Free tool
California Vacation Payout Calculator
Estimate what your unused, accrued vacation is worth. In California, earned vacation is wages, and your employer must pay it out at your final rate when you leave a job.
Reviewed by Justin Silverman, California employment attorney (State Bar #292036). Current for 2026.
Assumes 8-hour days. Switch to hours if you track it that way.
Your accrued vacation is worth
$2,000.00
That is 80 hours of accrued vacation at $25.00 per hour. In California, earned vacation is wages, cannot be forfeited under a use-it-or-lose-it policy, and must be paid at your final rate when you leave.
If your employer did not pay this out when you left, you may also be owed a waiting-time penalty of up to $6,000.00 (up to 30 days of pay) on top of the vacation itself.
This is a general estimate. Accrued vacation and combined PTO are payable at termination; paid sick leave generally is not. The waiting-time penalty applies only where the failure to pay was willful. This is not legal or financial advice.
Your vacation is wages in California
Because California treats earned vacation as wages, it cannot expire under a use-it-or-lose-it rule, and it must be paid out when you leave. If your final paycheck left out accrued vacation, that is unpaid wages, and a late or short final check can add penalties on top. Learn more in our guide to unpaid wages and overtime in California.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my employer have to pay out my unused vacation in California?
Yes. In California, earned vacation is treated as wages. When you leave a job, whether you quit or are fired, your employer must pay out all accrued, unused vacation at your final rate of pay, as part of your final wages.
Can my vacation expire under a use-it-or-lose-it policy?
No. Use-it-or-lose-it vacation policies are unlawful in California because earned vacation is a form of wages that cannot be forfeited. Employers may cap how much you accrue, but they cannot take away vacation you have already earned.
What if my employer did not pay out my vacation?
Unpaid vacation is unpaid wages. If your final paycheck left out accrued vacation, you may be owed that amount, and a late final paycheck can also trigger waiting time penalties of up to 30 days of pay.
Is paid sick leave paid out when I leave, like vacation?
Usually not. California paid sick leave generally does not have to be cashed out at separation, unlike earned vacation. But if your employer combines vacation and sick time into a single PTO bank, that combined PTO is typically treated as vacation and must be paid out. The label your employer uses matters.
How is my payout calculated if I am salaried?
Your accrued vacation is paid at your final regular rate. For a salaried employee, that is your annual salary divided by 2,080 hours to get an hourly rate, multiplied by your unused vacation hours. This calculator does that conversion for you when you enter a salary.
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Did your final paycheck leave out your vacation? Unpaid vacation is unpaid wages, and you may be owed it plus penalties. A consultation with our office is free.
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This page and calculator are general information, not legal advice, and do not create an attorney-client relationship.