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Pay & work basics · Free guide and quiz
Payroll calendar 2026 and 2027
See the weekday of every 15th and month-end for 2026 and 2027, how many pay periods each pay schedule has, then test yourself with a free quiz. No sign-up for the answers.
- 2026 and 2027 dates
- Pay periods per year
- Free quiz and score
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The answer
Semi-monthly payday dates for 2026 and 2027
Many employers on a twice-a-month schedule pay on the 15th and the last day of the month. This table shows the weekday of each date. Your employer sets its own rule for dates that fall on a weekend, so check your pay policy.
| Month | 15th, 2026 | Last day, 2026 | 15th, 2027 | Last day, 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Thu Jan 15 | Sat Jan 31 | Fri Jan 15 | Sun Jan 31 |
| February | Sun Feb 15 | Sat Feb 28 | Mon Feb 15 | Sun Feb 28 |
| March | Sun Mar 15 | Tue Mar 31 | Mon Mar 15 | Wed Mar 31 |
| April | Wed Apr 15 | Thu Apr 30 | Thu Apr 15 | Fri Apr 30 |
| May | Fri May 15 | Sun May 31 | Sat May 15 | Mon May 31 |
| June | Mon Jun 15 | Tue Jun 30 | Tue Jun 15 | Wed Jun 30 |
| July | Wed Jul 15 | Fri Jul 31 | Thu Jul 15 | Sat Jul 31 |
| August | Sat Aug 15 | Mon Aug 31 | Sun Aug 15 | Tue Aug 31 |
| September | Tue Sep 15 | Wed Sep 30 | Wed Sep 15 | Thu Sep 30 |
| October | Thu Oct 15 | Sat Oct 31 | Fri Oct 15 | Sun Oct 31 |
| November | Sun Nov 15 | Mon Nov 30 | Mon Nov 15 | Tue Nov 30 |
| December | Tue Dec 15 | Thu Dec 31 | Wed Dec 15 | Fri Dec 31 |
- Weekly: 52 pay periods in a normal year (some years have 53 paydays).
- Biweekly (every 14 days): 26 pay periods, and 27 paydays in some years.
- Semi-monthly (twice a month): 24 pay periods, always.
- Monthly: 12 pay periods.
- January 1, 2026 is a Thursday and January 1, 2027 is a Friday. A biweekly schedule with its first payday on January 1 of the year has 27 paydays that year, the last on December 31.
A biweekly calendar depends on your first payday of the year. Count 14 days from your last payday to find the next one.
Pay periods and paydays · Question 1 of 9
0 right so far
How many paychecks does a biweekly schedule normally pay in a year?
Bonus · unlocks with your email
Three more quizzes and a printable answer key
- Pay period math (5 questions): Five questions that turn yearly pay into paycheck amounts and count paydays.
- Workweek and pay words (5 questions): Five questions on the workweek, gross pay, net pay and the pay period.
- Schedules in order (2 questions): Put the four common pay schedules in order by paydays a year.
- A printable answer key for all 21 questions. Only the key prints.
More free study tools
More free work and school tools
Sources
Where the facts come from
Pay period counts come from the payroll explainer above. The workweek facts come from the U.S. Department of Labor pages. Policies and pay dates differ by employer.
- Pen Brothers: how many pay periods in a year
Pay periods per year by pay frequency, and why some years have 27 biweekly paychecks
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Fact Sheet 23
The workweek is a fixed 168 hours and need not match the calendar week
- U.S. Department of Labor, Overtime Calculator
Pay frequency does not change the fixed workweek
Questions
Common questions
Yes. The date table and your quiz score are free and need no sign-up. An email unlocks the bonus quizzes and the printable key.
A normal year has 52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semi-monthly or 12 monthly pay periods. Some years have 53 weekly or 27 biweekly paydays.
Biweekly pays every 14 days on the same weekday, 26 times in a normal year. Semi-monthly pays twice a month on fixed dates, 24 times a year.
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