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PTO

PTO Accrual Calculator by Hours Worked or Pay Period

Estimate PTO earned, carryover and available hours with transparent pay-period or 2,080-hour-basis accrual and an optional ending balance cap.

PTO accrual by hours worked

Calculate variable periods using one rate. Enter eligible hours only, according to your policy. This estimates earned PTO before caps, leave deductions and policy-specific rounding.

Formula: eligible hours × annual PTO ÷ annual eligible hours. For 216 hours at 80 ÷ 2,080, the result is 8.3077 PTO hours before policy rounding. Use separate calculations for different rates.

Enter your figures and calculate.

Your inputs

Calculated on your device

The cap is applied to the ending balance. This is not a transaction-by-transaction simulation: time spent at an accrual cap can reduce actual earnings. Negative balances are shown. For hourly accrual, the annual allowance is divided by 2,080; use only if this matches your policy.

Formula and assumptions

PTO balance = starting balance + (annual allowance ÷ accrual periods × completed periods) − PTO used.

Results depend on your inputs. Read the calculation methodology.

Worked example

A 120-hour annual allowance paid biweekly accrues 4.62 hours per pay period before caps or waiting periods.

Understand the result

PTO · Pillar guide

PTO Accrual Explained: Rates, Balances and Projections

Understand accrual per pay period, hourly accrual, carryover, caps and future PTO balances.

PTO · Guide

Biweekly PTO Accrual: Calculate Hours per Pay Period

Divide the annual PTO allowance by the policy’s number of accrual periods. A 120-hour allowance across 26 periods earns about 4.6154 hours per period.

PTO · Guide

PTO Caps and Carryover: Why a Simple Projection Can Differ

Carryover adds an opening balance; a balance cap limits what can be held. A cap applied after every accrual can differ from one applied only at the end.

PTO · Guide

Convert PTO Hours to Days for Your Shift Length

Divide available PTO hours by the hours charged for one absence day. Forty-eight hours equals six eight-hour days or four twelve-hour days.

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Apply dated earning and leave transactions in order to see balances and accrual blocked by a cap.

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Choose the accrual rule before entering the allowance

A yearly allowance does not by itself tell you how leave is earned. Confirm whether the policy accrues by completed pay period, by eligible hour, or grants the full allowance upfront. For period accrual, divide the annual hours by the policy’s period count. Do not substitute the number of calendar months worked for the number of completed biweekly periods.

Reconcile an example balance

An allowance of 104 hours divided across 26 periods earns 4 hours each period. After 10 periods, 40 hours have been earned. Add 12 opening hours and subtract 24 used hours to estimate 28 available hours before an ending cap. Compare those components separately with the leave ledger instead of comparing only the final number.

Frequently asked questions

How much PTO do I earn every two weeks?

Divide annual PTO hours by the policy’s accrual-period count. With 104 hours and 26 periods, the rate is exactly 4 hours per period. A year with 27 paydays does not automatically change the employer’s PTO rule.

How many days is 40 hours of PTO?

It is five 8-hour absence days or four 10-hour absence days. Divide by the hours your policy charges for a full day, not automatically by eight.

Does the cap match a payroll accrual ledger?

Not always. This calculator caps the aggregate ending balance. A policy that stops accrual whenever the balance reaches a cap needs transactions processed in date order.

Can this calculate hourly accrual?

The hourly option divides the annual allowance by a fixed 2,080-hour baseline. Use it only if that baseline fits the policy; it is not a configurable eligible-hours ledger.

Work through a specific example

Download the example input worksheet to copy the sample rows and record your assumptions.