Payroll calendar · 2026
Pay periods in 2026
Your paydays for the whole year, which months bring an extra check, and how much each paycheck should be.
Your 2026 calendar
Every payday of the year
Payday Bank holiday. Months with an extra paycheck are highlighted.
January3 paydays
February2 paydays
March2 paydays
April2 paydays
May2 paydays
June2 paydays
July3 paydays
August2 paydays
September2 paydays
October2 paydays
November2 paydays
December3 paydays
The count
How many pay periods are in 2026
| Schedule | Paychecks in 2026 | Per check on $60,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 53 on Fridays, 53 on Thursdays | $1,153.85 |
| Biweekly | 26, or 27 for some start dates | $2,307.69 |
| Semimonthly | 24 | $2,500.00 |
| Monthly | 12 | $5,000.00 |
2026 starts on a Thursday and is not a leap year, so it holds 52 Fridays and 53 Thursdays. A weekly Thursday payroll pays 53 times, and so does any weekly schedule that started on January 1.
The 27-paycheck year
Biweekly pay is set to 26 checks a year, but 52 weeks is 364 days and the calendar has 365 or 366. The leftover days add up, and about once every 11 years a schedule fits a 27th payday. Holidays can do it too: if you are paid every other Friday from January 2, 2026, your next payday after December 18 is Friday, January 1, 2027. Banks are closed, so most employers pay on Thursday, December 31, and that check counts as 2026 income on your W-2.
For a salaried worker, a 27th check is usually not a raise. Many employers divide the salary by 27 that year so the annual total stays the same; others pay 26 normal checks plus one more. Hourly workers simply get paid for the hours in each period, so nothing changes.
Three-paycheck months
With biweekly pay, two months of the year contain three paydays. If you budget around two checks a month, those are the months that let you catch up on savings or debt. On a schedule paid every other Friday from January 2 they fall in January and July, and December joins them when the January 1, 2027 check is paid on December 31. From January 9, they fall in May and October.
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Questions
Pay periods, answered
How many pay periods are in 2026?
52 if you are paid weekly on Fridays (53 on Thursdays), 26 or 27 if you are paid every two weeks, 24 if you are paid twice a month and 12 if monthly. Whether a biweekly schedule gets 27 depends on the day of your first paycheck and on holidays near the year end.
Which months have three paychecks in 2026?
For a biweekly schedule paid on Fridays starting January 2, 2026: January, July and December. Starting January 9 instead: May and October.
What happens when payday falls on a holiday?
Most employers pay on the last business day before it, so a Friday, December 25 payday arrives on Thursday, December 24. Some pay the next business day. State law usually requires wages to be paid on the regular payday or before.
Why do I get 27 paychecks some years?
A year has 52 weeks plus one or two days, so every 11 years or so a biweekly schedule fits 27 paydays. It also happens when a January 1 payday is moved back to December 31 because of the holiday, as with Fridays starting January 2, 2026.