Semi-Monthly Paycheck

Divide your annual salary by 24 for a semi-monthly paycheck: $60,000 a year is $2,500.00 per check before taxes. Hourly pay is different, because each period holds 9 to 12 weekdays. At $25 an hour and 8 hours a day, 2027 checks run from $1,800.00 to $2,400.00, a $600.00 swing with no change in your rate.

Your semi-monthly paycheck

Annual salary ($)

$2,500.00 gross per check

Or hourly rate ($) Hours per workday Year If a payday is a weekend or bank holiday Federal Reserve holidays are unpaid

At $25.00 an hour: $1,800.00 to $2,400.00 per check in 2027, a $600.00 swing.

The 2027 total is $52,200.00. A flat 86.67-hour average would say $2,166.67 every check.

This table counts Federal Reserve holidays as paid days. Tick the box above if yours are unpaid.

Period	Calendar days	Paid weekdays	Hourly gross pay	Payday, if paid with no lag
Jan 1 to Jan 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Fri, Jan 15
Jan 16 to Jan 31	16	10	$2,000.00	Fri, Jan 29
Feb 1 to Feb 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Fri, Feb 12
Feb 16 to Feb 28	13	9	$1,800.00	Fri, Feb 26
Mar 1 to Mar 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Mon, Mar 15
Mar 16 to Mar 31	16	12	$2,400.00	Wed, Mar 31
Apr 1 to Apr 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Thu, Apr 15
Apr 16 to Apr 30	15	11	$2,200.00	Fri, Apr 30
May 1 to May 15	15	10	$2,000.00	Fri, May 14
May 16 to May 31	16	11	$2,200.00	Fri, May 28
Jun 1 to Jun 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Tue, Jun 15
Jun 16 to Jun 30	15	11	$2,200.00	Wed, Jun 30
Jul 1 to Jul 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Thu, Jul 15
Jul 16 to Jul 31	16	11	$2,200.00	Fri, Jul 30
Aug 1 to Aug 15	15	10	$2,000.00	Fri, Aug 13
Aug 16 to Aug 31	16	12	$2,400.00	Tue, Aug 31
Sep 1 to Sep 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Wed, Sep 15
Sep 16 to Sep 30	15	11	$2,200.00	Thu, Sep 30
Oct 1 to Oct 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Fri, Oct 15
Oct 16 to Oct 31	16	10	$2,000.00	Fri, Oct 29
Nov 1 to Nov 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Mon, Nov 15
Nov 16 to Nov 30	15	11	$2,200.00	Tue, Nov 30
Dec 1 to Dec 15	15	11	$2,200.00	Wed, Dec 15
Dec 16 to Dec 31	16	12	$2,400.00	Fri, Dec 31

The table is for hourly pay: straight time before taxes, no overtime, every paid weekday worked. Periods are the 1st to the 15th and the 16th to the last day. Many payrolls pay a period later than it ends; then each amount lands on a later payday than the one shown. When a payday moves earlier, as Feb 15 to Feb 12, it comes before the period's last weekday. The holiday box uses the Federal Reserve calendar, which may differ from your employer's.

Gross pay before taxes. $60,000 annual salary. $2,500.00 per check. Divide annual salary by 24. Lowest hourly check • Feb 16 to Feb 28. $1,800.00 gross • 9 paid weekdays. Payday, if paid with no lag: Fri, Feb 26. Highest hourly check • Mar 16 to Mar 31. $2,400.00 gross • 12 paid weekdays. Payday, if paid with no lag: Wed, Mar 31. Hourly examples use $25.00 an hour and 8 hours a day in 2027. This table counts Federal Reserve holidays as paid days. Hourly examples assume straight time and every paid weekday worked. Payday shifts use the previous business day.

Why the same hourly rate pays differently

A period is set by dates, not weeks. The second half of the month runs 13 to 16 calendar days, or 14 in a leap-year February, and the first half is always 15. How many of those days are weekdays depends on where the weekends fall. In 2027, February 16 to 28 has 9 weekdays; March 16 to 31, August 16 to 31 and December 16 to 31 have 12.

The 86.67-hour figure is an average. It is 2,080 hours divided by 24, and it does not describe any single 2027 period: at 8 hours a day, the periods hold 72, 80, 88 or 96 hours. A check built on 2,080 ÷ 24 hours at $25 is $2,166.67, which is $366.67 too high for February 16 to 28 and $233.33 too low for March 16 to 31. Over the year, 2027 has 261 weekdays, so it comes to $52,200.00, not 2,080 × $25 = $52,000.00.

Federal overtime is counted by the week, not the period. The Fair Labor Standards Act "takes a single workweek as its standard and does not permit averaging of hours over 2 or more weeks" (29 CFR 778.104). A workweek can span two semi-monthly periods, so its hours may fall across two checks. The dollars are on overtime pay.

2027 • 8 hours per paid weekday. Actual hours per period. 72, 80, 88 or 96 hours. The number of weekdays varies by period. Flat average. 86.67 hours. No period has that exact number of hours. More paid weekdays mean a bigger check at the same hourly rate. This table counts Federal Reserve holidays as paid days.

Semi-monthly paydays that land on a weekend

Because paydays are dates, the 15th-and-last schedule moves 8 of its 24 paydays in 2027: six for a weekend and two for a bank holiday, February 15 and May 31. The 2027 payday column shows each one, paid the business day before. A bi-weekly payroll on a Friday moves far less often. Which way a payday moves, and who decides, is on pay schedule; every 2027 date is on the semi-monthly pay schedule 2027.

2027 • Paid the business day before. Sun, Jan 31. Paid on Fri, Jan 29. Sun, Aug 15. Paid on Fri, Aug 13. The weekend pushes the payday one business day earlier.

Questions

Is semi-monthly the same as bi-monthly?

Not always. Bi-monthly can mean twice a month, the same 24 checks, or every two months, 6 checks, so ask your employer which it means.

Is semi-monthly or bi-weekly pay more?

Each check is bigger, because there are fewer: $60,000 is $2,500.00 across 24 checks or $2,307.69 across 26. The total can differ in a 27-payday year, and hourly pay follows the hours worked; see the bi-weekly paycheck. Weekly is on the weekly paycheck, monthly on the monthly paycheck.

How much is $20 an hour semi-monthly?

In 2027, at 8 hours a day: $1,440.00 for a 9-weekday period, up to $1,920.00 for a 12-weekday one.

Amounts are computed in your browser. Paydays follow the Federal Reserve holiday schedule. Sources: 29 CFR 778.104. Gross pay only; this is not tax or payroll advice. Last updated: November 5, 2026 (U.S. Central time).