FREE TOOL · LEAVE AND PTO
PTO accrual calculator
How much paid time off has someone earned so far, what is their balance today, and what will a carryover cap cut at the end of the year?
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- Earned per pay period
- Earned so far this year
- Left at year end if no more leave is taken
- Lost above the carryover cap
Vacation days by years of service
Average paid vacation days of US private industry workers, BLS Employee Benefits Survey, March 2026.
| Years of service | Vacation days |
|---|---|
| 1 | 11 |
| 5 | 16 |
| 10 | 18 |
| 20 | 20 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Paid leave benefits: average number of sick and vacation days by length of service requirement, March 2026. More on what the numbers mean by industry:PTO benchmarks by industry.
Stop tracking balances in a spreadsheet
OutSync runs leave requests and approvals inside Jira and Confluence with live balances, half days, a yearly allowance and an accrual policy. The Advanced edition carries unused days over and adds public holidays by region. Approved leave shows in Who’s out on the board, and can sync to the team’s Google Calendar.
Frequently asked questions
How is PTO accrual per pay period calculated?
Divide the yearly allowance by the number of pay periods: 20 days a year paid biweekly (26 periods) accrues about 0.77 days, or 6.15 hours at 8 hours a day, per pay period.
How many vacation days is normal in the US?
In the BLS Employee Benefits Survey (March 2026), private industry workers average 11 paid vacation days after 1 year of service, 16 after 5 years, 18 after 10 years and 20 after 20 years.
What happens to days above a carryover cap?
If the policy caps carryover, unused days above the cap do not move to next year. The calculator shows how many would be lost if no more leave is taken this year.