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Semi-monthly vs biweekly pay: 24 or 26 paychecks, and what changes

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What does semi-monthly mean? Twice a month: 24 paychecks a year, usually on the 15th and the last day of the month. Biweekly means every two weeks, always on the same weekday: 26 paychecks in most years and 27 in some.

The two sound alike and pay the same yearly salary. What changes is the size of each check, the number of checks, and how a pay period lines up with the workweek that overtime is counted on.

The difference at a glance

Detail Semi-monthly Biweekly
How often Twice a month, on set dates Every 14 days, on the same weekday
Paychecks a year 24 26, or 27 in some years
Typical paydays 15th and last day of the month Every other Friday (or another fixed weekday)
$52,000 salary, per check $2,166.67 $2,000.00 (26 checks)
Hours per period, 40-hour week 86.67 on average, 72 to 96 in a real month 80
Lines up with workweeks No Yes, when the period starts on the workweek's first day
Months with three paychecks Never Two in most years

The $52,000 row is $52,000 ÷ 24 and $52,000 ÷ 26. The 86.67 is 2,080 hours ÷ 24.

What semi-monthly means

Semi-monthly pay comes on two fixed dates each month. Most employers use the 15th and the last day, or the 1st and the 15th. Merriam-Webster defines semimonthly as "occurring twice a month."

Because the dates are fixed, the weekday moves. In 2027, the 15th falls on a Saturday in May and a Sunday in August. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not say what happens then; the employer's payroll policy sets it, within any state payday law. A payroll policy might move the payday to the business day before or after.

Each half-month holds a different number of workdays. A worker on a Monday-to-Friday, 8-hour schedule works these hours in each 2027 semi-monthly period:

2027 period Workdays Hours
February 16 to 28 9 72
January 16 to 31, May 1 to 15, August 1 to 15, October 16 to 31 10 80
16 other periods 11 88
March 16 to 31, August 16 to 31, December 16 to 31 12 96

That adds up to 261 workdays, or 2,088 hours, in 2027. A salaried worker gets the same check every period. An hourly worker's check moves with the workdays, before any holidays.

What biweekly means

Biweekly pay comes every 14 days on the same weekday, usually a Friday. When the pay period starts on the first day of the workweek, each period holds exactly two full workweeks, so a 40-hour schedule is 80 hours a period.

52 weeks make 26 pay periods. A year has 365 days, one more than 52 weeks (366 in a leap year), so the first payday of the year falls one calendar day earlier each year (two after a leap year). When it reaches January 1, that year gets 27 paydays. For any one payroll, that happens every 11 or 12 years.

The word "biweekly" can also mean twice a week. Merriam-Webster lists both senses. On a pay schedule, it means every two weeks.

27 paydays in 2026 or 2027 for some Friday payrolls

A Friday biweekly payroll that paid on January 2, 2026 pays every 14 days to Friday, December 18, 2026. Its next payday is scheduled for Friday, January 1, 2027, which is New Year's Day, a US federal holiday and a Federal Reserve bank holiday. Which year gets 27 paydays depends on where that payday moves:

The January 1, 2027 payday is paid Paydays in 2026 Paydays in 2027
The bank day before, Thursday, December 31, 2026 27 26
The bank day after, Monday, January 4, 2027 26 27

A Friday payroll that paid on January 9, 2026 has 26 paydays in both years, whichever way it moves a holiday payday.

Most employers choose whether a payday that cannot be paid moves back or forward. Some states set a rule: in Connecticut, a payday that falls on a nonwork day is paid on the preceding workday (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71b(b)), and in Maine, a payday on a day the business is regularly closed must be paid no later than the following business day (26 M.R.S. § 621-A(1); salaried employees and the employer's family members are excluded). Neither statute mentions bank holidays. A later date must still meet your state's pay deadline. Form W-2 reports wages in the year they are paid, so the moved check counts in the year it is paid. The pay schedule calculator counts the paydays for your schedule and your employer's rule.

What the 27th check means depends on how the employer sets salaried pay:

  • Salary ÷ 26 every period. Each check stays $2,000.00 on a $52,000 salary, and the year pays $54,000.
  • Salary ÷ 27 for that year. Each check drops to $1,925.93, and the year pays $52,000.

Both are used. For an exempt worker, dividing by 27 cannot take a check below the federal minimum of $1,368 per biweekly period, which happens on any salary under $36,936 (29 CFR 541.600(b)). The offer letter or the payroll department says which applies. For hourly workers nothing changes: pay is hours times the rate, however many paydays there are.

Bimonthly is not a safe word

"Bimonthly" means twice a month in some uses and every two months in others. Merriam-Webster lists both. If a job offer or policy says bimonthly, ask which one before planning a budget on it.

Overtime is counted by workweek on both schedules

Under federal law, a covered, non-exempt worker is owed overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek. The pay period does not change that. The rule is titled "Each workweek stands alone" (29 CFR 778.104), and a workweek is a fixed, recurring period of 168 hours, seven days in a row (29 CFR 778.105).

On a biweekly schedule that starts on the first day of the workweek, this is simple: each pay period is two whole workweeks, and each week is checked on its own. Working 30 hours one week and 50 the next is 10 hours of overtime, even though the period totals 80.

On a semi-monthly schedule, a workweek often starts in one period and ends in the next. The week is still counted whole. Overtime earned in that week is generally paid on the payday for the period in which the workweek ends. If the amount cannot be worked out by then, it must be paid as soon as practicable, and no later than the next payday after the amount can be worked out (29 CFR 778.106).

Worked example. A worker is paid on the 15th and the last day of the month, and the employer's workweek runs Sunday to Saturday. The week of Sunday, November 14 to Saturday, November 20, 2027 crosses from the first November period into the second. The worker logs 8 hours on Monday, November 15, the last day of the first period, then 37 hours from Tuesday to Saturday.

  • Hours in the workweek: 8 + 37 = 45
  • Overtime hours: 45 − 40 = 5
  • The workweek ends November 20, in the November 16 to 30 period, so those 5 overtime hours are generally paid on November 30.

The overtime calculator works out the pay for one workweek, with state rules.

Salaried, non-exempt workers on a semi-monthly salary

A non-exempt worker on a semi-monthly salary is still owed overtime. To find the hourly regular rate, the semi-monthly salary is turned into a weekly one: multiply by 24 and divide by 52 (29 CFR 778.113(b)). Then divide by the hours the salary is meant to cover. If the salary is agreed to cover all hours worked, however many, a different method applies, the fluctuating workweek in 29 CFR 778.114, and the overtime rate is lower.

On a $2,166.67 semi-monthly salary for 40 hours a week:

  • Weekly equivalent: $2,166.67 × 24 ÷ 52 = $1,000.00
  • Regular rate: $1,000.00 ÷ 40 = $25.00 an hour
  • Overtime rate: $25.00 × 1.5 = $37.50 an hour

State payday laws

The main US federal wage law, the Fair Labor Standards Act, does not set how often workers must be paid, though the wages it requires are due on the regular payday (29 CFR 778.106). Many states do, and some set different rules for different kinds of work. The US Department of Labor keeps a table of state payday requirements with the frequency each state allows. The table was dated January 1, 2023 when we last checked it, so check the state's labor department for the current rule.

Which is better for workers and employers

For a worker, neither pays more over a year at the same salary. Biweekly gives smaller, more frequent checks on a weekday that never moves, and, in most years, two months with a third check. Semi-monthly gives larger checks on fixed dates, which can line up better with rent and bills due on the 1st.

For an employer, biweekly means 26 or 27 payroll runs and simple overtime when each period starts on the first day of the workweek. Semi-monthly means 24 runs and lines up with monthly accounting, but workweeks split across periods for hourly staff.

Calculators for each schedule

Questions

How many pay periods are in a year?

Weekly pay has 52 (53 in some years), biweekly 26 (27 in some years), semi-monthly 24 and monthly 12.

How many hours are in a semi-monthly pay period?

86.67 on average for a 40-hour week: 2,080 hours ÷ 24. A real period holds 9 to 12 workdays, so 72 to 96 hours on a Monday-to-Friday, 8-hour schedule.

How many hours are in a biweekly pay period?

80 for a 40-hour week, when the pay period starts on the first day of the workweek.

Is semi-monthly the same as twice a month?

Yes. Semi-monthly means twice a month, on two set dates.

Do I get paid more on biweekly or semi-monthly?

The same over a year at the same salary. Biweekly checks are smaller because there are more of them. In a 27-payday year, a salaried worker paid salary ÷ 26 each period receives one extra check.

Does a semi-monthly schedule change overtime?

No. Federal overtime is owed for hours over 40 in each workweek, wherever the pay period starts and ends. The overtime is generally paid with the period in which the workweek ends.

Not legal, tax or payroll advice. Laws change; check the linked official source before relying on a figure.

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