Biweekly Pay Schedule 2026
26 paydays for most schedules, 14 days apart. Put in any payday you already know and every 2026 payday appears below, with paydays that land on a bank holiday moved. One case breaks the count: a Friday schedule that paid on January 2, 2026 reaches January 1, 2027, New Year's Day. Paid a day early, that check lands on December 31, 2026, and the year holds 27 paydays.
27 paydays in 2026
| # | Payday | Note |
|---|
Bank holidays follow the Federal Reserve calendar, the one direct deposit runs on. Works for any weekday and any start date. Last updated: October 2026.
The two Friday schedules in 2026
Every biweekly Friday payroll in 2026 is one of two series: the one that paid on January 2, or the one that paid on January 9. Find one payday you remember and you know which column is yours. A star marks a payday moved to the business day before a bank holiday.
| # | Series from Jan 2 | Series from Jan 9 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fri, Jan 2 | Fri, Jan 9 |
| 2 | Fri, Jan 16 | Fri, Jan 23 |
| 3 | Fri, Jan 30 | Fri, Feb 6 |
| 4 | Fri, Feb 13 | Fri, Feb 20 |
| 5 | Fri, Feb 27 | Fri, Mar 6 |
| 6 | Fri, Mar 13 | Fri, Mar 20 |
| 7 | Fri, Mar 27 | Fri, Apr 3 |
| 8 | Fri, Apr 10 | Fri, Apr 17 |
| 9 | Fri, Apr 24 | Fri, May 1 |
| 10 | Fri, May 8 | Fri, May 15 |
| 11 | Fri, May 22 | Fri, May 29 |
| 12 | Fri, Jun 5 | Fri, Jun 12 |
| 13 | Thu, Jun 18 * | Fri, Jun 26 |
| 14 | Fri, Jul 3 | Fri, Jul 10 |
| 15 | Fri, Jul 17 | Fri, Jul 24 |
| 16 | Fri, Jul 31 | Fri, Aug 7 |
| 17 | Fri, Aug 14 | Fri, Aug 21 |
| 18 | Fri, Aug 28 | Fri, Sep 4 |
| 19 | Fri, Sep 11 | Fri, Sep 18 |
| 20 | Fri, Sep 25 | Fri, Oct 2 |
| 21 | Fri, Oct 9 | Fri, Oct 16 |
| 22 | Fri, Oct 23 | Fri, Oct 30 |
| 23 | Fri, Nov 6 | Fri, Nov 13 |
| 24 | Fri, Nov 20 | Fri, Nov 27 |
| 25 | Fri, Dec 4 | Fri, Dec 11 |
| 26 | Fri, Dec 18 | Thu, Dec 24 * |
| 27 | Thu, Dec 31 * | — |
The January 2 series runs into two holidays: Juneteenth (Friday, June 19) and New Year's Day 2027 (Friday, January 1). The January 9 series runs into one: Christmas Day (Friday, December 25). Its 26th check, paid early, lands on Christmas Eve.
Friday, July 3, 2026 stays a payday in the January 2 series. Federal offices are closed that day for Independence Day, but the Federal Reserve is open, so direct deposits go through. The difference between the two calendars is explained on federal vs bank working days.
When 2026 has 27 paydays
A biweekly year is 26 periods of 14 days: 364 days. 2026 has 365. So a 27th payday is only possible when the first one falls on January 1 or when a January payday of the next year is pulled back into December.
- Friday, January 2 series: the January 1, 2027 payday is a bank holiday. Paid the day before, it lands on December 31, 2026: 27 paydays in calendar 2026. Paid the day after, it stays in 2027: 26.
- Friday, January 9 series: 26 either way. Christmas moves its last check to December 24 or December 28, both in 2026.
- A Thursday schedule starting January 1: January 1 is a holiday, so paid early it moves to December 31, 2025, and 2026 again holds 26.
Payroll rules, not the calendar, decide which way a holiday payday moves. The tool lets you see both. If two sources disagree on 26 or 27 for the same schedule, this is where the difference can come from.
Holidays that hit other paydays
| Payday weekday | 2026 bank holidays it can hit |
|---|---|
| Monday | Jan 19 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), Feb 16 (Washington's Birthday), May 25 (Memorial Day), Sep 7 (Labor Day), Oct 12 (Columbus Day) |
| Wednesday | Nov 11 (Veterans Day) |
| Thursday | Jan 1 (New Year's Day), Nov 26 (Thanksgiving) |
| Friday | Jun 19 (Juneteenth), Dec 25 (Christmas Day), and Jan 1, 2027 |
| Tuesday | None in 2026 |
A biweekly schedule hits only every other week, so no payroll meets every date in its row. A Monday series that paid on January 5 meets four of the five Monday holidays; the one that paid on January 12 meets only Labor Day. Enter your own payday above to see which.
Questions
How many biweekly paydays are in 2026?
26 for almost every schedule. 27 only for the Friday series that paid on January 2, 2026, and only if the January 1, 2027 payday is paid early on December 31.
What if my payday falls on Christmas Day 2026?
Christmas is Friday, December 25, a Federal Reserve holiday, so direct deposit can't settle that day. Paid early, the check lands on Thursday, December 24; paid late, on Monday, December 28.
Is July 3, 2026 a payday?
For the January 2 Friday series, yes. Banks and the Federal Reserve are open that Friday even though federal offices observe Independence Day.
Does a biweekly schedule ever fall on a weekend?
Not if it starts on a weekday: 14 days later is always the same weekday.
Paydays are computed in your browser from the date you enter, 14 days apart, using the Federal Reserve Financial Services 2026–2027 holiday schedule (a Saturday holiday leaves the Friday open) and U.S. federal holidays in 5 U.S.C. 6103. Your employer's payroll policy decides which way a holiday payday moves.