Payroll Period Calculator
Simplify your payroll planning by generating a complete schedule of pay periods and pay dates. Choose your company's pay frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly), select the first pay date, and this tool will map out the entire year's payroll calendar for you.
Payroll Schedule
How The Payroll Schedule is Calculated
Calculation Logic by Frequency
The calculator generates the schedule by starting with your first pay date and iteratively calculating the subsequent periods based on the selected frequency.
- Weekly / Bi-Weekly / Monthly: For these frequencies, the calculation is straightforward. The period end date is typically the day before the pay date, and the start date is found by counting back the appropriate number of days (6 for weekly, 13 for bi-weekly). The next pay date is found by adding 1 week, 2 weeks, or 1 month respectively.
- Semi-Monthly: This is more complex. The paydays are assumed to be the 15th and the last day of the month.
- If a pay date is the 15th, its period covers the 1st to the 15th of the month.
- If a pay date is the last day of the month, its period covers the 16th to the last day of that month.
Example From Your Generated Schedule
Based on a starting pay date of February 15, 2026 and a bi-weekly frequency:
- First Pay Period: The calculator worked backward from your first pay date to establish the first period, from Feb 1 to Feb 14.
- Subsequent Periods: It then repeatedly added the interval (2 weeks) to find each following pay date and its corresponding period.
This loop continued for the 26 periods you requested, creating the full schedule you see above.
Payroll Calendar Guidance
How it works
The tool anchors on your first pay date and frequency, then iterates forward to build each period. Weekly adds 7 days, bi-weekly adds 14 days, semi-monthly alternates fixed windows (1st–15th and 16th–end of month), and monthly uses a single month window.
Worked real-world examples
- Bi-weekly U.S. payroll: first pay date Jan 3 produces 26 pay dates across the year at 14-day spacing.
- Semi-monthly payroll: pay on the 15th and last day of month, with February shortened automatically.
- Monthly payroll: pay on month-end, with period boundaries aligned to each calendar month.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up bi-weekly (every 2 weeks) and semi-monthly (twice per month).
- Forgetting bank holidays when setting ACH/direct-deposit processing dates.
- Assuming pay-date schedule alone determines overtime, tax withholding, or benefit accrual windows.
When not to use this tool
- For final payroll compliance decisions without jurisdiction-specific labor/tax review.
- For union contracts with custom earning periods, lag payroll, or retro adjustments.
- When your payroll provider applies cutoffs and off-cycle runs not reflected in this simple model.
Sources and standards
- IRS Publication 15 (Circular E) timing context for federal payroll deposit and reporting obligations.
- FLSA concepts for workweek/overtime calculations, which are related but separate from pay-date cadence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about this calculator below.