How Many Pay Periods Are Left in the Year?
Count the paydays left until December 31, Christmas, tax day or any date, for weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly pay. Start from any recent payday.
Bank holidays follow the Federal Reserve schedule. Everything is calculated in your browser.
Paydays left in 2026, by starting month
Number of paydays from the first of each month through December 31, 2026, with weekend and bank-holiday adjustments (paid the business day before).
| From (inclusive) | Biweekly Fri, first payday Jan 2 | Biweekly Fri, first payday Jan 9 | Weekly (Fri) | Semi-monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | 26 | 26 | 52 | 24 |
| February 1 | 23 | 24 | 47 | 22 |
| March 1 | 21 | 22 | 43 | 20 |
| April 1 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 18 |
| May 1 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 16 |
| June 1 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 14 |
| July 1 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 12 |
| August 1 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 10 |
| September 1 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 8 |
| October 1 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 |
| November 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| December 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
Paydays left in 2027, by starting month
Number of paydays from the first of each month through December 31, 2027, with weekend and bank-holiday adjustments (paid the business day before).
| From (inclusive) | Biweekly Fri, first payday Jan 1 | Biweekly Fri, first payday Jan 8 | Weekly (Fri) | Semi-monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | 26 | 26 | 52 | 24 |
| February 1 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 22 |
| March 1 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 20 |
| April 1 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 18 |
| May 1 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 16 |
| June 1 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 14 |
| July 1 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 12 |
| August 1 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 10 |
| September 1 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 8 |
| October 1 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 |
| November 1 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| December 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
How to use the count
- 401(k) catch-up: divide the amount you still want to contribute by the paydays left to get the per-check percentage or dollar amount.
- Budgeting: months with three biweekly paydays give you a check that is not already assigned to monthly bills.
- Payroll admins: confirm the final pay date of the year and whether a bonus run needs its own check date.
FAQ
How many biweekly pay periods are left in the year?
Count the paydays from today through December 31 on your schedule. The calculator above does it from any recent payday; the tables below give the answer from the first of each month for both Friday biweekly cycles.
How many pay periods until Christmas?
Choose 'Christmas (Dec 25)' in the calculator. On a biweekly schedule there are usually 2 paydays left from the start of December, and 4 from the start of November.
Does a payday on December 31 count for this year?
Yes, if it is paid on December 31 it is income for that year. If December 31 is a weekend and payroll moves to the business day before, it still counts for the same year; if it moves to the next business day it becomes next year's income.
More pay period tools
Sources and method
Pay dates move off weekends and bank holidays. Bank holidays follow the Federal Reserve schedule (a federal holiday on Sunday closes banks on Monday; a holiday on Saturday does not close banks on Friday). Federal office closures follow OPM (Saturday holidays observed Friday, Sunday holidays Monday) and are used for work-day counts and federal pay periods. Tax-year treatment follows IRS Publication 15. Federal pay periods follow the NFC/OPM 14-day cycle. How these calendars are built and checked.
- OPM: Federal holidays
- Federal Reserve: Holiday schedule (banks closed)
- IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide
- USDA National Finance Center (federal pay period calendar)
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