PTO payout tax calculator

Not federally -- a PTO/vacation payout is "supplemental wages," the same category as a bonus, typically withheld at a flat 22% for federal income tax rather than your regular paycheck's withholding schedule. Your actual tax liability depends on your full year's income, same as any other paycheck.

Not always. California's EDD publishes a lower flat rate (6.6%) for vacation payout, severance, commissions and overtime, distinct from the higher rate (10.23%) it uses specifically for bonuses and stock compensation -- see the estimate below for that case. Most other states that publish any flat supplemental rate at all use one rate for everything.

This is a state law and employer policy question, not a tax one -- some states require payout of accrued, unused vacation time at termination, others leave it to employer policy, and some allow a documented "use it or lose it" policy. This calculator assumes a payout is happening and estimates its tax, not whether one is owed.

Yes -- like any other wages, a PTO or vacation payout is subject to Social Security tax (up to the annual wage base) and Medicare tax, in addition to federal and state income tax withholding.