{
  "id": 7471795,
  "title": "The Paycheck Math to Run Before You Resign",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/the-paycheck-math-to-run-before-you-resign",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-15T03:56:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/li_5408/the-paycheck-math-to-run-before-you-resign-11am"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "When leaving a job, understanding the math behind your final paycheck is crucial. Developers frequently change positions, but often fail to run these calculations before leaving. Here are the three key calculations to determine what your last paycheck contains.\n\nFirstly, your daily rate is determined by your salary. Salaried employees are paid for the week they work, not the day they leave. To calculate the daily rate, divide your annual salary by 52 weeks, then by 5 working days, which equals 260 days. For example, at a salary of $72,000 per year, the daily rate is $276.92.\n\nSecondly, if you resign mid-pay period, payroll needs to convert your salary into a daily rate to pay you for the partial period. For instance, if you resign on the 15th of the month with semi-monthly pay, payroll counts the workdays from the 1st to the 15th, excluding weekends. In this case, 11 workdays at $276.92 each equate to $3,046.15, which is larger than a full semi-monthly check of $3,000.\n\nThirdly, unused paid time off (PTO) is cash on the table. Vacation accrues as you work, with a standard allowance of 120 hours annually and monthly accrual. If you leave after 8 months, you accrue 80 hours of vacation. At an hourly rate of $34.62 (72,000/2,080), 50 hours of remaining vacation time would pay $1,731.\n\nHowever, the rules around unused PTO vary by state. While some states like California, Colorado, Illinois, and Massachusetts require payment of accrued PTO, others such as Texas simply require payment by the next regular payday. Be aware of your state's regulation before deciding whether to cash out or use your remaining vacation days during your notice period.\n\nThe final paycheck also has a legal deadline. In California, it must be paid on your last day if you provide at least 72 hours' notice, or within 72 hours if there is no notice. In most other states, payment is due by the next regular payday, which may leave you waiting two weeks. Additionally, any overtime earned in the prior period that hasn't been paid must be included in your final check.\n\nBefore resigning, it's essential to run these calculations and review the state deadlines and additional items that may appear on your final paycheck. The final check is the one document you will never get corrected by asking nicely in a standup meeting, so ensure the arithmetic is on your side before you sign.",
  "summary": "My last employer owed me 1,731 dollars for vacation I never took, and I only know the number because a coworker told me to check. The final pay stub listed it as one line among others, and I had nearly signed off without reading it. Developers switch jobs often enough that this math should be routine, yet almost nobody runs it before the exit interview. So here it is: the three calculations that…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}