Biweekly Pay Calculator

Updated August 2026 · Free · No sign-up

Convert an annual salary or hourly wage into biweekly gross pay — with the 26 vs 27 paycheck year explained, three-paycheck months, and how to budget on a biweekly rhythm.

How Biweekly Pay Works

Biweekly payroll pays every two weeks on a fixed weekday — 26 paychecks in a normal year. It's the most common US pay frequency (about 4 in 10 private employees). Because 26 × 14 days = 364, one or two days drift each year — which is why every 11-12 years the calendar catches up with a 27th paycheck, and why two months every year contain three paydays.

Biweekly Pay Formulas

Salaried: Biweekly Gross = Annual Salary ÷ 26

Hourly: Biweekly Gross = Hourly Rate × Hours in the Period (80 full-time, + overtime at 1.5x per week over 40)

Worked Examples

Example 1 — salaried. $60,000 ÷ 26 = $2,307.69 per check; monthly-equivalent $5,000, but actual months alternate between 2 checks ($4,615) and occasionally 3 ($6,923).

Example 2 — hourly with OT. $22/hour, one 45-hour week + one 40-hour week: (85 × $22) + (5 × $11 OT premium) = $1,925. Overtime computes per week, not per 80-hour period — a 45+35 split pays more than 40+40.

Example 3 — the 27-check year. Some employers divide salary by 27 that year (same annual total, smaller checks); others keep the ÷26 check amount and pay ~3.8% extra for the year. Ask payroll which — it changes your per-check budget.

Biweekly vs Semi-Monthly vs Others

Biweekly vs semi-monthly trips people up: biweekly checks are smaller ($2,308 vs $2,500 on $60k) but there are two extra per year — annual totals match exactly.

The Three-Paycheck Months (Budget Superpower)

Since most bills are monthly and your baseline budget covers them with two checks, the two annual three-check months hand you a full "extra" paycheck each — 7.7% of annual pay — that no bill is waiting for. Find yours: take your next payday, add 14 days repeatedly through the year, and note the months containing three paydays (they depend only on your payday weekday and the calendar). The classic moves for that third check: emergency fund, debt principal, or annual expenses (insurance premiums, holidays) — decided in advance, before it arrives disguised as spending money.

Budgeting on a Biweekly Rhythm

• Build the monthly budget on 2 checks (24 checks/year) and treat checks 25-26 as windfalls — the simplest system that never runs short.
• Half-payment method for big bills: put half the mortgage/rent aside every payday — smooths the mismatch between biweekly income and monthly bills, and naturally builds one extra payment per year.
• Percentage-based savings (e.g., 10% of every check) auto-scales with the third checks and any raise.

Paycheck Verification: Gross to Net

This calculator shows gross. Each check then loses FICA (7.65% — see the FICA calculator), income tax withholding per your W-4, and benefit premiums — take-home typically lands at 70-80% of gross. Two checks worth verifying closely: the first after a raise (late implementations owe back pay) and any check with overtime — OT is per-week, so confirm the weekly split with the time card calculator (its biweekly mode splits the two weeks correctly).

For Employers: Choosing Biweekly

Biweekly wins operationally where hourly staff exist: overtime aligns perfectly with the FLSA workweek (semi-monthly periods split workweeks, making OT math ugly), and processing 26 predictable runs beats 24 irregular ones. The costs: two 3-check months hit cash flow, benefits deductions need a 24-of-26 or per-check-recalculated setup, and the 27-check year needs a documented policy before it arrives. Salaried-only companies often prefer semi-monthly for its clean monthly accounting alignment.

✓ Formula verified  •  Last updated: August 20, 2026