sick leave, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Alaska added a law in July 2025 (1 hour per 30 hours worked, 40–56 hours a year); Missouri's law ended on August 28, 2025.
What is California's paid sick leave rule?
Since January 1, 2024 (SB 616), you earn at least 1 hour per 30 hours worked. Your employer may limit use to 40 hours or 5 days a year and cap your total balance at 80 hours or 10 days.
How much annual leave do federal employees earn?
Full-time federal employees earn 4 hours per biweekly pay period with under 3 years of service (104 hours a year), 6 hours with 3 to 15 years (10 hours in the last pay period of the year, 160 hours a year), and 8 hours after 15 years (208 hours a year), per OPM. Employees stationed in the U.S. can generally carry over up to 240 hours into the next leave year.
How much sick leave do federal employees earn?
4 hours per biweekly pay period for full-time employees, or 104 hours a year, and there is no limit on how much can build up (OPM). Part-time employees earn 1 hour for every 20 hours in a pay status.
Sources & method
- U.S. Department of Labor — vacation leave (no federal requirement)
- California Labor Commissioner — paid sick leave FAQ (1 h per 30 h, 40 h use / 80 h accrual caps)
- California Labor Commissioner — vacation FAQ
- U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau — state paid leave laws
- OPM — annual leave fact sheet (federal accrual rates and 240-hour carryover)
- OPM — sick leave general information
- Alaska DOLWD — paid sick leave FAQ
Results are estimates for general information. Found an error? It helps everyone — see our methodology.