Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Project your PTO balance growth over upcoming pay periods.
80.0 hrs
This calculator projects how your paid time off (PTO) balance will grow over a number of upcoming pay periods, given your current balance and accrual rate -- and applies an annual cap if your employer limits how much PTO you can bank.
Enter your current PTO balance, accrual rate per pay period, number of pay periods remaining to project, and (optionally) an annual cap. The result shows your projected balance in hours and days, and whether the cap was hit.
Projected balance = current balance + (accrual rate x pay periods remaining), capped at the annual maximum if one is set and the raw projection exceeds it.
40 hours current balance, 4 hours/period accrual, 10 periods remaining, 60-hour cap: projects to 80 hours uncapped, so it's capped at 60 hours.
To check how many vacation days you have left after subtracting days already used, see the Vacation Days Calculator.
Suppose you have 12 hours banked, accrue 3.08 hours per pay period, and want to project 26 periods (a year of biweekly pay). Uncapped, that is 12 plus 3.08 times 26, or 92.08 hours, about 11.5 eight-hour days. With no cap entered, that is the result. If your employer caps the balance at 80 hours, the projection is reduced to 80 and the tool flags that the cap was reached. These numbers are hypothetical.
The tool compares the final projected balance to the cap you enter and, if higher, replaces it with the cap. It does not simulate use of time off during the projection, and it does not track when along the way you would hit the ceiling. That matters because the real effect of a cap is often lost accrual: if you reach the maximum in period 15 and keep working, the hours you would have earned afterwards simply do not accrue. The tool shows the balance you would end up with, which is the cap, but not how many hours of accrual you forfeited. To estimate that, compare the uncapped figure with the cap: the gap is roughly what you would lose if you took no time off.
The rate per pay period is usually printed on your pay stub or in your employee handbook. If your policy is stated per year instead, divide it by the number of pay periods. For example, 80 hours a year across 26 biweekly periods is about 3.08 hours per period, and across 24 semi-monthly periods is about 3.33. Some employers accrue per hour worked rather than per period, in which case a flat per-period rate is only an approximation for part-time or irregular schedules.
Days are computed by dividing hours by 8. If you work 10-hour shifts, your PTO days are effectively shorter in count, so divide the hours result by your own shift length instead. The same goes for a part-time schedule with 6-hour days.
To see whether you will have enough time for a trip, set the pay periods remaining to the number that will pass before the departure date, and subtract any PTO you plan to use before then from your current balance first. Keep a small buffer, since balances can be adjusted by payroll after the fact.
Whether unused PTO is paid out when you leave, whether it carries over, and whether a use-it-or-lose-it policy is allowed all depend on your state and your employer's written policy. This calculator cannot answer those. Consult your handbook or HR representative, or your state labor department, for the rules that apply to you.
Many employers simply stop further accrual once you hit the cap ("use it or lose it" territory) until your balance drops back below it -- this calculator flags when the projected balance would exceed the cap.
This tool assumes a flat rate per period -- some employers increase the accrual rate with tenure, which you'd need to account for by projecting in separate segments.
Yes -- if your employer has no PTO cap, leave that field blank or at 0 and the projection won't be capped.
Divide the annual hours by the number of pay periods in a year, such as 26 for biweekly or 24 for semi-monthly pay. For instance, 80 hours over 26 periods is about 3.08 hours.
No. It only adds accrual to the current balance. Subtract planned time off from your current balance first, or from the result afterward, to see what remains.
The tool divides hours by 8. If your standard workday is a different length, divide the hours result by your own day length.
Reference: U.S. Department of Labor