Annual Leave Carryover Limit: How Many Hours You Keep, and What You Lose

Most federal employees meet the annual leave carryover limit the hard way: a December balance that will not fit into January. The rule is simple. The deadline is earlier than people expect, and the exception that matters most appears only when you separate.

The short answer: The annual leave carryover limit is 240 hours for most federal employees, 360 hours overseas, and 720 hours for SES. Hours above your ceiling are forfeited at the end of the leave year. The ceiling does not cap your lump-sum payout when you retire.

What are the key takeaways?

• The standard ceiling is 240 hours. Overseas it is 360 hours; for SES, Senior Level and Scientific or Professional positions, 720 hours (OPM, Annual Leave).
• The 2026 leave year ends January 9, 2027. The deadline to schedule use-or-lose leave in writing is November 28, 2026 (OPM, Leave Year Dates).
• A lump-sum payment covers all accrued annual leave, including hours above the ceiling not yet forfeited (OPM, Lump-Sum Payments).
• OPM notes that SES-equivalent pay systems do not get the 90-day ceiling.

What is the annual leave carryover limit for federal employees?

It is the largest balance you may carry from one leave year into the next. OPM sets it at 30 days, or 240 hours, for employees stationed in the United States. Employees overseas who meet the conditions in 5 U.S.C. 6304(b) carry 45 days. SES, Senior Level and Scientific or Professional employees carry 90 days.

Anything above your ceiling is what OPM calls “use or lose” leave.

What happens to hours above the ceiling at the end of the leave year?

They are forfeited on the final day of the leave year. For the 2026 leave year, that date is January 9, 2027.

Forfeited leave can be restored under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d), but the conditions are narrow. Leave lost to an exigency of the public business, or to the employee’s own sickness, may be restored only if it was scheduled in writing by November 28, 2026. Anything scheduled later is forfeited. Administrative error is a separate ground, and OPM counts a supervisor who never acted on a timely request as one.

One edge case catches people each winter. If a snow closure or a holiday granted by executive order eats the days you scheduled, and you cannot reschedule in time, OPM states that the forfeited leave cannot be restored.

Does the ceiling cap your lump-sum payout when you retire?

No. This is the distinction most readers get wrong. The ceiling governs carryover, not payment. A lump-sum payment covers accrued annual leave, restored leave, and use-or-lose hours that have not yet been forfeited.

OPM’s own example makes the timing concrete. An employee with a 240-hour ceiling separates on January 6, 2026 holding 288 hours. The 2025 leave year ended January 10, so the payment covers all 288 hours. Separating on or after January 11 would have forfeited the extra 48 hours first, leaving a payment based on 240.

The mechanism is the point, not a recommendation. Your separation date, set against the end of the leave year, decides whether those extra hours are paid or lost. Our guide to the FERS annual leave payout covers how the payment is calculated and taxed.

What else do federal employees ask about the annual leave carryover limit?

Does the ceiling apply to sick leave?
No. Sick leave has no ceiling and is never paid out. For FERS employees it converts to service credit instead. See how sick leave works before retirement.

Can I go above the ceiling during the year?
Yes. The limit is measured at the end of the leave year, not pay period by pay period.

Does leave accrued on active military duty count?
No. OPM states that unused annual leave is not subject to the use-or-lose ceiling while an employee is on active military duty.

Ready to plan your retirement date with confidence?

The annual leave carryover limit is one of several rules where a calendar date changes your final check. Fed Pilot runs free federal retirement benefits workshops covering leave, pension and insurance together. Register for an upcoming workshop.