PTO Accrual Calculator

Work out accrued paid time off to date, the balance available and any days at risk.

About PTO Accrual Calculator

Paid time off accrues month by month, so the balance mid-year is well below the full annual entitlement. Any excess above the holding cap is forfeited rather than carried, which is what the at-risk line quantifies. Employees plan leave against the annual entitlement rather than the accrued balance, which is how requests get declined and how days get forfeited at year end.

Formula

PTO Accrual

Balance = accrual per month × months worked + carry-over − days taken, capped at the maximum

accrual rate: Days earned for each month of service
cap: Maximum balance that can be held before days are forfeited

Worked example

With the default values below, PTO Accrual Calculator returns Paid time off Balance Available of 8.56. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Days accrued per monthaccepts 0–5 days: 2.08 days
Months worked so faraccepts 0–12 months: 7 months
Days carried over from last yearaccepts 0–40 days: 2 days
Days already takenaccepts 0–60 days: 8 days
Maximum days that can be heldaccepts 0–80 days: 30 days

Results

Paid time off Balance Available: 8.56 days
Days Accrued So Far This Year: 14.56 days
Full Year Entitlement: 24.96 days
Days at Risk of Being Forfeited: 0.00 days
Balance in Hours at 8 h a Day: 68.5 h

Step by step

1Values used
2PTO Accrual
3Paid time off Balance Available= 8.56 days
4Days Accrued So Far This Year= 14.56 days
5Full Year Entitlement= 24.96 days
6Days at Risk of Being Forfeited= 0.00 days
7Balance in Hours at 8 h a Day= 68.5 h

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is PTO Accrual calculated?

Balance = accrual per month × months worked + carry-over − days taken, capped at the maximum Paid time off accrues month by month, so the balance mid-year is well below the full annual entitlement. Any excess above the holding cap is forfeited rather than carried, which is what the at-risk line quantifies.

Why does PTO Accrual matter?

Employees plan leave against the annual entitlement rather than the accrued balance, which is how requests get declined and how days get forfeited at year end.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Days accrued per month, Months worked so far, Days carried over from last year, Days already taken, Maximum days that can be held. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.