How the Days Off Calculator works
This tool estimates how many paid days off you have earned so far this year and projects your balance through year-end, using the standard pro-rata (linear) accrual method most employers use: PTO builds up gradually with each paycheck rather than being granted in one lump sum on January 1st.
The formula
Given an annual PTO allowance A (in days) and N pay periods per year, the accrual rate per pay period is:
Accrual rate = A ÷ N
Multiplying that rate by the number of pay periods you have completed (P) gives the days accrued to date:
Days accrued = (A ÷ N) × P
Adding any balance carried over from last year (C) and subtracting days already used (U) gives your current available balance:
Current balance = C + Days accrued − U
The projected year-end balance assumes accrual continues at the same rate for the rest of the year and no additional days are used: Projected balance = C + A − U.
Worked example
Take a 15-day annual allowance on a biweekly pay schedule (26 pay periods per year), with 10 pay periods completed, 3 days already used, and no balance carried over. The accrual rate is 15 ÷ 26 ≈ 0.58 days per pay period. Over 10 pay periods that is 0.58 × 10 ≈ 5.77 days accrued. Subtracting the 3 days used leaves a current balance of about 2.77 days, projected to reach 12 days by year-end if no more time off is taken.
What this does not model
- Accrual caps: many employers stop accrual once a maximum balance is reached. This calculator assumes no cap.
- Use-it-or-lose-it deadlines: some plans forfeit unused days at year-end or limit how much can carry over. Check your employer's actual policy.
- Tenure-based accrual increases: many companies raise the annual allowance after a set number of years of service; this calculator uses a single flat annual rate.
- Hour-based accrual: some employers track PTO in hours rather than days. If yours does, convert hours to days (hours ÷ hours per workday) before entering values here.
What moves the balance most
- Pay frequency: the same annual allowance divided into more pay periods (weekly) produces a smaller per-period accrual than fewer, larger periods (monthly), though the annual total is unchanged.
- Days already used: every day taken subtracts directly from the current balance, and can push it negative if used faster than it accrues.
- Carried-over balance: unused days from a prior year add directly to both the current and projected balance, on top of new accrual.