Which Months Have an Extra Pay Period?

Understanding how pay periods align with the calendar year can lead to questions about paycheck frequency. Most months typically include a consistent number of paydays, but the annual calendar structure can result in an additional payday within a month. This phenomenon occurs for specific pay frequencies, causing certain months to have an extra paycheck. This is due to how the calendar interacts with standard payroll schedules.

Understanding Pay Frequencies

Organizations use various schedules for compensating employees, each with a defined number of pay periods annually. A common pay frequency is weekly, where employees receive 52 paychecks annually. Bi-weekly pay schedules provide 26 paychecks each year, with payments every two weeks. For those paid semi-monthly, employees are paid twice a month, resulting in 24 paychecks over a year. Monthly pay schedules mean employees receive 12 paychecks, one for each month.

The Mechanics of Extra Pay Periods

Extra pay periods primarily affect employees on weekly and bi-weekly pay schedules. A standard calendar year contains 52 weeks, but a month consists of only four weeks. This means that over a 12-month period, there are four “extra” weeks remaining (52 weeks – 12 months 4 weeks/month = 4 weeks). These additional weeks distribute across the year, leading to certain months having a fifth weekly payday.

For bi-weekly payrolls, a year has 26 pay periods, which is two more than if every month had exactly two bi-weekly paydays (12 months 2 paydays/month = 24 paydays). This causes some months to have three bi-weekly paydays instead of the usual two.

Identifying Months with Extra Pay Periods

Determining which months will have an extra pay period requires consulting your pay schedule and a calendar. The exact months vary from year to year and depend on the day of the week your first payday falls. To identify these months, mark all your regular paydays on a calendar for the entire year.

Then, count the number of paydays that fall within each calendar month. For weekly pay, any month with five paydays will be an “extra” pay period month. If paid bi-weekly, look for months with three paydays instead of the usual two. This allows you to identify when an additional paycheck will occur.