About the FMLA Leave Calculator
This FMLA leave calculator works out how much Family and Medical Leave Act leave an employee has used and has left on a given date. Enter the employee’s normal weekly hours, list the FMLA leave already taken (date and hours), choose the 12-month method your employer uses, and it returns the hours and workweeks remaining, the 12-month window that applies, and when leave comes back.
It is meant for HR and benefits administrators, managers approving intermittent leave, and employees checking their own balance. Under the FMLA an eligible employee can take up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period, or up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period for military caregiver leave (that period always runs forward from the first day of caregiver leave, whatever method the employer uses). Employers must choose one of four methods to measure that period and apply it to everyone: the calendar year, a fixed 12-month leave year, a period measured forward from the first FMLA leave, or a rolling period measured backward from each date leave is used.
Leave is tracked in hours so intermittent and reduced-schedule leave can be counted precisely: the entitlement equals 12 (or 26) times the hours the employee normally works per week. For employees whose schedule varies, the regulations use the weekly average of hours scheduled over the 12 months before leave begins. Eligibility itself (12 months of service, 1,250 hours and 50 employees within 75 miles) is not checked here, and state family-leave laws may give more.
With the default inputs, the fmla hours remaining is 320 hours. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the fmla leave calculator
- 1Choose the 12-month method your employer’s FMLA policy uses.
- 2Pick standard (12 weeks) or military caregiver (26 weeks) leave.
- 3Enter the employee’s normal hours per workweek.
- 4List each FMLA absence as a date and hours, one per line.
- 5Set the date to check (usually the first day of the new leave) and read the hours and weeks remaining.
Formula and method
FMLA entitles an eligible employee to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period (26 workweeks in a single 12-month period for military caregiver leave). Converting to hours — workweeks × the hours normally worked per week — lets intermittent and reduced-schedule leave be deducted exactly; someone who normally works 30 hours and takes 10 hours off uses one-third of a workweek.
The period depends on the method: calendar year (1 January–31 December); a fixed 12-month leave year starting on the date you set; a period measured forward from the first day FMLA leave is taken, with the next period starting at the first leave after it ends; or a rolling period looking back 12 months from the date leave is used, so each leave entry drops out exactly one year later. Hours dated within the period are summed and subtracted from the entitlement.
- Entitlement
- Workweeks of leave × normal weekly hours
- Σ FMLA hours
- Recorded FMLA leave dated inside the applicable 12-month period
Worked examples
Rolling look-back, 40-hour week
Looking back 12 months from 14 September 2026 covers 15 September 2025 onward, so all four absences count: 40 + 80 + 24 + 16 = 160 hours. Of the 480-hour entitlement (12 × 40), 320 hours or 8 workweeks remain. The 40 hours from 3 November 2025 come back on 3 November 2026.
Calendar year method
Only leave dated in calendar 2026 counts: 80 + 24 + 16 = 120 hours. The November 2025 absence belongs to the previous year, so 360 hours (9 workweeks) remain until the balance resets on 1 January 2027.
Fixed leave year from 1 July, part-time 30 hours
A 30-hour employee is entitled to 12 × 30 = 360 hours. The leave year running from 1 July 2026 contains only the 16 hours taken in August, so 344 hours — about 11.47 workweeks — remain.
Rolling forward from first leave
The 12-month period starts with the first FMLA leave on 3 November 2025 and runs to 2 November 2026. All 160 hours fall inside it, leaving 320 hours.
Military caregiver leave (26 workweeks)
Caregiver leave gives 26 × 40 = 1,040 hours in a single 12-month period that starts on the first day of caregiver leave, 2 March 2026, and ends on 1 March 2027. The 400 + 120 = 520 hours taken leave 520 hours, or 13 workweeks.
Frequently asked questions
How is the 12-month period for military caregiver leave measured?+
The single 12-month period for military caregiver leave begins on the first day the employee takes leave to care for a covered servicemember and ends 12 months later, regardless of the method the employer uses for other FMLA leave. The 26 workweeks are a combined total that includes any other FMLA leave taken in that period.
How many hours of FMLA leave do I get?+
FMLA provides 12 workweeks of leave, so the hours depend on your normal schedule: 480 hours for a 40-hour week, 360 hours for a 30-hour week. Military caregiver leave provides up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period.
What is the rolling backward method for FMLA?+
Under the rolling look-back method, each time an employee uses FMLA leave the employer looks back 12 months from that date and subtracts any FMLA leave used in that window from the 12-week entitlement. Leave taken more than 12 months ago no longer counts.
Which FMLA 12-month method is best for employers?+
Many employers prefer the rolling backward method because it prevents employees from stacking 12 weeks at the end of one year and 12 weeks at the start of the next, which the calendar and fixed-year methods allow. The chosen method must be applied consistently to all employees.
How is intermittent FMLA leave counted?+
Intermittent or reduced-schedule leave is counted in the smallest time increment the employer uses for other leave (no more than one hour), and only the time actually taken is deducted. Track it in hours against the hour-based entitlement.
How is FMLA calculated for variable schedules?+
If an employee’s schedule varies so much that a normal workweek can’t be determined, the weekly average of hours scheduled over the 12 months before the leave begins (including any hours for which the employee took leave) is used to calculate the entitlement.
Do holidays count against FMLA leave?+
If an employee takes a full week of FMLA leave that includes a holiday, the whole week counts. If FMLA is taken in less than full weeks, a holiday is not counted unless the employee was otherwise scheduled and expected to work that day.
Results are general estimates and not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction — consult a qualified attorney.