Pay Period Calculator

Pay frequency dictates how many paychecks are issued per year and how gross pay distributes. Common schedules: weekly (52 paychecks), biweekly (26), semi-monthly (24), monthly (12). Annual salary divided by paycheck count gives gross per period; deductions and taxes reduce that to net.

Enter annual salary and pay frequency to see gross per paycheck, paychecks per year, and the calendar of expected pay dates given a start date. Biweekly schedules produce three-paycheck months twice a year, which the calendar highlights.

The arithmetic is straightforward. Gross per paycheck = annual salary / paychecks per year. Annual gross is identical regardless of frequency; only the cash flow timing differs. Weekly: 52 paychecks of salary/52 each. Biweekly: 26 paychecks of salary/26. Semi-monthly: 24 paychecks of salary/24, typically issued the 15th and last day of each month. Monthly: 12 paychecks of salary/12. Hourly workers see slightly different math: weekly hours times hourly rate gives weekly gross; same conversion for other frequencies. The 'three-paycheck months' phenomenon is unique to biweekly: 26 paychecks divided over 12 months averages 2.17 per month, so most months get 2 paychecks and 2 months per year get 3.

A worked example. Annual salary $78,000, biweekly pay frequency, start date January 5, 2026 (a Monday). Gross per paycheck: 78,000/26 = $3,000. Pay dates fall every other Friday (assuming January 9 as the first payday): January 9, January 23, February 6, February 20, March 6, March 20, April 3, April 17, May 1, May 15, May 29, June 12, June 26, July 10, July 24, August 7, August 21, September 4, September 18, October 2, October 16, October 30, November 13, November 27, December 11, December 25. That's 26 paydays. Months with three paydays: January (9, 23) — wait, only 2. Let me recount: January 9, 23 = 2. February 6, 20 = 2. March 6, 20 = 2. April 3, 17 = 2. May 1, 15, 29 = 3. June 12, 26 = 2. July 10, 24 = 2. August 7, 21 = 2. September 4, 18 = 2. October 2, 16, 30 = 3. November 13, 27 = 2. December 11, 25 = 2. So May and October are 3-paycheck months. Total: 26.

Limitations and edge cases. Pay-date conventions vary by employer. Some shift paydays earlier when the standard date falls on a holiday; others shift later. Direct deposit timing depends on the bank's ACH schedule, which can introduce a 1-day offset between issued and credited. State labor laws set minimum frequency requirements. Most US states require biweekly or semi-monthly minimum for hourly workers; some allow monthly for salaried exempt employees. New York is among the strictest (weekly for manual workers); Alabama has no statutory frequency requirement. Calendaring three-paycheck months matters for budgeting: monthly fixed costs divided by 2 produces unintentional surplus in those months that often disappears by month end. The cleaner pattern is to divide monthly fixed costs by 2.17 and treat the bonus paychecks as savings or debt paydown directly, rather than letting them inflate monthly cash flow.