When you leave a job — by choice, layoff, or termination — the unused paid time off sitting in your balance sheet is not just time, it is money. Many workers are surprised to learn that their last paycheck can include a lump sum for every vacation, sick, or personal day they never took, and in some states that payout is legally required. This PTO payout calculator turns your remaining hours into a cash figure, shows how fast you are still accruing time, and flags whether your state makes that payout mandatory.
The math is simple: multiply your unused PTO hours by your regular hourly rate. What trips people up is the details — which rate applies, whether unused sick time counts, what happens in your state, and how employers try to limit the payout. The guide below walks through all of it.
How to Use
- Enter your Unused PTO Hours. Check the HR portal or your most recent pay stub for the current balance. If your balance is shown in days, multiply the days by 8 to convert to hours.
- Enter your Hourly Rate. Salaried employees usually do not think in hourly terms, but the payout is calculated this way: divide your annual salary by 2,080 (40 hours a week times 52 weeks). Fill in the optional Annual Salary field and the calculator shows that derived rate so you can verify it.
- (Optional) Add PTO Accrued per Pay Period and your Pay Periods per Year to see your annual and monthly accrual. This tells you how much paid time you would be earning over the next year — useful when comparing a new offer.
- Choose your Work State. The result card reports whether state law requires your employer to pay out unused PTO on separation, or whether the answer depends on company policy.
- Review the result card. The headline number is your estimated PTO payout in dollars, followed by your accrual figures and the state rule.
Remember that the payout uses your regular rate, not overtime, and not your premium/shift rate unless your employer policy explicitly says otherwise. Bonuses, tips, and commissions are negotiated separately and are not part of this number.
The PTO Payout Formula
The core calculation is deliberately transparent:
PTO Payout = Unused PTO Hours × Regular Hourly Rate
And your hourly rate, if you are salaried, comes from:
Hourly Rate = Annual Salary ÷ 2,080
Two worked numbers make this concrete. On a $72,800 salary, the hourly rate is 72,800 ÷ 2,080 = $35.00. If you leave with 80 unused hours on the books, your payout is 80 × $35.00 = $2,800. At the other end, an executive earning $1,500,000 a year has an hourly rate of about $721.15; leaving 160 hours unused means a payout near $115,384 — a real six-figure line item on a final paycheck.
Accrual works the other direction: you earn PTO a little at a time. If you accrue 3.08 hours every biweekly pay period on 26 periods a year, that is 3.08 × 26 = 80.08 hours per year, or roughly 6.67 hours per month — close to the classic two weeks of vacation.
State Payout Rules: Where It Is the Law
Unused PTO is treated differently depending on where you work, and the dividing line is whether earned vacation time counts as wages:
- Required by law (treated as earned wages): California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York are among the states that require employers to pay out accrued, unused vacation or PTO on separation, whether you quit or are fired. In California, for example, vacation time vests as you earn it and is legally wages; it cannot expire under a "use-it-or-lose-it" policy.
- Not required — employer policy governs: States like Texas and Florida do not mandate PTO payout. Whether you are paid for unused time depends entirely on your company's written policy and employment agreement. Read that policy before you resign; some firms pay out, some do not, and a few distinguish between vacation (paid out) and sick leave (forfeited).
A practical note: even in states where payout is the default, employers are allowed to cap accrual (often at 40 or 80 hours) and to set a policy that clearly spells out what happens to unused time. The cap is legal; secretly withholding vested wages is not.
Examples
Example 1 — Quitting with two weeks banked. A customer-support rep on a $72,800 salary has 80 hours of unused PTO in California. Hourly rate = $35.00. Payout = 80 × $35.00 = $2,800, and because California treats vacation as wages, that $2,800 must be paid on the final day. Her accrual of about 6.67 hours per month shows what she would have earned next year had she stayed.
Example 2 — Laid off in a policy-only state. A warehouse worker in Texas is laid off with 56 unused hours at $22.00/hour. The math says 56 × $22.00 = $1,232, but because Texas does not mandate payout, he checks the employee handbook. His company policy pays out unused vacation on layoff, so he receives the $1,232; unused sick time, however, is forfeited per policy.
Example 3 — The high-earner exit. An executive in New York earning $1,500,000 resigns with 160 hours of accrued PTO. Derived hourly rate ≈ $721.15; payout ≈ $115,384. New York requires this payout, and at that magnitude it is worth double-checking the final paycheck line by line rather than trusting a lump sum.
FAQ
How is PTO payout calculated?
Multiply your unused PTO hours by your regular hourly rate. Salaried employees derive the hourly rate by dividing annual salary by 2,080 (40 hours per week × 52 weeks). For example, 80 unused hours at a $35 hourly rate equals a $2,800 payout.
Do I get paid for unused PTO when I quit?
It depends on your state and employer. In California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York, accrued unused vacation/PTO is treated as earned wages and must be paid out on separation. In other states, such as Texas and Florida, payout is governed by company policy — some employers pay it, others do not.
Is unused sick leave paid out like vacation?
Often not. Many companies split PTO: vacation days are vested and paid out, while unused sick days are forfeited on separation — even in states that require vacation payout. Your employee handbook defines the boundary, so check whether your balance is a combined PTO bank or separate vacation and sick buckets.
What hourly rate is used for the payout?
Your regular base rate, not your overtime or shift-premium rate, unless your employer policy explicitly specifies otherwise. Bonuses, commissions, and tips are typically settled separately and are not folded into the PTO line.
Can an employer have a "use-it-or-lose-it" policy?
In states where vacation is treated as earned wages (such as California), use-it-or-lose-it policies are illegal because vested time cannot be forfeited. Employers may, however, cap how much PTO you can accrue in total. In policy-only states, the rules in your employee agreement control.
How much PTO do most people accrue per year?
A common benchmark is about 3 weeks (120 hours) after several years of service. On a biweekly schedule that is roughly 4.6 hours per pay period; the standard two-week vacation works out to about 3.08 hours per biweekly period, or 80.08 hours per year.
Disclaimer
This PTO payout calculator is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, payroll, or tax advice. Figures are estimates based on the inputs you enter; actual payout depends on your employer's written policy, your state's wage laws, vesting schedules, and how your balance is split between vacation and sick leave. State rules summarized here are general and change over time. Always confirm your final payout and applicable rules with your HR department and, if needed, a qualified employment-law professional.