Pay is quoted differently around the world: by the hour in one job ad, by the month in the next, by the year in a third. The numbers only become comparable once you fix the hours behind them, and that is where paid leave and public holidays matter. Two people on the same salary do not earn the same amount per hour if one of them works five more weeks a year.
Salary or rate
A yearly, monthly or weekly figure is a salary: it is fixed, and your paid leave is already inside it. An hourly or daily figure is a rate: you are paid for the units you actually work, so a day off simply means a day without pay. This calculator treats the two differently, which is why entering the same person's pay as a salary and as a rate gives different annual totals once time off is involved.
How it is calculated
- Scheduled working days a year = working days per week × 52.
- Days actually worked = scheduled days − paid leave days − public holidays.
- Hours actually worked = days actually worked × hours per day, plus overtime hours for each week worked.
- From a salary, annual pay is the figure you entered scaled to a year: monthly × 12, weekly × 52. From a rate, annual pay = rate × the time you actually work, with overtime hours paid at your multiplier.
- Per hour worked = annual pay ÷ hours actually worked. This is the number that changes when your holiday does.
Example
A monthly salary of $4,000 is $48,000 a year. On an eight-hour day and a five-day week that is 260 scheduled days. Take 25 days of leave and 10 public holidays and you actually work 225 days, or 1,800 hours, so every hour you work is worth $26.67 and every working day $213.33. Without any time off the same salary would be $23.08 an hour: the 35 paid days off are worth $7,467 of pay for time you do not spend at work.
Why there is no tax here
Income tax, social contributions and payroll deductions are set by each country, and often by region and personal circumstances inside it, so any single formula would be wrong for most readers. Instead of guessing, this calculator asks for the one thing you already know: either the share that gets deducted or the amount that actually arrives. Everything is then shown as both gross and take-home. If you are paid for the hours you clock rather than a fixed week, work them out first in the hours calculator or the time card calculator.
Why a month is not four weeks
A year holds about 4.33 weeks per month, so multiplying a weekly figure by four understates monthly pay by roughly 8%. Pay every two weeks is not the same as twice a month either: 26 fortnightly runs a year against 24 semi-monthly ones, which is why two months a year seem to contain an extra payment.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a monthly salary to an hourly rate?
Multiply the monthly figure by 12, then divide by the hours you actually work in a year. A $4,000 monthly salary with an eight-hour day, a five-day week, 25 leave days and 10 public holidays works out at $26.67 an hour, not the $23.08 you get from dividing by a flat 2,080 hours.
Does paid leave change my annual salary?
No, a salary is the same whether you take your leave or not. What changes is the value of each hour: the fewer hours you work for the same money, the more each one is worth. That is exactly what the "per hour worked" figure shows.
Why does the calculator not work out my tax?
Because tax rules differ by country, region and personal situation, and a single formula would be wrong for most people. Enter either your deduction percentage or the amount that actually reaches your account, and every figure is shown as gross and take-home side by side.
What overtime multiplier should I use?
The one in your contract. Time and a half is common in the United States and the United Kingdom, some countries use 1.25 for the first hours and 2 for nights or rest days, and many salaried roles receive nothing extra at all. Set 1× if extra hours are paid at the ordinary rate.
How many days off should I enter?
Your own entitlement. The EU requires at least four weeks of paid annual leave, the UK 5.6 weeks including bank holidays, and United States federal law requires none, so the honest default here is zero and you add what you actually get.
Sources
- Directive 2003/88/EC on the organisation of working time — Article 7: at least four weeks of paid annual leave; Article 6: 48-hour average week including overtime
- GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement — 5.6 weeks statutory leave, 28 days for a five-day week, bank holidays may be included
- ILO: Working Time and Work-Life Balance Around the World (2023) — global picture of working hours; over a third of workers exceed 48 hours a week
- US Department of Labor: Overtime pay — one national example: time and one-half over 40 hours a week for covered non-exempt employees
By Calcelate Team. Formula from the sources above.
- 2026-09-15 · Formula and texts checked