PTO Banking (Self-Funded Time Off) Calculator
Price the paid days off you want at your day rate, and see the monthly reserve — or rate increase — that funds them.
Written by Dorothy Ibrahim, 10+ years in banking & finance
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How we calculate this
When an employee takes time off, the paychecks keep coming; when a freelancer takes time off, the income simply stops. This calculator prices the paid days off you want each year at your day rate, turning an abstract "I should take a break" into a concrete dollar figure to bank per year and per month. If you also enter your annual billable revenue, it shows the rate increase that would let your billing — not your savings — cover the time off, the way an employer builds PTO into a salary.
The formulas
- Amount to bank
- desired days off × day rateThe income those days would have earned if worked.
- Per month
- amount to bank ÷ 12A steady monthly amount to set aside into a dedicated time-off reserve.
- Rate uplift needed
- amount to bank ÷ annual billable revenueZero when billable revenue is left at 0 — the uplift is skipped, not estimated.
Worked example
- With the defaults — 20 desired days off at a $500 day rate, and $120,000 of annual billable revenue.
- Amount to bank = 20 × $500 = $10,000 a year.
- Per month = $10,000 ÷ 12 = $833.33 to set aside each month.
- Rate uplift needed = $10,000 ÷ $120,000 = 8.3% — charging about 8.3% more across your billing would fund the same $10,000 through revenue instead of savings.
Rates, benchmarks & sources
- Amount to bank, monthly reserve, and rate uplift are computed only from the days off, day rate, and billable revenue you enter — there is no statutory PTO entitlement for the self-employed. — Arithmetic on your own inputs
- Context for the "employees typically get 20–30 paid days off a year" comparison used in the days-off helper text and FAQ. — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employee Benefits Survey
Figures current as of 2026-07-02. See our methodology & editorial standards for how constants are versioned and verified.
What this tool doesn’t model
- This is a planning estimate, not financial advice — it does not model taxes on the reserved amount, where the money is held, or how quickly you can actually raise your rates with existing clients.
- Assumes a single flat day rate; freelancers with multiple rates (by client, project type, or rush work) would need to run this per rate or use a blended average.
- The rate uplift is a simple share of current revenue — it does not account for revenue lost during the days off themselves or clients who resist a rate increase.
- Does not distinguish vacation, sick, and holiday time; all desired days are priced identically even though usage patterns differ.
Frequently asked questions
How do freelancers get paid time off?
They don’t, unless they build it in themselves. There is no employer to keep paying you during a vacation or sick day, so every unpaid day off is a direct income loss unless you reserve money for it in advance or raise your rate to cover it. This calculator prices the days you want off so you can fund them deliberately, using either approach.
How many days off should I plan for?
Employees typically get roughly 20 to 30 paid days a year once vacation, holidays, and sick leave are combined, per Bureau of Labor Statistics benefits data. Planning for a similar number keeps your effective compensation comparable to a job, and it removes the excuse to skip breaks just because each one visibly costs you income.
Should I save for time off or raise my rate instead?
Both accomplish the same goal from different directions. Saving the monthly amount builds a direct cash cushion you draw from when you take time off. Raising your rate by the calculated uplift means clients fund your time off through ongoing billing, similar to how an employer prices benefits into your compensation. Many freelancers combine a partial rate increase with a smaller monthly reserve.
How is the rate uplift percentage calculated?
It divides the amount you need to bank by your annual billable revenue, giving the percentage you would need to add across your billing to fully cover the days off from client revenue instead of savings. At the default inputs, $10,000 needed on $120,000 of billable revenue works out to an 8.3% uplift. Leaving billable revenue at zero simply skips this calculation.
Does this calculator account for taxes on the money I set aside?
No. The amount to bank and the monthly reserve are pre-tax income figures — the same dollars you would have earned by working those days. If you set the reserve aside in a separate account, remember that income tax and self-employment tax on those earnings still apply the same as any other billable income.
What if my day rate varies by client or project?
Use a representative or blended day rate for a single estimate, or run the calculator separately for each rate tier and add the results together. Because the formula is a simple multiplication, it scales linearly, so a weighted average day rate across your typical mix of work will give a reasonably accurate combined figure.