Fact Sheet: Leave Year Beginning and Ending Dates

A leave year begins on the first day of the first full biweekly pay period in a calendar year. A leave year ends on the day immediately before the first day of the first full biweekly pay period in the following calendar year.

Employees may carry over to the next leave year a maximum amount of accrued annual leave (240 hours for most employees). "Use or lose" annual leave is the amount of accrued annual leave that is in excess of the employee's maximum annual leave limitation for carry over into the next leave year. Employees must "use" their excess annual leave by the end of a leave year or they will "lose" (forfeit) it. An agency may consider restoring annual leave that was forfeited due to an exigency of the public business or sickness of the employee only if the annual leave was scheduled in writing before the start of the third biweekly pay period prior to the end of the leave year.

The beginning and ending dates of the leave years shown below apply to most employees. However, some agency payroll systems use a different pay period schedule. Employees should contact their agencies to verify the beginning and ending dates of a particular leave year.

Leave Year	Leave Year Beginning Date	Leave Year Ending Date	Deadline to Schedule "Use or Lose" Annual Leave
2030	January 06, 2030	January 04, 2031	November 23, 2030
2029	January 07, 2029	January 05, 2030	November 24, 2029
2028	January 09, 2028	January 06, 2029	November 25, 2028
2027	January 10, 2027	January 08, 2028	November 27, 2027
2026	January 11, 2026	January 09, 2027	November 28, 2026
2025	January 12, 2025	January 10, 2026	November 29, 2025
2024	January 14, 2024	January 11, 2025	November 30, 2024
*2023	January 01, 2023	January 13, 2024	December 02, 2023
2022	January 02, 2022	December 31, 2022	November 19, 2022
2021	January 03, 2021	January 01, 2022	November 20, 2021
2020	January 05, 2020	January 02, 2021	November 21, 2020
2019	January 06, 2019	January 04, 2020	November 23, 2019
2018	January 07, 2018	January 05, 2019	November 24, 2018
2017	January 08, 2017	January 06, 2018	November 25, 2017
2016	January 10, 2016	January 07, 2017	November 26, 2016
2015	January 11, 2015	January 09, 2016	November 28, 2015
2014	January 12, 2014	January 10, 2015	November 29, 2014
2013	January 13, 2013	January 11, 2014	November 30, 2013
2012	January 01, 2012	January 12, 2013	December 01, 2012

* Note: there are 27 pay periods in leave year 2023.

References
5 U.S.C. 6304
5 CFR 630.201 (definition of “leave year”)
5 CFR 630.308