How to Calculate the Hourly Rate of Vacation Time

by Chris Newton, Demand Media

U.S. employers are not legally obligated to offer paid time off for vacation, according to Legal Zoom, so your hourly pay rate for vacation time depends on your company's policy, as well as your regular salary. Calculating hourly rates for vacation time allows you to understand how much you are paid while on vacation. It is also important to calculate your hourly rate for vacation pay so you know how much time you should take off for any upcoming vacations and still retain your regular paycheck amounts.

Step 1

Calculate your hourly pay rate based on your salary. First, determine how many hours a week your company considers full-time. Most companies consider 40 hours a week full-time. Then, divide your annual salary by 52 to get your weekly salary, and divide that number by 40, or the number of hours your company considers full-time per week, to get your hourly rate. For example, if you are paid $52,000 a year, that equates to $1,000 per week and $25 an hour in a 40-hour week.

Step 2

Calculate the number of hours you took for vacation. Typically, employers consider eight hours as one day. So, if you took 5 1/2 days off for your vacation, that equals 44 hours.

Step 3

Multiply your hourly rate by the number of hours you took off to determine the total amount you were paid while on vacation. The amount per hour, or hourly rate, is the same as your hourly work rate. If you are paid $25 an hour, that is also how much you are paid on vacation, up to eight hours a day. If you took 44 hours off for your vacation, you were paid $1,100 before taxes.

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