There are 52 pay periods in a year when you are paid weekly, 26 when paid every two weeks (biweekly), 24 when paid twice a month (semimonthly) and 12 when paid monthly. Weekly and biweekly schedules sometimes get one extra: 53 weekly or 27 biweekly pay dates, depending on the weekday and the year.
In brief: semimonthly and monthly counts never change. Weekly and biweekly counts depend on which weekday you are paid and the date of the first payday in January. The tables below count every pay date in 2026 and the following year straight from the calendar, so you can see which schedules get the extra one.
How many pay periods are in a year?
A pay period is the stretch of days a paycheck covers. The number of pay periods in a year is set by how often the employer runs payroll:
| Pay frequency | Paid | Pay periods in a year |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Every week, same weekday | 52, sometimes 53 |
| Biweekly | Every other week, same weekday | 26, sometimes 27 |
| Semimonthly | Twice a month, often the 15th and the last day | 24 |
| Monthly | Once a month | 12 |
These are the same counts payroll uses to work out federal income tax withholding. The IRS withholding tables in Publication 15-T list 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly and 12 monthly pay periods.
How many pay periods are in 2026?
The table counts every weekly and biweekly pay date in 2026 for each weekday, Monday to Friday. A biweekly payroll on a given weekday runs on one of two alternating schedules, so both are shown with their first pay date in January.
| Payday | Weekly | Biweekly, first schedule | Biweekly, second schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 52 | 26 (from January 5) | 26 (from January 12) |
| Tuesday | 52 | 26 (from January 6) | 26 (from January 13) |
| Wednesday | 52 | 26 (from January 7) | 26 (from January 14) |
| Thursday | 53 | 27 (from January 1) | 26 (from January 8) |
| Friday | 52 | 26 (from January 2) | 26 (from January 9) |
January 1, 2026 is a Thursday, so a weekly Thursday payroll has 53 pay dates, and a biweekly Thursday payroll that starts that day reaches a 27th on December 31.
In practice January 1 is New Year’s Day, a federal holiday, and many employers pay on the business day before. That moves the first payday into the previous year and leaves 26.
How many pay periods are in 2027?
2027 starts on a Friday, the most common payday. That gives every weekly Friday payroll an extra pay date, and gives a biweekly Friday payroll an extra one if its first payday is January 1.
| Payday | Weekly | Biweekly, first schedule | Biweekly, second schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 52 | 26 (from January 4) | 26 (from January 11) |
| Tuesday | 52 | 26 (from January 5) | 26 (from January 12) |
| Wednesday | 52 | 26 (from January 6) | 26 (from January 13) |
| Thursday | 52 | 26 (from January 7) | 26 (from January 14) |
| Friday | 53 | 27 (from January 1) | 26 (from January 8) |
If you are paid biweekly on Fridays, check which schedule you are on. If you were paid on December 18, 2026, your next paydays are January 1 and every second Friday after it.
Why do some years have 27 biweekly pay periods?
Twenty-six biweekly pay periods cover 364 days, one day short of a normal year and two days short of a leap year. Each year the schedule slips a day or two earlier in the calendar.
When the first payday lands on January 1, or on January 1 or 2 in a leap year, the 27th pay date still falls inside the same year.
For any one employer that happens about once every 11 years, according to the Government Finance Officers Association, which advises public employers on planning for it (GFOA: the 27th payroll period). Weekly payrolls slip the same way, which is why a year sometimes has 53 of one weekday.
What happens to a salary in a 27-paycheck year?
Hourly employees are paid for the hours they work, so an extra pay date just means the year’s hours are split into one more check. Salaried pay is the part that needs a decision, and employers handle it in one of two ways:
- Divide the salary by 27. Every check that year is a little smaller, and the yearly total stays the same. A $52,000 salary becomes $1,925.93 per check instead of $2,000.00.
- Keep dividing by 26. Each check stays the same and the employee receives one extra check, so the year costs the employer more. Some employers set money aside every year for this.
Whichever is used, the pay stub shows it. The salary line divides the annual amount by the number of pay periods, and the year-to-date column adds up every check. See what YTD means on a pay stub. To turn an hourly wage into a yearly figure before splitting it into paychecks, see hourly to salary.
Weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly: how they compare
Biweekly and semimonthly sound alike but are not the same. Biweekly means every two weeks on the same weekday. Semimonthly means two fixed dates each month, so the weekday changes and the periods vary between 13 and 16 days. For what that does to each paycheck, see biweekly vs semimonthly pay.
| Frequency | Periods | Full-time hours per period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 or 53 | 40 | Common for hourly work; overtime lines up with each week |
| Biweekly | 26 or 27 | 80 | Two paychecks in most months and three in two months a year |
| Semimonthly | 24 | About 86.67 | Hours vary by period; overtime still counts by workweek |
| Monthly | 12 | About 173.33 | Fewest payroll runs; the longest wait between checks |
The hours assume a 2,080-hour full-time year, 40 hours a week for 52 weeks. Overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act is worked out per workweek, whatever the pay frequency.
How do I work out pay per pay period?
For a salary, divide the annual amount by the number of pay periods. For hourly pay, multiply the hours in the period by the rate and add any overtime. Our guide to gross pay vs net pay shows a $60,000 salary split by each frequency, and what comes out of each check.
Can an employer choose any pay frequency?
Not always. Pay frequency is mostly set by state law, and the rules range from weekly to monthly. Several states require pay at least twice a month, often with exceptions for executive or supervisory staff, and a few, including Alabama and Florida, set no rule. The Department of Labor keeps a state table (DOL state payday requirements).
Where the pay period shows on a pay stub
Every pay stub states the pay period it covers, a start and an end date, and the pay date. The current column is that period alone, and the year-to-date column adds up every period since January 1. Our list of what is on a pay stub covers the rest.
