HR and people ops
PTO accrual calculator.
Choose per pay period or per hours worked. See hours earned, the balance after any cap and time taken, and what it is worth.
PTO per pay period = annual PTO hours / pay periods per year. 15 days x 8 hours = 120 hours over 26 pay periods is 4.62 hours each. After 13 periods with 16 hours carried over and 24 taken, the balance is 52 hours (6.5 days).
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Two common ways to accrue
Under the pay period method an employee earns a fixed number of hours each pay period: annual hours divided by 26 for biweekly pay, 24 for twice monthly, 12 for monthly or 52 for weekly. Under the hours-worked method the employee earns a fraction of an hour for each hour worked, such as one hour of PTO per 30 hours worked, which is about 0.033 hours per hour.
Both give the same result for a full-time year if the numbers are chosen to match. The hours-worked method rises and falls with part-time and overtime hours.
What the law says
The US Department of Labor states that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or holidays; these are matters of agreement between employer and employee. Some states and provinces have their own vacation or leave rules, and your employment contract or policy decides the rest. For Canadian rules see vacation pay by province.
This page is a calculator, not legal advice.
Worked example
PTO per pay period = annual PTO hours / pay periods per year. 15 days x 8 hours = 120 hours over 26 pay periods is 4.62 hours each. After 13 periods with 16 hours carried over and 24 taken, the balance is 52 hours (6.5 days).
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FAQ
How do you calculate PTO accrual per pay period?
Multiply annual PTO days by hours per day, then divide by the number of pay periods in the year.
How do you calculate PTO from hours worked?
Divide hours worked by the number of hours worked that earn one hour of PTO. At one hour per 30 worked, 1,040 hours gives 34.7 hours.
Does the law require employers to give PTO?
The US Department of Labor says the federal FLSA does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacation. Rules in your state or province and your policy can differ.
What does the accrual cap do here?
The cap limits carried-over hours plus hours earned. It is checked once, before time taken, so a policy that stops accruing at the cap mid-year may give a different answer.
Sources
- US Department of Labor, Vacation Leave, opened October 8, 2026
This page is a calculator, not legal or tax advice.