PTO Accrual Calculator
Quick answer: PTO accrues each paycheck as your annual grant divided by your number of pay periods per year: accrual per paycheck = annual PTO hours ÷ pay periods. With a 120-hour annual grant and 26 biweekly pay periods, you earn 4.62 hours per paycheck — about 60 hours (7.5 days) after 6 months.
See exactly how much paid time off you earn each paycheck with this free PTO accrual calculator. Enter your annual PTO grant and pay frequency, optionally add your starting balance, and project how your vacation balance grows over the coming months.
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Your results
Estimate only — straight-line accrual. Caps, waiting periods, and policy resets are not included.
How to use this calculator
Enter your annual PTO grant in hours (your employer's vacation policy states it as hours or days per year) and pick your pay frequency. Add your current balance and choose how many months ahead to project. Results update instantly.
How this is calculated
PTO accrual follows a straight-line formula:
- Accrual per paycheck = annual PTO hours ÷ pay periods per year
- Projected balance = starting balance + (accrual per paycheck × paychecks in projection period)
Paychecks in the projection = months × pay periods per year ÷ 12, rounded to the nearest whole paycheck. Days equivalent = hours ÷ 8 (a standard workday).
Assumptions and edge cases: this is straight-line accrual with no caps, no waiting period, and no forfeiture or reset dates. In practice many employers cap the maximum balance or stop accrual once a cap is hit — this calculator does not model those rules. A zero grant returns zero accrual; a zero starting balance is fine.
Worked example
An employee gets 120 PTO hours per year, is paid biweekly (26 periods), starts at a zero balance, and projects 6 months ahead:
- Accrual per paycheck = 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours
- Paychecks in 6 months = 6 × 26 ÷ 12 = 13 paychecks
- Accrued over 6 months = 4.6154 × 13 = 60.0 hours
- Days equivalent = 60 ÷ 8 = 7.5 PTO days
Reference data
This tool is pure math — no external data table is used. It names its constants instead: the three standard pay frequencies offered (26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, 12 monthly) and the 8-hour workday used for the days-equivalent conversion, all computed live from your inputs.
Frequently asked questions
How is PTO accrual calculated per paycheck?
Divide your annual PTO grant by the number of pay periods per year. With 120 PTO hours per year and 26 biweekly pay periods, each paycheck earns 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62 hours of PTO.
What is the difference between 26 and 24 pay periods for PTO accrual?
Biweekly pay has 26 periods per year (a paycheck every two weeks), while semimonthly pay has 24 periods (twice a month). For the same annual grant, biweekly accruals per paycheck are slightly smaller because the total is spread over 26 paychecks instead of 24.
Does this calculator account for accrual caps or waiting periods?
No. This calculator estimates straight-line accrual only. Some employers cap the maximum PTO balance, require a waiting period before accrual starts, or reset balances on a specific date. Treat the projection as an estimate and check your company policy for caps.
How many PTO days is my balance in hours?
Divide your PTO hours by 8, the length of a standard workday. For example, 60 accrued hours equals 7.5 PTO days. The calculator above shows the days equivalent of your projected balance.