Canadian vacation balance calculator

An estimate of the vacation days you have left under your employer's own policy. This is deliberately not a statutory calculation: in most of Canada the law grants vacation on completing a year of employment rather than crediting usable days evenly each month, so a running balance is a bookkeeping convention your employer chooses.

Canada. There is no single Canadian formula. Each province and territory sets its own minimum vacation time and vacation pay, and federally regulated work follows the Canada Labour Code — so you choose your jurisdiction. Rules checked 16 September 2026.

Which employment standards law covers your job? (required)

Most jobs are covered by the province or territory you work in. Federally regulated work is the exception — see below.

How does your employer track your vacation?

This is your employer's own bookkeeping method. Canadian law generally grants vacation time on completing a year, so a running balance is a policy choice.

Vacation days credited each month

Months completed in this vacation year

Opening balance carried in (days, optional)

Vacation days already taken in this year (optional)

Choose your jurisdiction and your employer's tracking method to see a policy balance estimate, with the workings.

A policy estimate, a legal entitlement and permission are three different things

Policy estimate: What this page produces: the arithmetic of your employer's accrual method, opening balance and days taken.
Statutory entitlement: What the law in your province, territory or the Canada Labour Code guarantees. That is worked out on the vacation entitlement page, and it does not change because a payroll system shows a different number.
Permission to take it: A separate matter again. In much of Canada the employer decides when vacation is taken, within the timing rules of the jurisdiction. A positive balance is not automatic approval, and a zero balance does not always mean you cannot take time off.

Worked example

Our own example, not an official one: an Alberta employer credits 1.25 vacation days a month. Eight months in, that is 10 days. Add 2 days carried over and subtract 5 days taken, and 7 days remain on the policy estimate. Alberta's statutory minimum for that employee is still expressed as weeks per year of service, which is a separate figure.

Common questions

My payroll shows a percentage, not days.: Percentages normally describe vacation pay, not vacation time. Choose the percentage-of-hours method if your employer genuinely tracks your time that way, and use the vacation pay calculator for the money.
Can my balance be negative?: On this estimate, yes — many employers let you take vacation before it has been credited. That is their decision, not a legal position.
What about statutory holidays and sick days?: They are separate entitlements and are never part of this balance.