Vacation Accrual Calculator
Calculate how much vacation time you accrue over time. Choose an annual vacation allowance or an hourly accrual method to estimate accrued vacation hours, days and your available vacation balance.
Vacation Accrual Details
Your Vacation Accrual
Enter your vacation policy details and select Calculate Vacation Accrual to see your results.
Calculation
How to Calculate Vacation Accrual
Vacation accrual is the amount of paid vacation time that builds up as you work. Instead of receiving an entire vacation allowance at once, an employer may allow vacation hours to accumulate gradually during the year.
The calculation depends on the vacation policy. Some policies divide an annual allowance between regular accrual or pay periods, while others award vacation time according to the number of eligible hours worked.
Which Vacation Accrual Method Should You Use?
Use the annual allowance / pay period method when your vacation policy gives you a fixed annual allowance that builds up evenly over weekly, biweekly, monthly or other regular accrual periods.
Use the per-hour-worked method when vacation is earned according to the number of eligible hours you work. In this case, enter the accrual rate stated in your employer's policy and the number of hours that qualify for vacation accrual.
Employment policies can define eligible hours differently. For example, a policy may specify whether overtime, paid leave or other non-working hours count towards vacation accrual. Use the figures and accrual method specified by the policy that applies to you.
Vacation Accrual Formula
Accrual by Pay Period
The total accrued vacation is then:
Accrual by Hours Worked
Vacation Accrual Example
Suppose an employee receives 120 vacation hours per year and accrues vacation every two weeks.
With 26 accrual periods in a year:
After 13 completed periods:
With an 8-hour workday, 60 hours is equivalent to 7.5 vacation days.
Calculating Accrued Vacation from Days
If your annual vacation allowance is stated in days, the calculator first converts the allowance into hours. For example, 15 vacation days at 8 hours per day equals 120 annual vacation hours.
Using hours internally makes it easier to calculate partial days and vacation earned during individual pay periods.
Available Vacation Balance
Accrued vacation and available vacation are not always the same figure. If you already had vacation available at the beginning of the calculation period, that starting balance can be added. Vacation already used can then be deducted.
The result is a mathematical estimate. Your employer's official payroll or HR records may use different rules for rounding, carryover, caps, waiting periods or eligibility.
Accrual Caps, Carryover and Waiting Periods
Some vacation policies place limits on how leave is earned or carried forward. For example, a policy may stop additional vacation from accruing when an employee reaches a maximum balance, restrict how much unused leave can carry into another year or require a waiting period before vacation begins to accrue.
This calculator does not automatically apply accrual caps, carryover limits, waiting periods or expiration rules. If one of these rules applies, adjust the figures you enter or compare the result with your employer's official vacation balance.
Rounding can also affect the recorded balance. An employer or payroll system may round accrued leave at each pay period rather than calculating the full unrounded amount over several periods.
Vacation Accrual vs. PTO Accrual
Vacation time and paid time off (PTO) are sometimes used interchangeably, but workplace policies can define them differently. A vacation plan may cover vacation leave only, while a combined PTO plan can include vacation, personal leave or other paid absences.
For this calculator, the important figures are the vacation allowance and accrual rules supplied by your employer or policy. The calculator performs the arithmetic from the values you enter rather than determining your legal entitlement to leave.
Leave entitlement and accrual rules vary by location. For UK guidance on statutory annual leave and accrual, see GOV.UK guidance on calculating leave entitlement .
In the United States, federal law generally does not require employers to provide paid vacation. For federal guidance, see the U.S. Department of Labor guidance on vacation leave .
Limitations
This calculator estimates vacation accrual from the allowance, accrual rate, hours and periods entered. It does not determine your statutory or contractual entitlement to paid leave.
Actual vacation balances can be affected by employer policies, employment terms, applicable law, accrual caps, carryover rules, waiting periods, rounding methods and rules defining which hours count towards accrual.
Use your employer's payroll or HR records when you need an official vacation balance.
Vacation Accrual Calculator FAQs
How do I calculate vacation accrual?
If vacation is earned evenly by pay period, divide the annual vacation allowance by the number of accrual periods in the year. Multiply that rate by the number of completed periods to estimate the vacation accrued so far.
How do I calculate accrued vacation hours?
Convert your annual vacation allowance to hours, then apply the accrual method used by your employer. For a pay-period method, divide annual vacation hours by the number of accrual periods and multiply by the periods completed.
How do I convert vacation days to hours?
Multiply the number of vacation days by the number of hours in your standard workday. For example, 15 days at 8 hours per day equals 120 vacation hours.
How is vacation accrued per hour worked?
Multiply eligible hours worked by the vacation accrual rate per hour. For example, 1,000 hours worked at an accrual rate of 0.05 produces 50 accrued vacation hours.
How much vacation do I accrue every two weeks?
If your vacation allowance is divided evenly over 26 biweekly periods, divide the annual vacation hours by 26. An annual allowance of 120 hours would accrue at approximately 4.6154 hours per biweekly period.
Does this calculator determine my legal vacation entitlement?
No. It calculates vacation accrual from the figures and method you enter. Employment laws, contracts, employer policies, carryover rules, accrual caps and rounding methods vary, so official entitlement should be checked with the relevant employer, contract or authority.