Hours-only policy forecast

PTO accrual calculator

Forecast your PTO balance from scheduled credits. Follow planned leave and cap adjustments in a dated ledger.

32 hours projected through 2026-09-04

Explore a worked example

Choosing an example replaces your inputs. Edit them to match your policy and balance. If controls stay disabled, allow JavaScript and reload.

Enter your employer's posting rules. Opening balance is at the end of the opening date. The forecast includes events through the target date.

Opening date Forecast through (inclusive) Opening balance (hours) First future PTO posting date Posting frequency Credit amount method Hours per credit Balance cap (hours, optional)

First posting must be after the opening date. Posting need not match payday. No holiday shifting or partial-period credit.

A blank cap means no ceiling; zero pauses all new credit. A cap never removes an existing balance.

One planned leave request (optional)

Leave date Requested leave (hours) When credit and leave share a date

Clear both leave fields to omit the request. A request larger than the available balance is not deducted. This forecast does not model borrowing or partial requests.

Projected ending balance

hours through 2026-09-04

Scheduled postings: 1
Hours per posting: 4
Hours credited: 2
Accrual blocked by cap: 2
Modeled leave debit: 8
Leave shortfall: 0

38 opening + 2 credited − 8 taken = 32 hours.

Direct credit mode: 4 hours per posting. No annual earning limit is modeled.

Inspect the forecast ledger

Every scheduled posting and modeled leave event, in date order. Use it to check the forecast line by line before you trust the ending balance.

Hours display rounded to two decimals; calculations retain full precision. “Accrual blocked by cap” is future credit not added, never forfeiture of earned hours.

Scroll the table horizontally on small screens.

Every posting and leave event

Illustrative forecast from 2026-09-01 through 2026-09-04; credit before leave on a shared date.

PTO event ledger
Date	Event	Before	Potential credit	Credited	Accrual blocked by cap	Requested leave	Leave debit	Shortfall	After
2026-09-04	Credit	38	4	2	2	n/a	0	0	40
2026-09-04	Modeled leave debit	40	n/a	0	0	8	8	0	32

Why same-day order can matter

When a credit and a leave request land on the same date, the order you pick changes the balance. The example below shows both.

This illustrative example starts at 38 hours, with a 40-hour cap, a 4-hour posting and an 8-hour leave request on 2026-09-04. Credit first adds 2 hours. The cap blocks 2 hours before the leave is taken. Leave first creates room for the full credit.

After that date, the balances are 32 hours with credit first and 34 hours with leave first. Change the order above to inspect both ledgers.

Illustrative credits and leave on 2026-09-04, in hours

Same-day ordering comparison
Order	Event	Before	Credited	Blocked by cap	Leave debit	After
Credit first	Credit	38	2	2	0	40
Credit first	Leave	40	0	0	8	32
Leave first	Leave	38	0	0	8	30
Leave first	Credit	30	4	0	0	34

Later credits can bring the two ending balances back together when the cap is reached.

How we calculate your forecast

The forecast walks each scheduled posting in date order and keeps a running balance under your cap.

The tool schedules each posting after your opening date through your target date. At every posting, it adds the smaller of the scheduled credit or the remaining space under the cap. Planned leave is processed in date order using your chosen same-day rule.

In annual mode, annual allowance divided by the editable policy divisor gives hours per posting.

The actual scheduled count is separate: the illustrated calendar year contains 27 biweekly postings, starting on 2026-01-01, while its policy divisor remains 26. An illustrative 104-hour allowance divided by that policy divisor produces 4 hours per posting and 108 hours across that calendar.

This tool applies all scheduled credits and does not enforce an annual earning limit; check whether your policy has one. An annual allowance is not treated as an already-earned opening balance.

Employer rules and legal context

A few federal and California rules shape how vacation accrual works. This forecast stays illustrative; your employer's policy governs.

The FLSA itself does not require vacation time off, paid or unpaid. See the U.S. Department of Labor Hours Worked Advisor.

In California, earned vacation vests as labor is performed, reasonable accrual caps may pause future earning until the balance falls below the cap, and forfeiting earned vacation because it was not used by a deadline is prohibited. See California DIR vacation guidance for all three points.

Don't use the forecast to determine whether your employer's cap is lawful.

Built by Mike, independent calculator builder and operator of StateWage. Source review date 2026-09-08.

Estimate limits

Know what this forecast does not cover before you plan around it.

This hours-only model excludes work-hour-based statutory sick leave, waiting periods, tenure tiers, annual earning limits, carryover resets, contract exceptions and termination proration. It does not determine legal entitlement or approve time off. No automatic year-end reset or forfeiture is applied.

Related tools

StateWage has calculators for the other side of the PTO ledger too.

For the cash-out side, use the PTO payout calculator. For a separate payday calendar, see the pay periods calculator.