About the Time Off Calculator
Planning a holiday usually starts with dates on a calendar, but your employer counts it in workdays or hours of paid time off. Weekends do not count, and public holidays that fall during your trip are already paid days off, so the PTO you actually need can be much less than the length of the trip. Working that out by hand, especially around Christmas and New Year, is fiddly.
This time off calculator counts the workdays between the first and last day of your time off, skips weekends and any public holidays you list, and converts the result to PTO hours. It shows the total length of the break and, if you enter your PTO balance, how much will be left.
How to Use the Time Off Calculator
Enter the first day off and last day off.
List any public holidays in that period as YYYY-MM-DD dates, separated by commas.
Enter your hours per working day and your PTO balance in hours.
The Formulas
calendar days = last day − first day + 1
weekdays = Monday–Friday days in that range
workdays = weekdays − public holidays on weekdays
PTO hours = workdays × hours per day
remaining = balance − PTO hoursStep-by-Step Example
Monday 21 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027, with Christmas Day and New Year's Day as holidays, 8 hours a day, 80 hours of PTO.
calendar days 12
weekdays 10 (two full working weeks)
holidays 25 December and 1 January, both weekdays
workdays 10 − 2 = 8
PTO hours 8 × 8 = 64
remaining 80 − 64 = 16 hoursMaking PTO Go Further
The best value comes from building time off around weekends and public holidays. Taking the four days between a Tuesday holiday and the weekend, or bridging the gap between Christmas and New Year, can turn a handful of PTO days into a long break. Starting a trip on a Saturday and returning the following Sunday uses five PTO days for nine days away. Try a few date combinations to compare.
Public Holidays
Enter the public holidays your employer observes, which may differ from national holidays. When a holiday falls on a weekend, many employers give the Friday before or the Monday after instead; enter that substitute weekday. The calculator ignores holidays on weekends because they do not reduce the workdays.
Part-Time and Shift Work
The calculator assumes a Monday to Friday schedule with the same hours each day. If you work part-time, enter your usual daily hours. If you work weekends or rotating shifts, count your scheduled shifts in the period and multiply by the hours per shift instead, since the weekday count will not match your rota.
Checking Your Balance
If the trip needs more hours than you have, you may be able to borrow against future accrual, take unpaid leave or adjust the dates. The PTO accrual calculator projects your balance on future dates, so you can see when you will have enough.
Booking Time Off
Request leave early, especially for popular periods such as summer and the end of the year, when many colleagues want the same days. Check your employer's notice requirements and any blackout dates.
Half Days
If you take half days at the start or end of a trip, count each as half a workday. For example, leaving at lunchtime on a Friday uses four hours of PTO on an eight-hour day. Add or subtract these hours from the result by hand, since the calculator counts whole days.
Travel Days
Long journeys can eat into a holiday. Flying out on a Friday evening or returning on a Saturday keeps travel on non-working days, so more of your PTO is spent at the destination rather than in transit. When comparing dates, look at the total days away as well as the PTO used.
Team Planning
Managers can use the same calculation to plan cover. Counting the workdays each team member will be away, and when, helps spread leave fairly and keeps enough people available during busy periods. Shared leave calendars make overlaps easy to spot early.
Unlimited PTO
Some employers offer unlimited PTO, with no balance to track. The workday count is still useful, because most unlimited policies expect leave to be agreed in advance and to fit the needs of the team.
Paid Holidays Versus PTO
Public holidays your employer observes are usually paid separately from PTO, which is why they reduce the hours you need. If your employer does not give a particular holiday, leave it out of the list so the calculator counts it as a normal workday that needs PTO.
Long Weekends
Not every break needs to be long. Taking a Friday or Monday off next to a weekend gives three days away for one PTO day, and spreading several of these through the year can be more restful than one long holiday. Count each as a separate period in the calculator to see the total PTO used across the year.
Understanding Your Result
The headline gives the number of workdays off.
The PTO hours line gives the hours needed.
The break line gives the total days away and the weekends and holidays included.
The balance line shows what is left or how many hours you are short.
When Should You Use This Calculator?
Use it before booking a holiday to check your PTO.
Use it to compare different date options.
Use it to plan breaks around public holidays.
Common Mistakes
Counting calendar days. Only workdays use PTO.
Forgetting public holidays. They are already paid days off.
Entering weekend holidays. Use the substitute weekday instead.
Ignoring part-time schedules. Adjust hours per day.