2027 Pay Period Calendar
2027 has 26 federal pay periods, and 11 of them have 9 workdays instead of 10. The first period starts Sunday, January 10, 2027 and the last ends Saturday, January 8, 2028. January 1 to 9, 2027 are not in the first 2027 period: they belong to the last period of 2026, December 27, 2026 to January 9, 2027. A period with a federal holiday is 72 hours worked plus 8 hours of holiday pay; the other 15 are 80 hours worked.
| Pay period | Sunday – Saturday | Workdays | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 of 2026 | Dec 27, 2026 – Jan 9 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (New Year's Day) |
| 01 | Jan 10 – Jan 23 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (MLK Day) |
| 02 | Jan 24 – Feb 6 | 10 | 80 |
| 03 | Feb 7 – Feb 20 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (Presidents' Day) |
| 04 | Feb 21 – Mar 6 | 10 | 80 |
| 05 | Mar 7 – Mar 20 | 10 | 80 |
| 06 | Mar 21 – Apr 3 | 10 | 80 |
| 07 | Apr 4 – Apr 17 | 10 | 80 |
| 08 | Apr 18 – May 1 | 10 | 80 |
| 09 | May 2 – May 15 | 10 | 80 |
| 10 | May 16 – May 29 | 10 | 80 |
| 11 | May 30 – Jun 12 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (Memorial Day) |
| 12 | Jun 13 – Jun 26 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (Juneteenth) |
| 13 | Jun 27 – Jul 10 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (Independence Day) |
| 14 | Jul 11 – Jul 24 | 10 | 80 |
| 15 | Jul 25 – Aug 7 | 10 | 80 |
| 16 | Aug 8 – Aug 21 | 10 | 80 |
| 17 | Aug 22 – Sep 4 | 10 | 80 |
| 18 | Sep 5 – Sep 18 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (Labor Day) |
| 19 | Sep 19 – Oct 2 | 10 | 80 |
| 20 | Oct 3 – Oct 16 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (Columbus Day) |
| 21 | Oct 17 – Oct 30 | 10 | 80 |
| 22 | Oct 31 – Nov 13 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (Veterans Day) |
| 23 | Nov 14 – Nov 27 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (Thanksgiving) |
| 24 | Nov 28 – Dec 11 | 10 | 80 |
| 25 | Dec 12 – Dec 25 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (Christmas) |
| 26 | Dec 26 – Jan 8, 2028 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (New Year's Day 2028) |
Pay period numbers follow the National Finance Center's 2027 pay period calendar (Form NFC-1217) and the OPM leave year, which starts with the first full pay period in January. Workdays are Monday to Friday minus federal holidays (5 U.S.C. 6103), at 8 hours a day. Some payroll providers number the same periods differently. Last updated: October 28, 2026 (U.S. Central time).
Find the pay period and workdays for any date
9 workdays
Pay period 26 of 2026: Sun, Dec 27, 2026 to Sat, Jan 9, 2027
72 hours worked + 8 hours holiday = 80 hours at 8 a day
Holidays in this period: Fri, Jan 1, 2027 (New Year's Day).
The 2027 leave year in workdays and hours
The 26 periods from January 10, 2027 to January 8, 2028 hold 249 workdays: 15 periods of 10 and 11 periods of 9. That is 1,992 hours worked and 88 hours of holiday pay, 2,080 hours in all, the same 80 hours a period as any other year. The periods with a holiday are 01, 03, 11, 12, 13, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25 and 26. No 2027 period holds two federal holidays, so none drops to 8 workdays.
Juneteenth (June 19) and Christmas (December 25) fall on a Saturday in 2027, so federal employees take the Friday before, June 18 and December 24, inside periods 12 and 25. New Year's Day 2028 is also a Saturday and is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027, inside period 26.
The two periods that cross a year
Period 26 of 2026 runs from December 27, 2026 to January 9, 2027. Its 9 workdays split 4 and 5: Monday, December 28 to Thursday, December 31, 2026, then Monday, January 4 to Friday, January 8, 2027, with New Year's Day on Friday, January 1 as the holiday. It belongs to the 2026 leave year.
Period 26 of 2027 runs from December 26, 2027 to January 8, 2028. Its 9 workdays also split 4 and 5: Monday, December 27 to Thursday, December 30, 2027, then Monday, January 3 to Friday, January 7, 2028, with Friday, December 31, 2027 as the observed New Year's Day 2028. It belongs to the 2027 leave year.
Counted by end date instead, 26 periods end inside calendar 2027, from January 9 to December 25; that is the numbering some providers use, where the period ending January 9 is pay period 1. Either way it is 26 periods, and the 2027 payroll calendar shows which months get a third payday.
Semi-monthly pay periods in 2027: 9 to 12 workdays
A semi-monthly payroll runs from the 1st to the 15th and from the 16th to the end of the month, so its periods are 13 to 16 days long and the workdays in them change every time. Counting federal holidays as days off, the fewest workdays in 2027 are 9, in January 16 to 31 (plus Martin Luther King Jr. Day) and February 16 to 28; February 16 to 28 is the only period with just 72 hours in all. March 16 to 31 and August 16 to 31 have 12 workdays, 96 hours. December 16 to 31 is the only period with two holidays, December 24 and December 31: 10 workdays, 80 hours worked plus 16 hours of holiday pay.
| 2027 period | Workdays | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 – Jan 15 | 10 | 80 + 8 holiday (New Year's Day) |
| Jan 16 – Jan 31 | 9 | 72 + 8 holiday (MLK Day) |
| Feb 1 – Feb 15 | 10 | 80 + 8 holiday (Presidents' Day) |
| Feb 16 – Feb 28 | 9 | 72 |
| Mar 1 – Mar 15 | 11 | 88 |
| Mar 16 – Mar 31 | 12 | 96 |
| Apr 1 – Apr 15 | 11 | 88 |
| Apr 16 – Apr 30 | 11 | 88 |
| May 1 – May 15 | 10 | 80 |
| May 16 – May 31 | 10 | 80 + 8 holiday (Memorial Day) |
| Jun 1 – Jun 15 | 11 | 88 |
| Jun 16 – Jun 30 | 10 | 80 + 8 holiday (Juneteenth) |
| Jul 1 – Jul 15 | 10 | 80 + 8 holiday (Independence Day) |
| Jul 16 – Jul 31 | 11 | 88 |
| Aug 1 – Aug 15 | 10 | 80 |
| Aug 16 – Aug 31 | 12 | 96 |
| Sep 1 – Sep 15 | 10 | 80 + 8 holiday (Labor Day) |
| Sep 16 – Sep 30 | 11 | 88 |
| Oct 1 – Oct 15 | 10 | 80 + 8 holiday (Columbus Day) |
| Oct 16 – Oct 31 | 10 | 80 |
| Nov 1 – Nov 15 | 10 | 80 + 8 holiday (Veterans Day) |
| Nov 16 – Nov 30 | 10 | 80 + 8 holiday (Thanksgiving) |
| Dec 1 – Dec 15 | 11 | 88 |
| Dec 16 – Dec 31 | 10 | 80 + 16 holiday (Christmas, New Year's Day 2028) |
A salaried employee is paid the same amount every period, so one workday is worth a ninth of the check in late February and a twelfth in late March or late August. When a partial period is prorated by workdays, the period's own workday count is what changes the answer; your employer's written policy decides the method. The year totals 249 workdays, the same as the federal leave year.
Questions
When does the first pay period of 2027 start?
The first federal pay period of 2027 starts Sunday, January 10 and ends Saturday, January 23. It has 9 workdays because Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 18, falls inside it.
How many work hours are in a 2027 pay period?
80 in every federal biweekly period: 80 hours worked in 15 periods, 72 hours worked plus 8 hours of holiday pay in the other 11. The year-long count is on how many work hours in a year.
How many pay periods are in 2027?
26 federal pay periods. For paychecks by schedule, weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly, see how many pay periods in 2027.
When are the 2027 paydays?
On the 2027 payroll calendar and the biweekly pay schedule 2027. Federal payday dates differ by payroll provider; your earnings statement is the final word.
Workdays are counted in your browser from U.S. federal holidays in 5 U.S.C. 6103 and their observed dates. Federal period dates follow NFC Form NFC-1217 (2027) and the leave year in 5 CFR 630.201.