About the Pay Period Calendar
This pay period calendar lists every payday in a calendar year from one known payday. Choose how often you are paid — weekly, every two weeks (biweekly), twice a month (semimonthly) or monthly — and it shows the full schedule, how many paychecks fall in the year, and which months bring an extra paycheck.
If you are paid biweekly you normally get 26 paychecks a year, so two months each year contain three paydays instead of two. In some years the calendar lines up so that 27 paydays fall within the year. Weekly pay gives 52 (occasionally 53) paydays and four months with five. Knowing these months in advance is one of the easiest budgeting wins: you can plan your bills around two paychecks a month and send the extra check straight to savings or debt.
For semimonthly and monthly schedules you can choose the paydays and how weekends are handled; most employers pay on the previous Friday when a payday falls on a weekend. Public holidays are not adjusted, so check your employer’s official payroll calendar for bank-holiday shifts.
With the default inputs, the paydays in the year is 26. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the pay period calendar
- 1Choose how often you are paid.
- 2For weekly or biweekly pay, enter any real payday from a pay stub.
- 3Pick the calendar year you want to plan.
- 4For semimonthly or monthly pay, choose the paydays and weekend rule.
- 5Read the payday list and note the months with an extra paycheck.
Formula and method
For weekly and biweekly pay, every payday is a whole number of 7- or 14-day steps from a known payday. The calculator steps forward or back to the first payday on or after 1 January and lists each one until the year ends. Because a year is 365 or 366 days — one or two days more than 52 weeks — the schedule drifts, so roughly every 11 years a biweekly schedule fits 27 paydays into one calendar year.
Semimonthly pay falls on two fixed dates each month (24 a year) and monthly pay on one (12 a year); if a date is a Saturday or Sunday it is moved to the previous Friday or next Monday as chosen. Per-paycheck gross pay is the annual salary divided by the standard number of periods.
- k
- Number of pay periods from the known payday
- 26
- Standard biweekly paychecks per year
- 24
- Semimonthly paychecks per year
- 52
- Standard weekly paychecks per year
Worked examples
Biweekly, first payday Friday 2 January 2026
Stepping 14 days from 2 January gives 26 paydays in 2026, ending 18 December. January (2, 16, 30) and July (3, 17, 31) each contain three paychecks. A $60,000 salary is $2,307.69 per check.
Biweekly starting Thursday 1 January 2026 — a 27-paycheck year
Because 26 × 14 = 364 days, a schedule that starts on 1 January also pays on 31 December, so 27 paydays land in 2026. At $2,307.69 per check that is $62,308 of gross pay in the calendar year.
Weekly pay on Fridays in 2026
There are 52 Fridays in 2026. January, May, July and October have five of them, so weekly earners get an extra paycheck in those four months.
Semimonthly on the 15th and last day, Friday-before rule
Semimonthly pay always gives 24 paychecks. When the 15th or month-end falls on a weekend — for example Saturday 28 February 2026 — payday moves to the Friday before.
Frequently asked questions
Which months have three paychecks in 2026?+
It depends on your first payday. With biweekly Friday paydays starting 2 January 2026, January and July have three paychecks; if your paydays start 9 January, May and October do. Enter any recent payday to see your exact months.
How many pay periods are there in a year?+
Weekly pay has 52 pay periods (sometimes 53), biweekly 26 (sometimes 27), semimonthly 24 and monthly 12. Biweekly and semimonthly are different: biweekly is every other week, semimonthly is twice a month on fixed dates.
What is a 27-pay-period year?+
Because a year has 365 or 366 days, biweekly paydays shift one or two days each year. About every 11 years, 27 paydays fall in one calendar year. Salaried employees may see slightly smaller checks if the employer divides the salary by 27.
What should I do with a third paycheck?+
Many people budget fixed bills on two paychecks a month and treat the third as a bonus: building an emergency fund, making an extra debt or mortgage payment, or funding irregular expenses such as insurance premiums or holidays.
What happens when payday falls on a weekend or holiday?+
Most employers pay on the last business day before the scheduled date, though some pay the next business day. State laws can also set rules. This calendar adjusts weekends for semimonthly and monthly schedules but does not shift for public holidays.