How many pay periods are in a year?
A year has 52 weekly pay periods, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly and 12 monthly. Because a year is 52 weeks plus a day (two in a leap year), weekly payrolls sometimes have 53 paydays and biweekly payrolls 27: whenever a payday falls on January 1, or January 2 in a leap year.
| Pay frequency | Pay periods a year | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | 53 in some years |
| Biweekly (every two weeks) | 26 | 27 in some years |
| Semimonthly (twice a month) | 24 | always 24 |
| Monthly | 12 | always 12 |
Pay period calculator: every pay date in the year
Choose how often you are paid, give one pay date from the schedule and the year, and this lists every payday in that year — flagging the years with 27 biweekly or 53 weekly paydays. For semimonthly and monthly pay, weekend paydays can be moved to the Friday before. It runs in your browser and nothing is saved.
The usual number for a biweekly payroll is 26.
- Fri, Jan 2, 2026
- Fri, Jan 16, 2026
- Fri, Jan 30, 2026
- Fri, Feb 13, 2026
- Fri, Feb 27, 2026
- Fri, Mar 13, 2026
- Fri, Mar 27, 2026
- Fri, Apr 10, 2026
- Fri, Apr 24, 2026
- Fri, May 8, 2026
- Fri, May 22, 2026
- Fri, Jun 5, 2026
- Fri, Jun 19, 2026
- Fri, Jul 3, 2026
- Fri, Jul 17, 2026
- Fri, Jul 31, 2026
- Fri, Aug 14, 2026
- Fri, Aug 28, 2026
- Fri, Sep 11, 2026
- Fri, Sep 25, 2026
- Fri, Oct 9, 2026
- Fri, Oct 23, 2026
- Fri, Nov 6, 2026
- Fri, Nov 20, 2026
- Fri, Dec 4, 2026
- Fri, Dec 18, 2026
Bank holidays are not adjusted for — whether a holiday payday moves earlier or later is your employer’s or payroll provider’s call.
Why some years have 27 or 53 pay periods
Fifty-two weeks is 364 days, and a year is 365 — or 366 in a leap year. The one or two days left over are why a weekly or biweekly payday drifts: a payday on Friday, January 2 this year lands on Friday, January 1 next year, and the year after that it moves back into December.
When a payday falls on January 1, there are exactly 364 days to December 31 — enough room for 52 more weekly paydays (53 in all) or 26 more biweekly ones (27 in all). In a leap year a payday on January 2 does the same, because of the extra day. Weekly payrolls hit a 53rd payday roughly every five or six years; a biweekly schedule hits a 27th roughly every eleven, and which year depends on its cycle, not just its weekday.
| Year | 53 weekly paydays if payday is a | 27 biweekly paydays if a payday falls on |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday | Thu, Jan 1, 2026 |
| 2027 | Friday | Fri, Jan 1, 2027 |
| 2028 | Saturday or Sunday | Sat, Jan 1, 2028 or Sun, Jan 2, 2028 |
| 2029 | Monday | Mon, Jan 1, 2029 |
| 2030 | Tuesday | Tue, Jan 1, 2030 |
A biweekly schedule paid on Friday, January 2, 2026 has 26 paydays in 2026 — its next payday after December 18 is Friday, January 1, 2027, which gives it 27 in 2027. Put your own schedule in the calculator to check.
Weekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly compared
- Weekly — 52 paydays, same weekday every week. Common in construction and the trades, where hours change week to week and crews expect to be paid for the week just worked.
- Biweekly — 26 paydays, every other week on the same weekday. The most common schedule in the US. Two months a year have three paydays, which is welcome if you budget monthly and awkward if you pay out monthly.
- Semimonthly — 24 paydays on fixed dates. Easy to line up with monthly bills, but the payday moves around the week and the hours in each period vary, which makes hourly payroll and overtime more work.
- Monthly — 12 paydays. The simplest to run and the longest wait for the worker.
Which schedules an employer can use is partly a matter of state law: many states set a minimum pay frequency for some or all workers. Check your state’s labor department before changing a schedule.
What the extra payday changes
For hourly workers, nothing much: a 27th paycheck is just another two weeks of hours. For salaried staff it is a budgeting question. An annual salary divided by 26 and paid 27 times overpays by one check; divided by 27, each check that year is smaller. Per-paycheck deductions — health premiums, retirement contributions — can also come out one extra time unless they are adjusted. Employers usually decide in advance and say so; employees can ask payroll which approach is used.
If you run a small crew, the pay dates are the other half of payroll. The time card calculator totals each week’s hours, and the overtime calculator turns them into regular and overtime pay. To keep money coming in on schedule, the invoice due date calculator times your invoices against the paydays you have to meet.
Questions about pay periods
Are there 26 or 27 pay periods in a year?
A biweekly payroll normally has 26 paydays a year. About once every 11 years, depending on which weekday and which two-week cycle it runs on, it has 27. That happens when a payday falls on January 1, or on January 1 or 2 in a leap year, leaving room for 26 more two-week steps before December 31.
What is the difference between biweekly and semimonthly pay?
Biweekly is every two weeks on the same weekday, which gives 26 paydays (sometimes 27). Semimonthly is twice a month on fixed dates, such as the 15th and the last day, which gives exactly 24. Semimonthly checks are a little larger for the same salary, but the payday moves around the week and the number of working days in each period varies.
How many pay periods are in a year if I am paid weekly?
Fifty-two in most years. A year is 52 weeks and one day — two in a leap year — so a weekly payday that falls on January 1 (or January 1 or 2 in a leap year) gets a 53rd payday in December. In 2026 that is weekly Thursday paydays, since January 1, 2026 is a Thursday.
What happens to a salary in a 27-pay-period year?
It depends on the employer. Some pay the usual biweekly amount 27 times, so the year’s pay comes out higher than the stated salary. Others divide the annual salary by 27 for that year, so each check is a little smaller. Benefit deductions set per paycheck may also need adjusting. The offer letter, the employer’s policy and state law decide which.