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Free PTO Accrual Calculator

Calculate how much PTO an employee earns per pay period, month, or hour.

See PTO accrual based on time period

Every 2 weeks = 26 periods/year. Twice a month = 24 periods/year.

Work schedule

Estimates for general information only. Not legal, tax, or payroll advice.

Your PTO accrual

4.62hours

earned every 2 weeks

  • 120 hours per year
  • 15 days per year
  • 10.00 hours per month

How this was calculated

15 days × 8 hours a day = 120 PTO hours a year

120PTO hours a year
26periods
4.62hours each

Rounding check
Rounded pay periods add up to 120.12 h, 0.12 h over the yearly total. Ask payroll how the last period is trued up.

Show step-by-step
  1. Convert days to hours. PTO is tracked in hours, so multiply by the length of a workday. 15 days × 8 h = 120 h.
  2. Split the year across 26 accrual periods. Every 2 weeks means 26 periods a year. Each block below is one period of 4.62 h.

Compare by schedule

Want to keep this calculation?

Planning tools

Go further with your numbers

Turn the accrual rate into balances, first-year entitlements, and budget. Everything updates as you type.

Balance projector

How your balance builds, with an optional cap and planned time off.

hrs
hrs/mo
hrs

Accrual pauses once the balance reaches the cap.

Balance at month 1272.0h9.0 days
PTO earned120.0hover 12 months
PTO taken48.0h6.0 days
Lost to cap0.0hnothing lost

Balance over time

021416283TodayM2M4M6M8M10M12

Checkpoints

Month 319.4 h2.4 days
Month 636.0 h4.5 days
Month 955.4 h6.9 days
Month 1272.0 h9.0 days

At this pace the balance keeps growing. You earn 10.0 h a month and plan to take 4.0 h.

The method

How to calculate PTO accrual

PTO accrual is the paid time off an employee earns in each pay period. One formula covers every schedule.

Annual PTO hours ÷ Number of accrual periods = PTO earned per period

Full time

15 days, paid every 2 weeks

120hours per year
26periods
4.62hours each

15 days x 8 hours = 120 hours. 120 ÷ 26 = 4.62.

Part time

10 days of 6 hours, per hour worked

60hours per year
1,560hours worked
0.0385hours per hour

30 hours a week x 52 = 1,560. That is about 1 hour of PTO per 26 hours worked.

Twice a month

160 hours, paid on the 15th and 30th

160hours per year
24periods
6.67hours each

160 ÷ 24 = 6.67. Same year, fewer periods, so each one is larger than biweekly.

Common PTO accrual examples

Scrollable table. Use the arrow keys to scroll horizontally.

Hours of PTO earned per accrual period for 80, 120, 160 and 200 annual PTO hours
Annual PTOWeeklyEvery 2 weeksTwice a monthMonthlyPer hour worked
1.543.083.336.670.0385
2.314.625.0010.000.0577
3.086.156.6713.330.0769
3.857.698.3316.670.0962

Hours of PTO earned per period. Per hour worked assumes 2,080 hours a year. Click a row to load it into the calculator.

Accrual methods at a glance

The math is the same. What changes is when employees see the hours.

Per pay period

A fixed number of hours posts every payroll run.

Example

4.62 h every 2 weeks

Per hour worked

PTO builds a little with every hour on the clock.

Example

0.0577 h per hour

Front-loaded

The full year is available on day one.

Example

120 h on day one

Tenure tiers

The annual amount steps up at service milestones.

Example

15 → 20 days at year 5

Edge cases that trip up payroll

Rounding drift

Rounding each period to two decimals can leave the annual total a few hundredths off. The calculator flags this when it happens. Confirm how your system trues up.

27-payday years

Biweekly payroll normally has 26 paydays, but some years have 27. Policies should say whether the extra payday accrues.

Caps and carryover

A cap stops accrual at a maximum balance. Carryover limits decide what survives into the new year. Both change what employees actually keep.

Payout on exit

Whether unused PTO must be paid out at separation depends on state law and your written policy. Confirm with counsel before budgeting.

PTO days to hours

Multiply days by the length of the workday. Prefilled from your work schedule.

96

Managing PTO for more than a few employees?

HR Cloud automatically tracks PTO balances, requests, approvals, and employee time off so HR doesn’t have to calculate it manually.

  • Automatic PTO balances
  • Employee time-off requests
  • Manager approvals
  • Real-time reporting
Explore HR Cloud Time OffBook a Demo
HR Cloud Time Off PTO calendar with an approval request

FAQ

Divide annual PTO hours by the number of accrual periods in the year. 120 hours across 26 biweekly periods gives about 4.62 hours per period.
Annual PTO hours divided by 26. At 80 hours a year that is 3.08 hours. At 120 hours it is 4.62 hours.
Every two weeks is 26 pay periods a year. Twice a month is 24. The same annual PTO spreads over fewer periods, so each twice-a-month period is slightly larger.
Systems usually round each period to two decimals. 4.62 hours across 26 periods adds up to 120.12, not 120. Check whether your payroll true-ups the last period.
A cap stops accrual once the balance reaches a set number of hours. Accrual resumes after time off is used. Try it in the balance projector.
With an 8-hour workday, 15 days equals 120 hours. Change hours per workday in the calculator for other schedules.
Multiply the annual amount by the share of the PTO year left on the start date. The new-hire proration tool does this for you.
Policies vary. Many employers accrue per hour worked, so set hours per week to the employee's schedule and use the per hour worked option.
Often yes, because accrued unused PTO can be owed to employees. Accounting treatment and payout rules vary, so confirm with your finance team and counsel. The cost tool gives a planning estimate.
Yes. Free, no signup required. Emailing yourself the results asks for your address once.