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Leave Calculator

Your annual leave payout, use-or-lose hours, and military sell-back. For the leave year ending Jan 9, 2027, schedule use-or-lose leave in writing by Nov 28, 2026.

On your SF-50 (block 31). Military time can count.

On your latest leave and earnings statement.

$

Vacation you plan to take; 0 for the most you could be paid.

Lump-sum payout at separation

Before taxes

$13,656

300 hours × $45.52

After withholding (estimate)

$9,607

22% federal + 7.65% FICA; state tax extra

Earning now

6 h

per pay period (10 in the last one of the year)

Earned between now and separation100 hours
Rate goes to 8 hourspay period starting Jun 8, 2031
Balance at separation300 hours (37.5 days)

Counts full pay periods only, on the pay-period calendar most agencies use. If a pay raise takes effect during the weeks your leave would have covered, the payout includes it. Sick leave isn't paid out; under FERS it adds to your service for the pension (see the FERS retirement calculator). CSRS employees don't pay Social Security, so their withholding is lower.

How it works

Federal: the calculator steps through each biweekly pay period between today and your separation date, adds the hours you earn at your service level, and applies the carryover limit at the end of each leave year (the leave year starts with the first full pay period in January). The payout is the balance left at separation × your hourly rate.

Military: 2.5 days a month, capped at 60 at the end of each fiscal year (Sept. 30), then terminal leave, then sell-back up to what's left of your 60-day career limit at basic pay ÷ 30.

More in the guide to the federal leave payout and annual vs sick leave before retirement. Retiring? The FERS retirement calculator adds your unused sick leave to the pension.

Questions

How much annual leave do federal employees earn?

Full-time employees earn 4 hours per pay period with under 3 years of service (13 days a year), 6 hours with 3 to 15 years (20 days; 10 hours in the last pay period of the year), and 8 hours with 15 or more (26 days). SES, SL, and ST employees earn 8 hours regardless of service.

How much annual leave can I carry over?

Most employees can carry 240 hours (30 days) into the new leave year; 360 hours if stationed overseas; 720 hours for SES, SL, and ST. Hours over the limit at the end of the leave year are forfeited ("use or lose").

What is the use-or-lose deadline?

For the leave year ending Jan 9, 2027, schedule use-or-lose leave in writing by Nov 28, 2026. Leave scheduled by the deadline can be restored if your agency cancels it because of work or you can't use it because of illness. Leave scheduled later is simply lost if you don't use it.

How is the annual leave payout calculated when I retire?

Your unused annual leave hours × your hourly rate (basic pay including locality ÷ 2,087). Holidays during the weeks your leave would have covered count as workdays, and a pay raise that takes effect during those weeks is added. Sick leave is not paid out.

How is the lump sum taxed?

As wages: agencies usually withhold federal income tax at the 22% supplemental rate, plus Social Security and Medicare, plus any state tax. No retirement deductions come out of it.

How does military leave sell-back work?

Service members earn 2.5 days of leave a month and can carry 60 days into each new fiscal year. At separation or retirement you can sell back unused leave at your basic pay ÷ 30 per day, up to 60 days over your whole career. Taking terminal leave instead keeps full pay and allowances.

Sources: OPM fact sheets on annual leave and lump-sum payments; 5 U.S.C. 5551, 6303, and 6304; IRS Publication 15 (supplemental wages); 37 U.S.C. 501 and 10 U.S.C. 701 (military leave). Checked November 14, 2026.