Biweekly Paycheck Calendar

First payday in → the full 26-payday ladder for 2026 and 2027, the per-check gross, and the months that hit you with three checks.

First payday of the cycle

Annual salary ($)

Paydays to generate

Biweekly = every 14 days → exactly 26 checks/year, two months with 3 paydays (budget for those). Semi-monthly (24 checks) is the comparison basis.

—gross per biweekly check

—next payday (from today)

—months with 3 paydays

—vs semi-monthly (24 checks)

—

How the math works

Paydays = first + 14 × k days, k = 0…(n−1). 26 per year exactly; the calendar drifts so 3 paydays land in 2 months each year (the months where a 14-day cycle starts and ends, a 31-day month almost always hosts one).
Per-check gross = salary ÷ 26. A semi-monthly co-worker on the same salary gets salary ÷ 24 per check, 8% more per check, 2 fewer checks; total identical. This is why 26-check payers get richer Decembers.
2026 note: a Jan 2 2026 first payday → paydays land on Fri 2/13, Fri 3/13… Friday payers with the 14-day cycle land on fixed calendar anchors; July 4 2026 is a Saturday (banks closed Fri 7/3), expect a 7/2 or 7/6 shift if your employer pays on holidays.

Public-sector calendars shift pay when paydays land on bank holidays (federal pay is set to the business day before/after). Private payroll varies. Confirm with HR, this is the structural calendar, not your employer's exceptions.

Frequently asked

What are my biweekly paydays in 2026?

Pick your first 2026 payday and the tool prints all 26 dates. Biweekly payers with a Fri Jan 2 2026 first check land on the 13th-of-month Friday rhythm (Jan 2, Jan 16, Jan 30, Feb 13…).

Why do I get 3 paychecks some months?

A 14-day cycle inside a 31-day month can start, continue, and complete in the same month. Two months a year get 3 checks; the annual total stays 26. Treat the third as bonus-month cash, not recurring income.

Biweekly vs monthly, which is bigger per check?

Monthly = salary ÷ 12. Biweekly = salary ÷ 26 ≈ half a monthly check, paid 26×/yr. Semi-monthly = salary ÷ 24, 8% fatter checks. Compare before signing for a pay cycle.