Free FTE calculator 2026. Convert part-time employee hours to full-time equivalent count. ACA threshold (30h/week), standard 40h FTE, and custom hours. Used for budgeting, healthcare compliance, and workforce planning.
Enter your total number of full-time employees (employees working 40 hours/week, or 30+ hours/week for ACA).
Enter the combined weekly hours worked by all part-time employees.
Select your standard full-time workweek hours (40 hours for standard HR budgeting, or 30 hours for IRS/ACA compliance).
Review both your Standard Budgeting FTE and your ACA Applicable Large Employer (ALE) FTE count immediately.
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) converts your combined full-time and part-time workforce into standardized full-time units. Standard financial planning uses a 40-hour workweek (2,080 hours/year = 1.0 FTE), whereas the Affordable Care Act (ACA) uses a 30-hour workweek (130 hours/month) to determine the 50-FTE Applicable Large Employer (ALE) mandate.
10 full-time employees (40h/wk) + 6 part-time employees working 20h/wk each (120 PT hours total). Standard FTE = 10 + (120 ÷ 40) = 13.0 FTE. ACA FTE = 10 + (120 ÷ 30) = 14.0 ACA FTE (well below the 50-FTE mandate).
30 full-time staff + 30 part-time servers working 20h/wk each (600 PT hours total). Standard FTE = 30 + (600 ÷ 40) = 45.0 FTE. However, ACA FTE = 30 + (600 ÷ 30) = 50.0 ACA FTE — triggering the ACA Employer Shared Responsibility Mandate.
50 full-time engineers/marketers + 5 part-time specialists working 20h/wk (100 PT hours). Total Budgeting FTE = 52.5 FTE. At $10M ARR, Revenue per FTE = $190,476.
| Weekly Hours Worked | Annual Hours (52 Wks) | Standard FTE (40-Hr Base) | ACA FTE Equivalent (30-Hr Base) | Typical Classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 hours/week | 2,080 hours/year | 1.00 FTE | 1.00 ACA FT (Capped at 1.0) | Standard Full-Time |
| 37.5 hours/week | 1,950 hours/year | 0.94 FTE | 1.00 ACA FT (30+ hrs = FT) | Full-Time (7.5h/day) |
| 32 hours/week | 1,664 hours/year | 0.80 FTE | 1.00 ACA FT (30+ hrs = FT) | 4-Day Full-Time / ACA Full-Time |
| 30 hours/week | 1,560 hours/year | 0.75 FTE | 1.00 ACA FTThreshold | ACA Full-Time Threshold |
| 25 hours/week | 1,300 hours/year | 0.625 FTE | 0.83 ACA FTE | Three-Quarter Part-Time |
| 20 hours/week | 1,040 hours/year | 0.50 FTE | 0.67 ACA FTE | Half-Time Part-Time |
| 15 hours/week | 780 hours/year | 0.375 FTE | 0.50 ACA FTE | Part-Time / Shift Worker |
| 10 hours/week | 520 hours/year | 0.25 FTE | 0.33 ACA FTE | Quarter-Time / Casual |
| Threshold | Counting Method | Federal Law / Mandate | Employer Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15+ Employees | Total Headcount (20+ weeks) | Title VII & ADA | Equal employment opportunity & reasonable accommodations |
| 20+ Employees | FTE / Headcount Adjustment | COBRA Continuation | Must offer continuation of group health coverage after separation |
| 50+ ACA FTEs | ACA FTE (30 hrs/wk or 130 hrs/mo) | ACA Employer Mandate (IRC §4980H) | Must offer affordable Minimum Essential Coverage or face IRS penalties |
| 50+ Employees | Total Headcount within 75 miles | FMLA (Family & Medical Leave Act) | Up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave per year |
| 100+ Employees | Total Headcount / FT Workers | EEO-1 Reporting & WARN Act | Annual EEO-1 workforce filing & 60-day mass layoff notice |
HR and finance leaders must track two distinct FTE calculations: **Financial Budgeting FTE** and **ACA Compliance FTE**. In financial planning and SaaS metrics (such as Revenue per Employee), 1.0 FTE equals 40 hours per week or 2,080 paid hours per year. Two part-time employees working 20 hours per week each equal 1.0 Budgeting FTE.
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), however, the IRS defines a full-time employee as anyone working at least **30 hours per week** (or 130 hours per calendar month). Furthermore, part-time employees working fewer than 30 hours per week are converted into FTEs by dividing their combined weekly hours by 30 (or monthly hours by 120). If your combined full-time employees and part-time FTE equivalents average 50 or more across the calendar year, you become an **Applicable Large Employer (ALE)** for the following calendar year.
Find answers to the most common questions about fte calculator.
1.0 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) represents the workload of one full-time employee working a standard schedule—typically 40 hours per week, 8 hours per day, or 2,080 hours per year. It can be fulfilled by a single full-time worker or multiple part-time workers whose hours sum to 40 per week.
Sum all weekly hours worked by part-time employees and divide by your company's standard full-time weekly hours (usually 40). For example, if 5 part-time employees work 18, 20, 22, 15, and 25 hours per week (totaling 100 hours), they equal 100 ÷ 40 = 2.5 FTE.
For each calendar month, count every employee who worked at least 30 hours per week (or 130 hours per month) as 1.0 full-time employee. Then, sum all monthly hours worked by part-time employees (up to 120 hours per person) and divide that total by 120. Add your full-time count and part-time FTE fraction together, then average the 12 monthly totals across the calendar year.
Headcount is the literal number of individuals on your payroll, regardless of their schedule. FTE normalizes those individuals by hours worked. A company with 40 full-time workers and 20 half-time (20 hr/wk) workers has a headcount of 60, but an FTE of 50.0.
Based on a standard 40-hour workweek, 0.5 FTE equals 20 hours per week (1,040 hours/year), 0.75 FTE equals 30 hours per week (1,560 hours/year), and 0.8 FTE equals 32 hours per week (a standard 4-day workweek).
Calculations and computational models on QuickBizCalc are verified against published regulatory standards and statutory tax tables:
Publication 15-T (Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods) & Publication 15 (Employer's Tax Guide).
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA 29 U.S.C. § 207) regulations on overtime hours, recordkeeping, and minimum wage.
OASDI taxable maximum wage base limits and statutory FICA tax rates (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare).
Formulas and worked examples are checked against the sources above before publishing. For advice on your own situation, consult a licensed tax professional or accountant.
Sum of all PT employees weekly hours
Standard 40, ACA 30
Total FTE
13.0 FTE
Full-Time Emps
10
PT Hours/Week
120h
PT to FTE
3.00
ACA FTE
14.0
