How to use the vacation day planner
- Enter your vacation days this year, any days carried over and the days already used.
- Choose your workweek and enter your trips, one per line, such as `2026-07-06 to 2026-07-17 Beach week`. Dates can also be written 7/6/2026.
- List the days your employer gives you off (one date per line) so they are not counted against your vacation days.
- Read the table for the working days each trip uses and the days left after it, then Download PDF or Print.
How the days are counted
For each trip the planner counts every date from the first to the last, including both ends. A date counts as a vacation day only if it falls on one of your working days and is not in your list of days off. With a Monday to Friday week, a trip from Monday July 6 to Friday July 17, 2026 spans 12 calendar days and uses 10 working days. The workweek options are Monday to Friday, Monday to Saturday and Sunday to Thursday.
Trips are sorted by date, and each one reduces the balance. The balance starts at your yearly days plus the days carried over minus the days already used. If a trip takes the balance below zero, the number shows as negative, so you can see exactly where you run out, and the note under the page says by how many days.
An example
Take 15 days for the year, none carried over, and 2 already used, which leaves 13. A beach trip from July 6 to July 17 uses 10 working days and leaves 3. A Thanksgiving trip from November 25 to 27 would use 3 working days, but if November 26 is a day off your employer gives you, it uses 2 and leaves 1. A year end break from December 28 to 31 uses 4 working days and leaves -3, so you would be 3 days short.
Those numbers are what the tool computes from the example entries. Your own holidays, half days and part time schedules will give different results, so edit the dates to match your employer.
What to check with your employer
Employers decide how time off is earned, whether unused days carry over, whether holidays inside a trip count and whether partial days are allowed. The planner only counts the days you list. It does not know your policy, so confirm the rules and the balance with your employer. If you earn time off as you work, the PTO accrual calculator shows how the balance grows, and the business days calculator counts working days between any two dates. For a count of all days, use the days between dates calculator.
Your entries can be remembered in this browser if you tick the box, and nothing is uploaded. Everything is made on your device.
Assumptions and limits
- A trip uses a day only when it falls on one of your working days and is not in your days off list.
- The days you list as days off are a list of dates you type. The planner does not know any holiday calendar.
- Whole and decimal days are accepted for the allowance, carryover and days used, but each trip uses whole working days.
- Trips cannot overlap, and up to 24 trips fit on the page.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate how many vacation days a trip uses?
Count the working days from the first to the last day of the trip, leaving out weekends and days your employer gives you off. The planner does this for each trip you list and subtracts it from your balance.
Are weekends counted against my vacation days?
Not with a Monday to Friday workweek, because Saturday and Sunday are not working days. If you work Saturdays, pick Monday to Saturday.
Can I plan trips that cross two months or years?
Yes. Enter the first and last dates, and the planner counts across the month or year boundary. The balance is for the one year you set.
Does it handle half days?
No. Each day on a trip counts as a whole day. Adjust the days used or your carryover by hand if part of a day is taken.