Severance Pay Calculator
Estimate gross severance from your pay, years of service and the employer policy you enter (weeks per year, minimum, cap), plus PTO payout, bonus and benefits.
Interactive calculator · Method SEVERANCE-PAY-1.0 · Last reviewed: 2026-11-04
Calculate your scenario
Weekly pay = annual salary ÷ 52 (or the weekly figure entered).
Your inputs
Default worked example. Edit the inputs to calculate your scenario.
Default worked example
13 weeks × $1,250.00 weekly = $16,250.00; PTO 5 days × $250.00 = $1,250.00; + bonus $0.00 + benefits $1,800.00 = $19,300.00.
How to use the calculator
Choose annual or weekly pay, enter years of service and the policy terms from the offer letter, handbook or agreement, then add unused PTO days, any bonus and the months and premium of continued benefits.
What the result means
At $65,000 a year ($1,250 a week), 6.5 years at 2 weeks per year gives 13 weeks, inside the 4-to-26-week policy range: $16,250 severance plus $1,250 for 5 PTO days and $1,800 of benefits, $19,300 in total.
Formula and units
Weekly pay = annual salary ÷ 52 (or the weekly figure entered). Severance weeks = years of service × policy weeks per year, raised to the policy minimum and then limited to the cap. Severance pay = weeks × weekly pay. PTO payout = unused days × (weekly pay ÷ paid workdays per week). Cash before taxes adds any bonus; the total package adds months of benefits × monthly premium.
Worked examples
$65,000 salary, 6.5 years at 2 weeks per year: Gross pay (annual or weekly, as selected): 65000 $; Years of service (decimals allowed): 6.5 years; Policy: weeks of pay per year of service: 2 weeks; Policy: minimum weeks: 4 weeks; Policy: maximum weeks (0 = no cap): 26 weeks; Unused PTO days paid out: 5 days; Paid workdays per week (for daily rate): 5 days; Bonus or other lump sum: 0 $; Months of continued benefits: 3 months; Employer-paid monthly premium (example): 600 $ per month; Pay entered as: annual.
Example result: Severance weeks: 13 weeks (years × weeks per year); Severance pay: $16,250.00; PTO payout: $1,250.00; Cash before taxes: $17,500.00; Continued benefits value: $1,800.00; Total package (gross): $19,300.00.
$1,800 a week, 1.5 years with a 4-week minimum: Gross pay (annual or weekly, as selected): 1800 $; Years of service (decimals allowed): 1.5 years; Policy: weeks of pay per year of service: 1 weeks; Policy: minimum weeks: 4 weeks; Policy: maximum weeks (0 = no cap): 0 weeks; Unused PTO days paid out: 3 days; Paid workdays per week (for daily rate): 5 days; Bonus or other lump sum: 2000 $; Months of continued benefits: 0 months; Employer-paid monthly premium (example): 600 $ per month; Pay entered as: weekly.
Example result: Severance weeks: 4 weeks (policy minimum); Severance pay: $7,200.00; PTO payout: $1,080.00; Cash before taxes: $10,280.00; Continued benefits value: $0.00; Total package (gross): $10,280.00.
Limitations and common mistakes
Arithmetic on the policy terms you enter; it does not decide legal entitlement, statutory notice, enforceability, release terms or taxes. Amounts are gross. Partial years are counted proportionally; if your policy rounds or counts only full years, enter the years that way. Benefits value uses the premium you enter.
Counting benefits continuation as cash: it is a value of coverage, not money paid to you. Also check whether the policy uses base pay only or includes commissions.
Sources and assumptions
Method SEVERANCE-PAY-1.0; last formula review 2026-11-04. Sources and their supported claims. Calculation methodology.