How Many Times Do You Get Paid in a Year If You Get Paid Biweekly?
Discover how many biweekly paychecks you typically get in a year and why that number can sometimes vary. Understand your payroll cycle.
Biweekly pay refers to a compensation schedule where employees receive their wages every two weeks. This payment frequency is a common arrangement for many workers, providing a regular and predictable income stream. While the typical number of paychecks in a year under this system is generally consistent, a less frequent occurrence can lead to an additional payday within certain calendar years.
Standard Biweekly Payments
When an employee is paid biweekly, they typically receive 26 paychecks over the course of a standard year. This is derived from the fact that there are 52 weeks in a year, and dividing these 52 weeks by the two weeks in each pay period results in exactly 26 pay periods.
For instance, if an individual earns $52,000 annually and is paid biweekly, each paycheck would typically amount to $2,000 before deductions. This consistent schedule allows for regular budgeting and financial planning based on a fixed number of paydays.
Understanding the 27-Paycheck Year
A “27-paycheck year” occurs because a calendar year contains slightly more than 52 full weeks. A standard year has 365 days, and a leap year has 366 days. This extra day, or two days in a leap year, means that over time, the biweekly pay cycle can align in a way that generates an additional pay period.
This phenomenon is not tied to leap years directly but rather to the cumulative effect of these extra days. Approximately every five to six years, the calendar alignment will cause an employer’s biweekly pay schedule to include a 27th payday. This happens when the first payday of the year falls very early in January, allowing enough time for 27 complete two-week cycles to occur before the year concludes.
Identifying a 27-Paycheck Year
To determine if a specific year will include 27 biweekly paychecks, an individual should consult their employer’s payroll calendar. Employers often provide these calendars at the beginning of each fiscal year, detailing all scheduled pay dates.
Generally, if the first payday of the year falls on January 1st or January 2nd, it is probable that the year will contain 27 pay periods. In some cases, depending on the previous year’s final payday, a January 3rd start might also trigger the additional check. Reviewing the last payday of the preceding year can also offer insight, as a very late December payday might push the first new year’s payday early enough to create the extra cycle.