This annual leave calculator estimates how much annual leave you have accrued, what balance you have left, and what unused leave could be worth if your employment ends. It is made for Australian full-time and part-time employees who want to check a balance between payslips, plan time off, or understand a final pay figure before it arrives. You can run it as a straight accrual check, or switch to payout mode, add your hourly rate, and include leave loading if your award or agreement provides it. A tax view for the payout is included for the financial year you select. Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, stored or sent anywhere, so your salary and leave details stay private on your device.
How it works
The accrual method
Annual leave under the National Employment Standards is 4 weeks of ordinary hours for each year of service. For a 38 hour week that is 152 hours a year, accruing at about 2.9231 hours per week. Leave does not arrive in one yearly block. It accrues progressively through the year, from your first day, in step with the ordinary hours you work.
Part-time employees accrue the same entitlement on a pro rata basis. Work 19 hours a week instead of 38 and you accrue half the hours, which is still 4 weeks of your own working pattern. That distinction matters when you compare balances with a colleague: compare weeks of your own hours, not raw hours, or the part-time balance will look smaller than the entitlement really is.
One group sits outside the standard setting. Shiftworkers covered by an award or agreement receive 5 weeks of annual leave a year. This calculator is built on the standard 4 week entitlement, so if you are a shiftworker under an award or agreement, check your balance against the higher entitlement in your award.
You enter your weekly ordinary hours, the weeks worked in the period you are checking, and any annual leave already taken. The calculator works out the share of the yearly entitlement those weeks have earned, subtracts the leave taken, and shows the balance in hours and in days at your usual day length.
Payout mode and leave loading
If your employment ends, unused accrued annual leave must be paid out at your base pay rate. Payout mode multiplies your balance hours by the hourly rate you enter. Leave loading is handled as a separate toggle, on purpose. Loading is usually 17.5 percent, but it is not a National Employment Standards entitlement. It comes from awards and agreements, so not everyone receives it, and whether it is included in a payout can depend on your award or agreement and, under some awards, on why the employment ended. Turn the toggle on only if your award or agreement actually provides loading on a payout, and leave it off if you are unsure until you have checked.
The tax view and the financial year selector
A payout of unused leave is taxed as part of your income for the year, so the payout view includes a tax estimate and a financial year selector. The selector matters here, and only here: accrual follows National Employment Standards rules that do not change with the financial year, but the tax on a payout uses the ATO resident rates and Medicare levy settings for the year you choose.
The estimate uses the marginal method. It works out the tax on your salary alone, then the tax on your salary plus the payout, and the difference is the estimated tax on the payout itself. That is a fairer picture than taxing the payout as if it stood alone, because the payout is added on top of income you have already earned and is taxed at your marginal rate. All figures are in AUD. Your final tax position is settled in your tax return, where offsets and other items this tool does not include are worked out, so treat the after-tax payout as an estimate for planning, not as the figure your employer will use on the day.
Worked example
An employee leaves a job with an unused annual leave balance of 76 hours, paid at $40 an hour, and their award provides leave loading of 17.5 percent on the payout. Their salary is $90,000 in 2025-26.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Leave pay | 76 hours × $40 | $3,040 |
| Leave loading | 17.5 percent of $3,040 | $532 |
| Gross payout | $3,040 + $532 | $3,572 |
| Estimated tax | 32 percent of $3,572 (the 30 percent bracket plus the 2 percent Medicare levy, at a $90,000 salary in 2025-26) | $1,143.04 |
| Estimated after-tax payout | $3,572 – $1,143.04 | $2,428.96 |
Common questions
How much annual leave do I accrue?
Full-time and part-time employees accrue 4 weeks of annual leave a year under the National Employment Standards, based on their ordinary hours of work. For a 38-hour week that is 152 hours a year, or about 2.92 hours a week. Shiftworkers covered by an award or agreement get 5 weeks.
What is leave loading?
Leave loading is an extra payment, usually 17.5 percent, paid on top of your base pay while you take annual leave or, in some cases, when leave is paid out. It comes from awards and agreements, not from the National Employment Standards, so not everyone gets it. This calculator includes it only when you tick the loading option.
Is unused annual leave paid out when I leave my job?
Yes. If your employment ends, your employer must pay out your unused accrued annual leave at your base pay rate. Whether leave loading is included in the payout depends on your award or agreement and, under some awards, on why the employment ended.
How is the tax on a leave payout worked out?
A payout of unused leave is taxed as part of your income for the year. This calculator estimates the tax using the marginal method: it compares the tax on your salary plus the payout with the tax on your salary alone. Your final tax position is settled in your tax return.
Does annual leave accrue while I am on leave?
Yes, in most cases. Leave accrues during periods of paid leave, such as annual leave itself and paid personal leave. It generally does not accrue during unpaid leave, subject to a few exceptions in the Fair Work Act.
A note on estimates
Every figure on this page, including the payout and its tax view, is an estimate based on the National Employment Standards method and the ATO rates for the year you select. It is general information only, not financial, tax or legal advice, and your employer’s payroll record is the official balance. Read our full disclaimer at /disclaimer/ before relying on a result. You may also find /sick-leave-calculator/ and /super-calculator/ useful, or /income-tax-calculator/ for the tax on your regular pay.