Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Find remaining vacation days and when unused days will expire.
9 days
This calculator finds how many vacation days you have left from your annual allotment after subtracting days already used -- and, if your employer has a "use it or lose it" expiration policy, how many days remain before unused vacation days expire.
Enter your annual vacation day allotment and days already used. Optionally, enter an expiration date and reference date to see days remaining before expiration.
Days remaining = annual allotment - days used, floored at zero. Percent used = (days used / annual allotment) x 100. Days until expiration = expiration date - reference date, when both are provided.
A 15-day annual allotment with 6 days used: 9 days remaining (40% used).
For PTO that accrues gradually over pay periods rather than a fixed annual allotment, see the Paid Time Off Accrual Calculator.
Take a hypothetical employee with a 20-day annual allotment who has used 12 days. Days remaining are 20 minus 12, which is 8, and the percent used is 12 divided by 20 times 100, or 60 percent. Now suppose the employer's policy says unused days expire on December 31, and today's date is October 15. The tool counts the days between October 15 and December 31, which is 77 days. With 8 days left to take in roughly 11 weeks, the person can see that at least one long weekend or a full week off is needed to avoid losing the balance.
Days remaining = allotment - days used (never below 0). Percent used = days used / allotment x 100. Days until expiration = expiration date - reference date.
A frequent mistake is mixing units. If your employer tracks vacation in hours, converting to days requires dividing by the hours in your standard workday, and half days need a decimal in the used or allotment field. Another is forgetting carryover. Some employers allow a limited number of unused days to roll into the next year, in which case the year-end deadline is not a hard loss. The calculator has no way to know your carryover rule, so read your handbook or ask HR. A third mistake is counting approved-but-not-yet-taken days as remaining, when in your employer's system they may already be deducted.
Whether unused vacation expires, is paid out on leaving, or rolls over depends on the employer's policy and, in some places, on state or national law. Since these rules differ widely, confirm yours with the employer's HR department or the relevant government labor agency, such as the Department of Labor or your state labor office, instead of relying on assumptions. Use this tool to track your own count and cross-check your employer's balance statement.
Leave the expiration date field blank -- the calculator will show your remaining balance without an expiration countdown.
Some employers separate vacation days from sick days and other PTO categories, while others combine them into one PTO bucket -- use whichever figure matches your specific policy's vacation allotment.
The tool floors remaining days at zero rather than showing a negative balance, even if more days were used than allotted (e.g. if some days were borrowed from next year's allotment).
Yes, if your employer tracks half days, enter values such as 6.5 in the used field so the balance matches your official record.
Remaining days are floored at zero. If you have used more than the allotment, check with HR about how the extra days are handled.
No. Carryover policies vary, so include any carried-over days in the allotment figure if you want them counted.
Reference: U.S. Department of Labor