How Many Pay Periods in 2027?
26 biweekly paydays for almost every payroll, 27 for one. 2027 starts and ends on a Friday, so a biweekly Friday payroll that starts on January 1 has 27 scheduled paydays, the last on Friday, December 31. January 1 is New Year's Day: paid early on Thursday, December 31, 2026, that check counts in 2026 and the payroll pays 26 times in 2027; paid late on Monday, January 4, it pays all 27. Weekly pay is 52 (53 on Fridays, the same way), semi-monthly 24 and monthly 12.
| Schedule | Payday | On the calendar | Paid early | Paid late |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Monday to Thursday | 52 | 52 | 52 |
| Weekly | Friday | 53 | 52 | 53 |
| Biweekly | Friday from Jan 1 | 27 | 26 | 27 |
| Biweekly | Every other cycle | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Semi-monthly | Any | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Monthly | Any | 12 | 12 | 12 |
Counted by the date each check is paid, the way a W-2 counts it. "On the calendar" counts scheduled dates without moving any. "Paid early" and "paid late" move a payday off a weekend or Federal Reserve holiday to the business day before or after. Biweekly cycles start on the first or second weekday of that name in January. Last updated: October 2026.
Why 2027 has 53 Fridays
A year is 52 weeks and one day; a leap year is 52 weeks and two days. The weekday of January 1 is the one that gets a 53rd date, and in a leap year January 2's weekday gets one too. 2027 starts on Friday, January 1 and ends on Friday, December 31, so it has 53 Fridays and 52 of every other day.
A weekly Friday payroll has 53 scheduled paydays. A biweekly Friday payroll that starts on January 1 has 27, ending on December 31; the other Friday cycle, starting January 8, has 26. Every other weekday has 52 weekly and 26 biweekly paydays in 2027. The full lists are on the weekly 2027 and biweekly 2027 schedules.
The 2027 count, schedule by schedule
The first and last check of the year decide the count. These are the ones that sit on a year edge in 2027.
| Schedule | Paid the day before | Paid the day after |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly, Friday | 52: Jan 8 to Dec 31 (the Jan 1 check is paid Thu, Dec 31, 2026) | 53: Mon, Jan 4 to Dec 31 |
| Biweekly, Friday from Jan 1 | 26: Jan 15 to Dec 31 (the Jan 1 check is paid Thu, Dec 31, 2026) | 27: Mon, Jan 4 to Dec 31 |
| Biweekly, Friday from Jan 8 | 26: Jan 8 to Dec 24 | 26: Jan 8 to Dec 24 |
| Semi-monthly, 15th and last day | 24: Jan 15 to Dec 31 | 24: Jan 15 to Dec 31 |
| Semi-monthly, 1st and 15th | 24: Jan 15 to Fri, Dec 31 (the Jan 1, 2028 check) | 24: Mon, Jan 4 to Dec 15 |
| Monthly, last day | 12: Fri, Jan 29 to Dec 31 | 12: Mon, Feb 1 to Dec 31 |
| Monthly, 1st | 12: Feb 1 to Fri, Dec 31 (the Jan 1, 2028 check) | 12: Mon, Jan 4 to Dec 1 |
Paid early, the 1st-of-the-month schedules lose their January 1, 2027 check to 2026 and pick up their January 1, 2028 check on Friday, December 31, 2027, so the total stays the same but one of the checks belongs to next January. Friday, December 31, 2027 is a day federal offices close for New Year's Day 2028, but the Federal Reserve Banks are open, so checks dated that day are paid that day.
Questions
How many biweekly pay periods are in 2027?
26 for every biweekly payroll except a Friday payroll whose first payday is January 1, 2027. That one has 27 if the New Year's Day check is paid on Monday, January 4, and 26 if it's paid on Thursday, December 31, 2026.
How many pay periods are in 2027 in all?
52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semi-monthly and 12 monthly for almost every payroll. A Friday payroll is the exception: 53 weekly or 27 biweekly (on the cycle starting January 1) if the New Year's Day check is paid on Monday, January 4; 52 and 26 if it's paid on Thursday, December 31, 2026.
Why do some years have 27?
The general rule, and the years other weekdays get the extra payday, are on how many pay periods in a year. Month by month, the 2027 pay periods and paydays are on the 2027 payroll calendar.
Counts are computed in your browser for every common schedule, using the Federal Reserve holiday schedule (Federal Reserve Board K.8, 2026–2030) and U.S. federal holidays in 5 U.S.C. 6103. Your employer's written payroll policy decides which way a payday moves.