How to Calculate PTO Accrual (Per Hour, Pay Period, Month & Year)
Updated May 31, 2026
PTO accrual is how employees earn paid time off gradually as they work, instead of getting it all at once. This guide shows the exact formula, the accrual rate for every common pay schedule, and worked examples you can copy.
The PTO accrual formula
The core formula is simple: divide the annual PTO an employee earns (in hours) by the number of hours they work in a year.
Annual PTO hours ÷ annual hours worked = accrual rate per hour worked. A full-time US employee is typically assumed to work 2,080 hours per year (40 hours × 52 weeks).
Example: an employee earning 15 days (15 × 8 = 120 hours) of PTO per year accrues 120 ÷ 2,080 = 0.0577 hours of PTO for every hour they work. After an 80-hour pay period they've earned about 4.6 hours.
Accrual rate for each pay schedule
If you'd rather grant PTO on a fixed cadence (per week, per check, per month) instead of per hour worked, divide the annual entitlement by the number of periods in the year.
| Schedule | Periods/yr | 10 days (80h) | 15 days (120h) | 20 days (160h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | 1.54 h | 2.31 h | 3.08 h |
| Bi-weekly | 26 | 3.08 h | 4.62 h | 6.15 h |
| Semi-monthly | 24 | 3.33 h | 5.00 h | 6.67 h |
| Monthly | 12 | 6.67 h | 10.0 h | 13.33 h |
| Per hour worked | — | 0.0385 h | 0.0577 h | 0.0769 h |
Worked example, step by step
Say a full-time employee earns 15 days of PTO a year and you pay bi-weekly:
Pro-rating new hires and part-timers
New hires who start mid-year should accrue from their start date, not January 1. Part-timers accrue on the hours they actually work — which is exactly why the per-hour-worked rate is the fairest method for variable schedules.
Doing this by hand in a spreadsheet is where errors creep in: a fat-fingered cell, a missed carryover cap, or an accrual that didn't pro-rate. Software that posts every accrual to a ledger removes that risk.
Orvella accrues PTO automatically — per hour, per period, or annually — with carryover caps and an auditable ledger, so you never run this math by hand.
Frequently asked questions
What is the PTO accrual rate per hour worked?
Divide annual PTO hours by annual hours worked (usually 2,080 for full-time). For 80 hours of PTO a year that's 80 ÷ 2,080 ≈ 0.0385 hours of PTO per hour worked; for 120 hours it's ≈ 0.0577.
How much PTO is accrued per pay period?
Divide the annual entitlement (in hours) by the number of pay periods. 120 hours bi-weekly is 120 ÷ 26 ≈ 4.62 hours per check.
How do I calculate accrued PTO so far this year?
Multiply the per-period rate by the number of periods elapsed, then subtract PTO already used. A calculator (or leave software) does this automatically and keeps it auditable.