Tools · PTO Payout
North Carolina PTO Payout Checker (2026)
Whether North Carolina makes an employer pay out accrued, unused vacation or PTO when a job ends, applied to your own hours and rate.
North Carolina PTO payout checker
The accrued, unused balance on your last pay stub or in the HR portal. One vacation day is usually 8 hours.
Salaried? Divide your annual salary by 2,080 (52 weeks of 40 hours) for an hourly figure.
In North Carolina, what the handbook, offer letter, or contract says about unused vacation at separation is what controls. Read it before counting on a payout, and keep a copy: a promise in writing is what makes the amount collectible.
Enter your unused hours and your rate to see the North Carolina rule on your numbers.
When the final check itself is due is a separate deadline: the North Carolina final paycheck checker shows it for a quit and for a firing.
Informational only, not legal advice. Sick leave, commissions, and bonuses follow different rules, and collective bargaining agreements can change the answer. For the timing rules and citations on the check itself, see the North Carolina final paycheck reference; this record is cited to N.C. Gen. Stat. §95-25.12.
How the North Carolina rule works
North Carolina does not require employers to offer vacation. If an employer promises it, accrued time is payable at separation unless a written forfeiture clause applies. A policy that causes loss of vacation at separation is enforceable only if employees were notified of it under G.S. 95-25.13; employees who were not notified are not subject to the forfeiture, and ambiguous policies are read against the employer.
This checker states the rule and prices your unused hours; it is informational only and not legal advice, and it does not decide whether your employer owes you. The other half of the question, when the final check itself must arrive, is covered by the North Carolina final paycheck checker and the North Carolina final paycheck reference.
PTO payout checkers for other states
Same tool, each with its own rule.