Last verified: October 20, 2026, against the sources linked below. Written by Casey Steward.
Federal annual leave is a generous benefit with an expiration date printed on it. Anything above your carryover ceiling on the last day of the leave year simply disappears, and the government doesn’t send a sympathy card. There are two dates that matter this year, and the earlier one is the one people miss: November 28, 2026 is the last day to put your excess leave on the schedule in writing, which is what keeps it restorable if work, illness, or a shutdown wrecks your plans. Here are the rules, the math, and the traps.
The short version
- The 2026 leave year runs January 11, 2026 through Saturday, January 9, 2027. Hours above your ceiling that are still on the books at the end of January 9 are forfeited (OPM, Leave Year Beginning and Ending Dates).
- Schedule it in writing by Saturday, November 28, 2026. That’s not the deadline to use the leave. It’s the deadline to make forfeited leave eligible for restoration if an exigency of the public business or your own illness gets in the way (OPM). Nov 28 is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so the practical deadline is whenever your supervisor last checks email that week.
- The ceiling is 240 hours (30 days) for most employees, 360 hours (45 days) for eligible employees stationed overseas, and 720 hours (90 days) for SES, SL, and ST employees (5 U.S.C. 6304; OPM, Annual Leave).
- Forfeited leave comes back only for administrative error, an exigency of the public business, or your sickness, and the last two require that the leave was scheduled by the deadline (OPM, Restoration of Annual Leave).
- A shutdown is a wrinkle this year. The current continuing resolution runs through December 11, 2026 (P.L. 119-103, sec. 106(3)). OPM treats a lapse in appropriations as an exigency, so properly scheduled leave lost to a shutdown must be restored, but only if it was scheduled by Nov 28 (OPM, Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs, Jan. 2026).
- What’s at stake, in dollars: each forfeited 8-hour day is worth about $389 at GS-12 step 5 and $462 at GS-13 step 5 (2026 Rest of U.S. rates).
The 2026 calendar
These dates are for the standard biweekly pay calendar most agencies use. Some payroll systems run a different schedule, so OPM tells employees to confirm their own agency’s dates (OPM).
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sat, Nov 28, 2026 | Last day to schedule use-or-lose leave in writing (end of pay period 23) |
| Thu, Dec 11, 2026 | Current continuing resolution expires; a lapse could start Dec 12 if Congress doesn’t act |
| Fri, Dec 25, 2026 and Fri, Jan 1, 2027 | Federal holidays (5 U.S.C. 6103); you can’t burn leave on a holiday |
| Sat, Jan 9, 2027 | Last day of the 2026 leave year; excess leave is forfeited after this |
| Sun, Jan 10, 2027 | The 2027 leave year starts |
From October 20 through January 9 there are 55 workdays left on a standard Monday-to-Friday schedule, after the four federal holidays in that stretch (Nov 11, Nov 26, Dec 25, and Jan 1). That’s plenty of runway for most people, until a project, a flu, or Congress decides otherwise.
Work out your number
Your use-or-lose amount is a projection, not your current balance, because you’ll keep accruing leave through the end of the year. If your LES or timekeeping system shows a projected use-or-lose figure, start there. Otherwise:
Use-or-lose = current annual leave balance + leave you’ll still accrue this leave year − your ceiling
Leave you’ve already scheduled for the rest of the year counts toward that number, as long as it’s in writing. Whatever isn’t covered yet is what needs to go on the calendar by Nov 28.
Accrual rates for full-time employees
| Years of creditable service | Per pay period | Per year (26 pay periods) |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 3 | 4 hours | 104 hours (13 days) |
| 3 to less than 15 | 6 hours, plus 10 hours in the last pay period | 160 hours (20 days) |
| 15 or more (and SES/SL/ST at any service level) | 8 hours | 208 hours (26 days) |
Source: OPM, Annual Leave; 5 U.S.C. 6303. Part-time employees accrue by hours in pay status; see the same fact sheet.
Two worked examples
On the standard calendar, pay period 20 ended October 17, 2026, so a leave balance on that LES still has six pay periods of accrual to come (pay periods 21 through 26). Both examples are hypothetical.
| GS-12 step 5, 18 years of service | GS-13 step 5, 10 years of service | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Rest of U.S. salary | $101,443 | $120,629 |
| Hourly rate (salary ÷ 2,087) | $48.61 | $57.80 |
| Balance after pay period 20 | 296 hours | 250 hours |
| Still to accrue (pay periods 21 to 26) | 48 hours (6 × 8) | 40 hours (5 × 6 + 10) |
| Projected balance on Jan 9, 2027 | 344 hours | 290 hours |
| Ceiling | 240 hours | 240 hours |
| Use-or-lose | 104 hours (13 workdays) | 50 hours (6¼ workdays) |
| Value if forfeited, at the hourly rate | $5,055 | $2,890 |
The hourly rate uses OPM’s 2,087-hour divisor for converting annual pay to hourly pay (5 U.S.C. 5504; OPM, 2026 GS pay tables). “Value” here is simply hours times the hourly rate: what the same hours would pay out if you separated, or what they’re worth as paid time off. You don’t get a check for forfeited leave while you’re still employed.
What a forfeited day costs
| Hours forfeited | GS-12 step 5 ($48.61/hr) | GS-13 step 5 ($57.80/hr) |
|---|---|---|
| 8 (one day) | $389 | $462 |
| 40 (one week) | $1,944 | $2,312 |
| 80 (two weeks) | $3,889 | $4,624 |
What “scheduled in writing” means
The rule comes from 5 U.S.C. 6304(d) and OPM’s regulations: to be restorable after an exigency or illness, the leave has to be scheduled in writing before the start of the third biweekly pay period before the end of the leave year. For 2026 that’s by November 28 (OPM, Restoration of Annual Leave).
- The format is up to your agency. OPM says the “in writing” requirement can be met by email, electronic calendar scheduling, or a request in the time and attendance system, as agency policy allows (OPM shutdown guidance, Q&A on use-or-lose leave). Use the official system if there is one, and keep a copy.
- Your supervisor has to act on it. When an employee makes a timely request, the supervisor must approve it as requested or schedule it at another time. If the leave is forfeited because the supervisor didn’t schedule it, or didn’t get an exigency determination, OPM calls that administrative error, and the leave must be restored. If you made a written request and the agency denied it, the agency must restore the leave (OPM, Annual Leave).
- Schedule all of it, not most of it. Leave you schedule after Nov 28 can still be taken, but if it’s then lost to a work emergency or illness, it can’t be restored on those grounds.
When forfeited leave comes back
| Reason | Scheduled by Nov 28 required? | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative error | No | Your agency determines what counts as an error |
| Exigency of the public business (an urgent need for you at work, of major importance) | Yes | Agency head or designee |
| Your sickness or injury late in the year, or long enough that you couldn’t reschedule | Yes | Your agency |
Source: OPM, Restoration of Annual Leave. Restored leave goes into a separate account and has its own deadline: you must schedule and use it by the end of the leave year that ends two years after the restoration date (administrative error), the date the agency says the exigency ended, or the date you’re cleared to return to duty (sickness). Miss that and it’s gone for good, with no second restoration (OPM).
The traps
1. Parking it all in the last two weeks
It’s tempting to save the excess for the holidays. The problem is that anything that eats those last days is unrecoverable unless it fits one of the three restoration reasons. OPM is blunt about closures: if a weather dismissal, an extra end-of-year holiday granted by executive order, or other unexpected paid time off means you can’t use scheduled use-or-lose leave, the leave is forfeited and cannot be restored (OPM, Annual Leave). A bonus day off is lovely until it costs you a day of leave. Spreading some of the excess into November and early December leaves room to reschedule.
2. Burning comp time or credit hours first
If you use expiring compensatory time or credit hours and that pushes annual leave over the ceiling, the forfeited annual leave can’t be restored: OPM says using comp time or credit hours isn’t an exigency of the public business (OPM, Restoration of Annual Leave). Plan the order on purpose.
3. Getting sick on vacation and not saying so
If you get sick during scheduled annual leave, you can ask to substitute sick leave. OPM’s own example has an employee who did exactly that in late December, couldn’t reschedule the annual leave before the year ended, and had the forfeited annual leave restored because it was properly scheduled and lost to illness (OPM). Sick leave isn’t use-or-lose; it carries over with no limit (5 U.S.C. 6307).
4. Assuming your ceiling is 240
Most people’s is, but not everyone’s. Leave accumulated under earlier rules above today’s limit stays on the books as a personal ceiling until you draw it down (5 U.S.C. 6304(c)), and some employees get a personal ceiling after leave is recredited on reemployment (OPM, Lump-Sum Payments for Annual Leave). If your LES shows a ceiling other than 240, that’s the number to use.
If a shutdown starts December 12
During a lapse in appropriations, paid leave is canceled: furloughed employees can’t take it, and excepted employees are working. That could land right on top of the leave many people schedule for late December.
- The good news: OPM and OMB have determined that a lapse in appropriations is an exigency of the public business. As long as the leave was properly scheduled in advance, agencies must restore use-or-lose leave forfeited because of the lapse, whether you were furloughed or excepted (OPM, Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs, Jan. 2026, Q&A 10; OPM CPM 2019-02).
- The catch: “properly scheduled” means by November 28. A shutdown that starts December 12 leaves no time to fix a missing request afterward.
- Previously restored leave is the exception. If you’re carrying restored leave from an earlier year that expires January 9, 2027 and a shutdown keeps you from using it, OPM’s 2019 memo says it can’t be restored again (CPM 2019-02). Use that first.
Whether Congress acts by December 11 is anyone’s guess, and this site doesn’t guess. The Nov 28 request costs nothing either way. On the cash-flow side, our TSP loans guide notes that furloughed and excepted employees can still request a TSP loan during a lapse.
Retiring or leaving soon? Different math
If you separate on or before January 9, 2027, you’re paid a lump sum for all your unused annual leave, including hours above the ceiling that would otherwise be forfeited (5 U.S.C. 5551; 5 CFR 550.1205). Separate on or after January 10 and the excess is already gone. The lump sum is pay “for taxation purposes only” (5 U.S.C. 5551(a)), so it doesn’t count toward your high-3. Using the leave instead keeps you in pay status, which can matter if it gets you over a service threshold. Our FERS retirement checklist compares mid-December, December 31, and January 9 retirement dates, and the retire-when calculator shows how the date moves your pension.
Can I donate it instead?
Through your agency’s voluntary leave transfer program, you can donate annual leave to an approved leave recipient who has a personal or family medical emergency. Someone with use-or-lose leave may donate the lesser of half the annual leave they’d accrue in the leave year or the number of hours remaining in the leave year that they’re scheduled to work and be paid (OPM, Voluntary Leave Transfer Program). At 8 hours a pay period, half a year’s accrual is 104 hours. It’s a better ending for those hours than the void.
FAQ
What is the use-or-lose leave deadline for 2026?
For most employees, schedule excess annual leave in writing by November 28, 2026, and use it by January 9, 2027, the last day of the 2026 leave year.
Do I have to take the leave by November 28?
No. November 28 is the scheduling deadline. You can take the leave any time through January 9, 2027. Scheduling it by Nov 28 is what makes it restorable if an exigency or illness gets in the way.
How much annual leave can federal employees carry over?
240 hours (30 days) for most employees, 360 hours (45 days) for eligible employees stationed overseas, and 720 hours (90 days) for SES, SL, and ST employees. Some employees have a higher personal ceiling.
Can forfeited annual leave be restored?
Only if it was lost because of administrative error, an exigency of the public business, or your own sickness. The last two require that the leave was scheduled in writing by the deadline.
Does a government shutdown affect use-or-lose leave?
Leave can’t be used during a lapse, but OPM treats a lapse as an exigency of the public business. Use-or-lose leave lost to a shutdown must be restored if it was scheduled by November 28, 2026.
What are the 2027 leave year dates?
The 2027 leave year runs January 10, 2027 through January 8, 2028, and the use-or-lose scheduling deadline is November 27, 2027 (OPM).
Do I get paid for unused annual leave when I retire?
Yes. You get a lump sum for all unused annual leave, but not sick leave. Under FERS, unused sick leave adds to the service used in your pension calculation instead (see our retirement checklist).
Related: FERS Retirement Checklist · How the High-3 Works · How Your FERS Pension Is Calculated · TSP Loans · FERS pension calculator
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Sources
- OPM, Leave Year Beginning and Ending Dates; OPM, Annual Leave (General Information); OPM, Restoration of Annual Leave; OPM, Lump-Sum Payments for Annual Leave; OPM, Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (all read October 20, 2026)
- OPM, Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs (January 2026); OPM CPM 2019-02, Restoration of Annual Leave for Employees Affected by the Lapse in Appropriations
- 5 U.S.C. 6303 (accrual); 5 U.S.C. 6304 (accumulation and restoration); 5 U.S.C. 6307 (sick leave); 5 U.S.C. 5551 (lump-sum payment); 5 U.S.C. 5504 (hourly rate); 5 U.S.C. 6103 (holidays); 5 CFR 550.1205
- P.L. 119-103, Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (sec. 106(3), December 11, 2026)
- OPM, 2026 General Schedule pay tables (Rest of U.S.)
- Examples: The High Three’s own calculations from the assumptions stated above.
Educational only, not financial advice. The High Three is an independent publication. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), the IRS, or any government agency. Verify details with official sources and your agency HR office before making decisions.