Prorated Salary Calculator
Enter your annual salary, pay frequency, and the number of days worked versus the total scheduled days in the period to get your prorated gross pay, daily rate, forfeited amount, and percent of the period completed. Results update instantly as you type.
What is a prorated salary?
A prorated salary is a proportionally reduced paycheck issued when an employee works fewer days than the full scheduled days in a pay period. Common situations include starting a new job mid-period, leaving before the end of a period, receiving a pay raise partway through a cycle, or taking unpaid leave. Under U.S. federal law (the FLSA), exempt salaried employees are generally paid their full weekly salary for any week in which they do any work, but employers may legitimately reduce pay when an employee works only a partial first or last week of employment, or takes unpaid FMLA leave.
How the prorated salary formula works
The standard working-days method, recommended by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), follows four steps. First, divide the annual salary by the number of pay periods per year (52 for weekly, 26 for biweekly, 24 for semi-monthly, 12 for monthly) to find the full period pay. Second, divide that amount by the total scheduled working days in the period to get the daily rate. Third, add up all compensable days: days actually worked, plus any employer-paid holidays and approved paid leave that fall in the period. Fourth, multiply the daily rate by the compensable-days total. The result is the prorated gross pay. An alternative calendar-days method divides by every day in the month (28-31) rather than working days; this approach is common outside the United States but produces a lower daily rate because weekends are included in the denominator.
Working days vs. calendar days: which method is right?
The working-days method is the most common approach in U.S. payroll and produces a daily rate tied to scheduled shifts. Because only business days are in the denominator, employees who miss a weekend lose nothing extra, which is the correct outcome for salaried workers. The calendar-days method divides by the total days in the period (including weekends), giving a lower daily rate. Some countries mandate calendar-days proration by law, and some employers prefer it for simplicity. Unless your employer or a statutory requirement specifies otherwise, use the working-days method to match standard U.S. payroll practice.
Typical proration scenarios
Mid-period hire: if you start on day 6 of a 22-day monthly period and work 17 days, your prorated pay is 17/22 of the full monthly salary. Mid-period termination: the same logic applies in reverse. Pay raise mid-cycle: calculate two separate amounts, one at the old rate for the days before the raise and one at the new rate for the remaining days, then add them. Unpaid leave: paid leave days count as compensable (they do not reduce pay), but unpaid leave days are excluded from the compensable-days total. Partial days: half-days are entered as 0.5 and scale the prorated pay proportionally.
Prorated salary quick-reference by pay frequency
| Annual salary | Monthly | Semi-monthly | Biweekly | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $2,500 | $1,250 | $1,154 | $577 |
| $40,000 | $3,333 | $1,667 | $1,538 | $769 |
| $50,000 | $4,167 | $2,083 | $1,923 | $962 |
| $60,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | $2,308 | $1,154 |
| $75,000 | $6,250 | $3,125 | $2,885 | $1,442 |
| $100,000 | $8,333 | $4,167 | $3,846 | $1,923 |
| $120,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $4,615 | $2,308 |
| $150,000 | $12,500 | $6,250 | $5,769 | $2,885 |
Approximate full period pay for common annual salaries. Actual prorated pay depends on working days in each specific period.
Frequently asked questions
What is the prorated salary formula?
The formula is: Prorated Pay = (Annual Salary / Pay Periods Per Year) / Total Working Days in Period x Compensable Days. Compensable days = days actually worked + paid holidays + approved paid leave in the period.
How do I prorate a $60,000 annual salary for a semi-monthly period where I worked 7 of 11 days?
Full semi-monthly pay = $60,000 / 24 = $2,500. Daily rate = $2,500 / 11 = $227.27. Prorated pay = $227.27 x 7 = $1,590.91 gross.
Do paid holidays count toward prorated pay?
Yes. Paid holidays are compensable days, meaning you are entitled to pay for them even if you did not report to work. Enter them in the "Paid holidays in period" field and they are added to your compensable days before computing prorated pay.
What is the difference between working-days and calendar-days proration?
The working-days method divides your period pay by the number of scheduled business days (weekdays minus holidays), giving a higher daily rate. The calendar-days method divides by every day in the period including weekends, giving a lower daily rate. U.S. payroll departments almost universally use the working-days method for salaried employees; the calendar-days approach is more common in some international jurisdictions.
Can my employer prorate my salary if I am an exempt employee?
Generally, under the FLSA, employers may not dock the pay of exempt salaried employees for partial-day absences. However, proration is permitted for the initial or final week of employment (when the employee works a partial week), for full-day unpaid FMLA leave, and for suspensions for serious workplace misconduct. Incorrect proration can cause an employee to lose their exempt status, so employers should consult HR counsel before reducing pay.
How many working days are typically in each pay period?
A weekly period has 5 working days on average. A biweekly period has 10. A semi-monthly period has roughly 10-12 (it varies by where the 1st and 15th fall). A monthly period has about 20-23. Because the exact count changes month to month, always use the actual scheduled days for the specific period rather than an annual average when computing proration.
Is a prorated salary the same as an hourly rate?
Not exactly. Prorating converts a fixed salary to reflect a shorter period, using days (or hours) as the unit of measure. The resulting daily rate is conceptually similar to an hourly rate, but salaried employees are still treated as salaried for overtime and FLSA-exemption purposes; the proration calculation does not reclassify them as hourly workers.