PTO Accrual Calculator

How PTO Accrual Works

Most employers that offer accrual-based paid time off don't hand you a full year's allowance on day one — instead, you earn a fixed number of hours each pay period, and your balance builds up gradually as you keep working. Your pay stub or HR portal usually lists this rate directly, often something like "6.15 hours accrued per pay period" for a job that gives 160 hours (20 days) a year on a biweekly schedule.

Many employers also cap how high your balance can climb — once you hit the cap, you stop accruing more until you use some of what you've banked. That cap exists to encourage people to actually take time off instead of stockpiling it indefinitely.

How to Use This Calculator

Enter your current balance and your accrual rate per pay period (check your pay stub if you're not sure). Then enter how many pay periods stand between now and the date you're planning for. If your employer caps your balance, enter that cap — otherwise leave it blank. If you already know you'll use some hours before that date, enter that too, and the calculator will subtract it from your projected balance.

How We Calculate It

We take your current balance and add your accrual rate multiplied by the number of pay periods you entered. If you gave us a cap, we don't let the projected balance exceed it — accrual effectively stops once you hit the ceiling. Finally, we subtract any hours you told us you plan to use. The result is your estimated balance at that future pay period.

A Few Notes

This calculator assumes your accrual rate stays constant and that any planned time off happens before your target date rather than spread across it, and — if you gave us a cap — that you don't use any hours before hitting it. In reality, if you take time off partway through the period, you might dip below the cap and then keep accruing past where this estimate stops. Treat this as a close planning estimate, and always confirm your exact balance and any use-it-or-lose-it rules with your actual pay stub or HR department before making plans around it.