Work and taxes
PTO Planner: Turn Your Days Off into Long Weekends
Which days to take off for the longest breaks
Enter how many PTO days you have and which holidays your employer gives you, and this PTO planner tells you which days to take off to link them with weekends and holidays: first the bridges that stretch furthest, then whole weeks.
What if you had more PTO?
Days off in a row you get by PTO days, with the same holidays and year.
Move along the curve to see each case; tap to pick it.
The key idea
One PTO day next to a holiday is worth four
Memorial Day, Labor Day and three other federal holidays always fall on a Monday. Taking the Friday before gives you four days off for one PTO day; a plain week off gives you nine for five. That is why the planner fills those short gaps first and saves whole weeks for last.
How it is calculated
The planner marks every weekend and the holidays you get on the calendar: the 11 federal holidays in 5 U.S.C. 6103, or only New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus the day after Thanksgiving if you get it. A holiday on a Saturday is observed the Friday before and one on a Sunday, the Monday after, as for federal employees.
Payoff of a gap = days off you get ÷ PTO days you use
First it fills, one at a time, the gaps next to a holiday with the best payoff: the whole gap, or just the day that links it to the holiday, like the Friday before a Monday holiday. It only uses those that beat a plain week off, which gives 9 days off for 5 PTO days.
With the days left over, it suggests whole weeks between two weekends with no fixed date: pick them yourself. Any loose days stretch one of those weeks, or join the bridge that pays off most.
The total counts every day off in a row in the breaks where you use PTO, weekends and holidays included. It assumes a Monday to Friday schedule.
Worked example
You have 10 PTO days for 2027 and get all 11 federal holidays off. The planner finds ten four-day weekends that each cost a single PTO day, so you get 40 days off, 4 for every PTO day:
- Fridays before a Monday holiday: January 15 (MLK Day), February 12 (Washington's Birthday), May 28 (Memorial Day), July 2 (July 4, observed Monday 5), September 3 (Labor Day) and October 8 (Columbus Day).
- Next to a Friday or Thursday holiday: Monday, January 4 after New Year's Day; Thursday, June 17 before Juneteenth, observed Friday 18; and the Fridays after Veterans Day (November 12) and Thanksgiving (November 26).
Spent on two plain weeks off instead, the same 10 days would give you 18 days off: the bridges give you 22 more.
Official sources
- 5 U.S.C. § 6103: federal holidays · the 11 federal holidays and the Friday rule for Saturday holidays
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management: federal holidays · federal holiday dates
- U.S. Department of Labor: Vacation Leave (the FLSA does not require paid vacations or holidays)
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
How do I get the most days off with my PTO?
Use your PTO days first on the workdays next to a holiday. The Friday before a Monday holiday gives you four days off for one PTO day; a plain week off gives you nine for five.
What are the federal holidays?
There are 11: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, set by 5 U.S.C. 6103.
Do private employers have to give federal holidays off?
No. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require paid holidays or vacation: your employer sets them. Pick the holidays you actually get in the planner.
What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?
For federal employees, a holiday on a Saturday is observed the Friday before and one on a Sunday, the Monday after. Many private employers do the same, but check your handbook.
How many PTO days should I enter?
The days you have left this year, counted Monday to Friday. If your PTO is in hours, divide it by the hours in your workday: 80 hours at 8 hours a day is 10 days.
Does it work if I work weekends?
Not as is, because it assumes Monday to Friday. With weekend shifts, each bridge gives you fewer days off in a row.
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