Biweekly Pay: How Biweekly Payroll Works in 2026

Biweekly pay means employees are paid every two weeks on the same weekday, usually a Friday, for 26 paychecks a year (27 in some years). Each paycheck covers a 14-day pay period.

Salaried staff receive their annual salary divided by 26; hourly staff receive hours worked times their rate, with overtime counted week by week.

How biweekly payroll works

A biweekly payroll runs on a fixed 14-day cycle.

The pay period is the two weeks of work being paid for, and the pay date is the day the money arrives, normally a few days to a week after the period closes so payroll can collect hours and process direct deposits.

1. 1The pay period closes. For example, a period that runs Sunday, January 4 to Saturday, January 17, 2026.
2. 2Hours and changes are collected. Managers approve timesheets; payroll adds new hires, raises, bonuses and deduction changes.
3. 3Gross pay is calculated. Salary ÷ 26, or hours × rate plus overtime for each workweek over 40 hours.
4. 4Taxes and deductions are taken out. Federal and state withholding, Social Security, Medicare, benefits and retirement contributions. See gross pay vs net pay for the full list.
5. 5Payroll is submitted. Direct deposit (ACH) usually needs to be submitted one to two business days before payday.
6. 6Employees are paid. On Friday, January 23, 2026 in this example. The next period starts January 18 and is paid February 6.

The gap between period end and payday is set by the employer within state limits. California, for example, requires wages for a weekly or biweekly period to be paid within 7 calendar days of the period's end (California Labor Commissioner, Paydays FAQ).

How to calculate biweekly pay

Salaried employees

Divide annual salary by 26. The table compares the same salaries on other schedules. The figures are gross pay before taxes and deductions.

The semi-monthly check is larger only because the same salary is split into 24 pieces instead of 26. Annual pay is identical.

Hourly employees

Multiply hours worked by the hourly rate and add overtime. A full-time biweekly period is 80 hours (40 × 2).

Overtime under the FLSA is owed for hours over 40 in each workweek, not over 80 in the pay period, and hours cannot be averaged across the two weeks (DOL Fact Sheet #23).

• Regular pay = regular hours × hourly rate
• Overtime pay = overtime hours × (hourly rate × 1.5)
• Biweekly gross pay = regular pay + overtime pay, worked out separately for each week

The third row is the common mistake: the period totals 80 hours, but week 2 has 5 overtime hours, so the employee is owed $45 more than a straight 80 × $18. Shift differentials and nondiscretionary bonuses also raise the regular rate used for overtime.

Use the overtime pay calculator to check a week, or track it with the overtime tracker template.

How many biweekly pay periods are in a year

26 in most years, because 26 × 14 days = 364 days. The calendar year is one day longer (two in a leap year), so paydays drift later each year, and about once every 11 years a 27th payday lands in the same calendar year.

Our guide to how many pay periods are in a year has the full 2026 and 2027 calendars and a table of 27-payday years by weekday.

Three-paycheck months in 2026 and 2027

Because 26 paydays don't divide evenly into 12 months, two months a year have three paydays. These are not extra pay; each check is the normal amount, but monthly cash outflow is 50% higher than in a two-paycheck month.

Biweekly vs weekly vs semi-monthly vs monthly pay

Adoption figures are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, Length of pay periods in the CES survey). Biweekly is the most common schedule and grows with company size: 39.0% of establishments with 1-9 employees pay biweekly, against 66.6% of those with 1,000 or more.

Budgeting on a biweekly paycheck

For employees, the main adjustment is that monthly bills don't match a 14-day rhythm. A simple method is to budget on two paychecks a month and treat the two three-paycheck months as surplus for savings or irregular costs.

Monthly income for budgeting is the biweekly check × 26 ÷ 12, which is about 2.17 checks a month: $2,307.69 × 26 ÷ 12 = $5,000 for a $60,000 salary.

Bills due on fixed dates can usually be moved to fall a few days after a payday.

Biweekly pay: pros and cons

If you pay per payroll run, the difference between biweekly and weekly is 26 runs a year.

Many small-business platforms charge a flat monthly base plus a per-employee fee instead, in which case the run count does not change the bill. Paychex prices by quote, so ask whether its quote changes with frequency.

Benefit deductions on a biweekly schedule

Monthly premiums do not divide evenly into 26 checks. Take an employee share of $300 a month ($3,600 a year) as an illustration:

Both methods collect the same amount in a 26-paycheck year. In a 27-paycheck year the first method collects one extra $138.46 unless payroll stops it, so decide in advance and tell employees which method you use.

State rules that affect biweekly pay

Federal law does not set a pay frequency, but states do, and biweekly pay is not allowed for every group everywhere.

New York requires manual workers to be paid weekly unless the employer receives state permission to pay them biweekly; clerical and other workers must be paid at least twice a month (NY Department of Labor).

California allows biweekly pay as long as each period is paid within 7 days of closing. The Department of Labor keeps a state-by-state payday table; use your state labor department as the final word.

Running biweekly payroll in software

Every mainstream platform, from ADP and Gusto to Paylocity, supports biweekly schedules and generates the year's pay dates when you set the first payday.

Before you go live, check four things: how the system treats holiday paydays, whether it flags three-paycheck months and 27-payday years, whether deductions can be set to skip the third check, and how it handles off-cycle payrolls for corrections and final pay.

All-in-one HRIS platforms that include payroll pull hours and deduction changes straight from HR records, which cuts manual entry each cycle. If you use a professional employer organization, the PEO sets the calendar. For a wider view of providers see payroll services for small business.

Changing to or from biweekly pay

Start a new schedule at the beginning of a calendar year if you can, so year-to-date totals and benefit deductions reset cleanly.

Moving from weekly to biweekly creates a longer gap before the first new paycheck, which can hurt hourly staff living paycheck to paycheck; consider a one-time advance or an earned wage access option.

Many states require advance written notice of a payday change, so check the rules for each state where you have employees before announcing dates.

Frequently asked questions about biweekly pay