Quick Answer

If you earn 15 PTO days per year paid bi-weekly, you accrue 4.615 hours per bi-weekly period (120 hours ÷ 26 periods). At a $25/hour rate, each PTO day is worth $200. Unused PTO payout depends on your state — California mandates payout; many other states do not.

PTO Calculator 2026

Calculate your PTO balance, hours accrued per period, projected year-end total, and the cash value of unused PTO.
All accrual methods. All pay frequencies.

Last updated: September 2026 — rates sourced from IRS Publication 15, SSA & state revenue departments
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Or salary ÷ 2,080 for salaried workers

How PTO accrual and balances work

PTO (Paid Time Off) is tracked in hours in most US payroll systems. Your annual allotment is divided by pay periods to determine how much you earn each paycheck. If you're hourly, you may accrue PTO per hour worked rather than per period.

Cash value of PTO = hours × hourly rate. For salaried workers, hourly rate = annual salary ÷ 2,080 working hours. For a $75,000 salary, each PTO hour is worth $36.06, so 5 unused days = $1,443 in unused value.

For the specific payout calculation when leaving a job, use the PTO Payout Calculator. To track exactly how PTO accrues over time, use the PTO Accrual Calculator.

PTO BalanceCurrent

Enter your PTO details and click Calculate.

Disclaimer: Results are estimates based on 2026 IRS and published government rates. Not a substitute for licensed payroll software or professional tax or financial advice.

FAQ

PTO Calculator questions answered

PTO accrual per paycheck = (annual PTO days × 8 hours) ÷ number of pay periods per year. Example: 15 days/year × 8 hours = 120 hours ÷ 26 bi-weekly periods = 4.615 hours per period. Some employers use an hourly accrual method: total annual PTO hours ÷ annual working hours (2,080 for full-time) = accrual rate per hour worked.
It depends on your employer's policy and your state. "Use it or lose it" policies are legal in most states except California, Montana, and Nebraska, where accrued PTO is legally considered earned wages and cannot expire. Many employers offer rollover up to a cap (e.g., up to 40 hours carry over). Check your employee handbook — federal law does not mandate PTO at all.
Again, state-dependent. California, Illinois (Chicago), Maryland, Massachusetts, and several other states require payout of unused accrued PTO at termination. Most other states allow employers to have "no payout" policies if disclosed in writing before the PTO was earned. Always check your state's labor laws before leaving a job.
Traditional setups separate "vacation", "sick", and "personal" day banks. PTO (Paid Time Off) combines all these into one bucket, giving employees flexibility to use days for any purpose. Statistically, employees with combined PTO policies use fewer total days off than those with separate banks — they save PTO "just in case" rather than using specific-purpose days freely.

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