Punch Clock MathHours, overtime and every state’s rules

Dates & days · calculator

PTO accrual calculator

How much paid time off you earn each pay period, what you hold after a year with a cap or carry-over limit, and when you reach the balance you need.

Your accrual policy

Example
1:20 (1.33 h) per week69:20 (69.33 h) a year40:00 in 30 weeksFull result
How is your PTO earned?
h
h
h

Decimal or h:mm

Balance and limits (leave blank if none)
h
h
h
h

Most you can take into a new year

Used only to date the target.

Worked examples

You earn, per week

1:20(1.33 h)

Policy: 1 h earned per 30 h worked, 40 h worked a week.

1:20 (1.33 hours) per week; 69:20 a year.

RuleYour employer’s policy, as you enter it; pay for holidays, vacation and sick time not worked is excluded from the regular rate, and those hours are not hours worked for the FLSA 40-hour count.Sources checked How the math works ↓

  • A year: 69:20 (69.33 h) over 52 weeks, before any cap.
  • After a year, using none: 69:20 (69.33 h).
  • Target: You reach 40:00 (40.00 h) after 30 weeks.

Not modeled — state and city paid-sick-leave minimums. This shows the policy you enter, not the least a state requires (as of October 22, 2026).

A year of weeks, using none

Balance after each week
  • Balance
  • At or past the target (40:00)
  • Target line
Scale: one bar = one week; bar height = balance (top = 69:20).

Calculated with Punch Clock Math · rules checked October 22, 2026 · an estimate, not legal or tax advice · punchclockmath.com

How the math works

All time is kept in whole minutes and shown as h:mm with decimal hours next to it.

  1. Per hours workedHours worked × hours earned ÷ hours worked per accrual, rounded to the minute. 1 hour per 30 at 40 hours a week: 40 × 1 ÷ 30 = 1:20 (1.33 h) a week; over 52 weeks, 69:20 (69.33 h).
  2. Per year, spread over pay periodsHours a year ÷ pay periods a year, rounded to the minute. 120 hours paid every two weeks: 120 ÷ 26 = 4:37 (4.62 h) a pay period. Pay periods a year: 52 weekly, 26 bi-weekly, 24 semimonthly, 12 monthly.29 CFR 778.113
  3. A cap stops accrualAfter each period the balance grows by the accrual; once it reaches the cap it stays there until you use time. A carry-over limit is applied once, at the end of the year.
  4. Reaching a targetPay periods needed = (target − balance now) ÷ accrual per period, rounded up. Weekly and bi-weekly pay are dated by stepping 7 or 14 days from the next payday.
  5. PTO hours are not hours workedPay for holidays, vacation and sick time not worked is excluded from the regular rate, and those hours are not hours worked for the FLSA 40-hour count.29 CFR 778.218 · Fact Sheet #56A: Overview of the Regular Rate of Pay Under the FLSA (December 2019)

What this doesn’t cover

  • State and city paid-sick-leave minimums: Not modeled at launch (2026-10-22). Several states and cities set a least accrual rate for sick time; this tool uses only the rate you type. Your state labor department publishes its rule.
  • Waiting periods, front-loading and use: Policies that wait 90 days before accrual starts, or that give a whole year’s hours on January 1, are not drawn. The balance assumes you use no time.
  • Payout when you leave: Whether unused PTO is paid out is set by your policy and, in some states, by state law. It is not computed here.
  • Overtime hours: Whether overtime hours earn PTO depends on the policy. Enter the hours your policy counts.

Page sources

Every rule above comes from these pages, read on the dates shown.

  1. 29 CFR 778.113eCFR (Office of the Federal Register / GPO) · read
  2. Fact Sheet: Computing Hourly Rates of Pay Using the 2,087-Hour DivisorU.S. Office of Personnel Management · read
  3. 29 CFR 778.218eCFR (Office of the Federal Register / GPO) · read
  4. Fact Sheet #56A: Overview of the Regular Rate of Pay Under the FLSA (December 2019)U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division · read