Ontario vacation pay calculator
Enter your gross wages for the vacation entitlement year and how long you have worked for your employer. You get the vacation pay owed and the weeks of vacation time.
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Working with a different rate? Edit the rates this calculator uses
These are the figures we verified on 2026-10-23. Change them to work with a historic period, or with a new rate that has been announced but which we have not published yet.
How is vacation pay calculated in Ontario?
Vacation pay is at least 4% of gross wages (excluding any vacation pay) for employees with less than five years of service, which comes with two weeks of vacation time. From five years, it is at least 6% and three weeks. It is worked out on the wages earned in the 12-month vacation entitlement year or the stub period.
Why we built this calculator
Vacation pay is the least understood of the ESA minimums, because two different things have to be tracked: the time off and the money. They follow the same service threshold, but the money is a percentage of what you earned while the time is a fixed number of weeks, so they only line up for someone on steady pay.
This calculator gives both, and shows the pay equivalent of a week. For overtime see the Ontario overtime calculator, and for what you are owed on leaving a job the termination and severance calculator.
It runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere, and there is no sign-up.
When to use it
- Checking the vacation pay on a final paycheque
- Seeing the effect of reaching five years of service
- Estimating vacation pay for a contract or a part-year
- Comparing an offer's vacation terms with the ESA minimum
Mistakes it helps you avoid
- Including vacation pay in the earnings it is calculated on. The base excludes any vacation pay.
- Using 4% after five years of service when 6% applies.
- Forgetting that the percentage applies to gross wages earned, not to your base salary alone.
- Assuming vacation time and vacation pay have separate thresholds. Both change at five years.
How vacation pay is worked out
It is a percentage of the gross wages earned in the vacation entitlement year, excluding any vacation pay.
under five years of employment: vacation pay = 4% × gross wages (two weeks of vacation time)five years or more: vacation pay = 6% × gross wages (three weeks of vacation time)gross wages exclude any vacation pay already paidpay value of one week of vacation = vacation pay ÷ weeks of vacation time
The base is the gross wages earned in the 12-month vacation entitlement year or in a stub period, not including vacation pay. Many employers pay vacation pay as a percentage on each paycheque; the total over the year is the same. The percentage is a minimum, so an agreement that gives more prevails.
Worked example: $52,000 of gross wages
You earned $52,000 in gross wages over your vacation entitlement year, not counting any vacation pay.
- Under five years: 4% × 52,000$2,080.00
- Pay value of one week of those two weeks$1,040.00
- Five years or more: 6% × 52,000$3,120.00
- Pay value of one week of those three weeks$1,040.00
Vacation pay is $2,080.00 under five years and $3,120.00 from five years.
The extra year of service changes both the pay and the time off: one more week of vacation, and two percentage points more vacation pay.
How the five-year threshold works
The Ontario guide sets two tiers: less than five years of employment, and five or more years. At five years both the vacation time and the percentage step up. See the Ontario overtime calculator for the other everyday entitlement that depends on the hours you work.
Terms on this page
- Vacation entitlement year
- The 12-month period for which vacation time and vacation pay are calculated.
- Stub period
- A shorter period at the start or end of employment, used when a full entitlement year has not been worked.
- Gross wages
- Earnings before deductions, not including vacation pay, on which vacation pay is calculated.
What has changed, and when
Rates on this page have not always been what they are today. If you are working on an earlier period, use the figure that applied at the time rather than the current one.
- Current Two weeks and 4% under five years, three weeks and 6% from five years, per the Ontario guide updated February 2026.
Common questions
How much vacation pay am I owed in Ontario?
At least 4% of your gross wages, not counting vacation pay, if you have worked for your employer for less than five years. From five years it is at least 6%.
How many weeks of vacation do I get in Ontario?
Two weeks for each vacation entitlement year if you have worked for less than five years, and three weeks from five years.
Is vacation pay calculated on overtime?
The guide bases vacation pay on gross wages earned in the entitlement year, excluding vacation pay. The extract we read does not list overtime as an exclusion, so check the guide for how each of your pay components is treated.
What is the vacation entitlement year?
A 12-month period used to calculate vacation time and pay. A shorter stub period applies where employment starts or the entitlement year is set by agreement.
Do I get paid vacation on termination?
The Ontario termination guide says vacation pay is earned on pay in lieu of notice. For vacation pay you earned but have not yet been paid, check the vacation guide.
Where these numbers come from
- Government of Ontario — Your guide to the ESA: Vacation time and vacation pay Two weeks and 4% under five years, three weeks and 6% from five years.
Last verified 2026-10-23 Rates on this page are checked against the sources above at least once a year, and whenever the governing authority announces a change. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
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