What this calculator does
A prorated salary is the partial pay owed for a partial pay period, most commonly because someone started or left partway through a month, a fortnight or a pay cycle. Rather than paying a full period's wage for a period only partly worked, the salary is scaled down in proportion to the days actually worked.
The prorated salary meaning in practice is straightforward once you break it into two steps: first work out what the full pay period is worth from the annual salary, then scale that figure down by the fraction of the period actually worked. This calculator does both steps and shows the daily rate and the share of the period worked alongside the final figure, so the arithmetic is visible, not just the answer.
The formula
First find the full period's pay: annual salary ÷ 365 × days in the period. Then scale it by the fraction of the period worked: multiply by (days worked ÷ days in the period). The daily rate shown is simply annual salary ÷ 365.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Annual salary | The full-time yearly salary the role is based on. |
| Days in the period | The total number of calendar days in the pay period being prorated, such as the days in that particular month. |
| Days worked | How many of those days were actually worked or are being paid for. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Annual salary ($) | The full annual salary for the role, before any proration. |
| Days in the full pay period (e.g. days in that month) | The number of calendar days in the pay period in question, for example 30 or 31 for a month. |
| Days actually worked in that period | The number of days within that period being paid, which must not exceed the days in the period. |
When to use it
A new starter joining mid-month
Someone starting on the 16th of a 31-day month has worked 16 of those days, so their first pay is 16/31 of the month's full salary.
An employee leaving before the period ends
The same logic applies in reverse: pay is calculated for the days actually worked before the last day, not the full period.
Unpaid leave partway through a period
If someone takes unpaid leave for part of a pay period, prorating the salary down to the days actually worked gives the correct reduced pay.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
Prorated pay for a partial month, by days worked
A 31-day month, with a range of days actually worked.
Prorated pay across different annual salaries
The same partial period, 10 days out of 30, across a range of annual salaries.
| Annual salary | Prorated pay |
|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,369.86 |
| $65,000 | $1,780.82 |
| $80,000 | $2,191.78 |
| $100,000 | $2,739.73 |
| $120,000 | $3,287.67 |
| $150,000 | $4,109.59 |
Questions
What does prorated salary mean?
It means paying a reduced, proportional share of a full pay period's wage, because only part of that period was actually worked, most commonly when someone starts or leaves mid-period.
How is a prorated salary calculated?
Work out the full pay period's value from the annual salary, then multiply by the fraction of the period actually worked: days worked divided by total days in the period.
Does proration use calendar days or working days?
This calculator uses calendar days for the period and lets you enter whichever day count matches your payroll's convention, since some employers prorate by calendar days and others by rostered working days.
What if someone worked more days than the period contains?
That is not a valid partial period. Days worked cannot exceed the days in the period; if it does, check which figure is meant to represent the full period.
To convert between hourly, weekly, monthly and annual pay for a full period, see the salary and hourly rate converter.