Payroll & contractors
ACA Full-Time Equivalent Calculator for the 50-Employee Threshold
Find out whether you are an Applicable Large Employer. Part-time hours aggregate into full-time equivalents, so 40 staff can put you over the 50 threshold.
| Full-time employees | 40.00 |
|---|---|
| Part-time hours14 people at 95 hrs | 1,330 |
| Part-time equivalentshours ÷ 120 | 11.08 |
| Total full-time equivalents | 51.08 |
ALE status uses the average across the 12 months of the prior calendar year, not any single month, so one busy season does not trigger it on its own. A separate seasonal worker exception may also apply.
Details people get wrong
- Does headcount decide ALE status?
- No, and this is the trap. Part-time hours are aggregated and divided by 120 to produce full-time equivalents, which are added to your full-time headcount. A business with 40 full-time staff and 1,300 monthly part-time hours is at roughly 50.8 — an ALE, despite never having 50 people on the payroll.
- Is full-time 30 or 40 hours?
- Thirty. Under the ACA an employee averaging 30 hours a week, or 130 hours a month, is full-time. Using the more familiar 40-hour definition undercounts your workforce and can put you below the threshold on paper when you are actually over it.
- Does one busy month make me an ALE?
- No. ALE status is based on the average across the 12 months of the prior calendar year, so a seasonal spike alone does not trigger it. There is also a seasonal worker exception where the workforce exceeds 50 for no more than 120 days in a year due to seasonal staff.
- Are part-time hours counted without limit?
- No. Hours are capped at 120 per part-time employee per month for this calculation. Someone working 150 hours contributes 120.