Semi-monthly payroll calendar 2027.

Semi-monthly pay dates in 2027

Semi-monthly payroll pays twice a month on two fixed calendar days, usually the 15th and the last day or the 1st and the 15th, for 24 pay dates a year. It is not the same as biweekly, which pays every 14 days for 26 pay dates. Each semi-monthly paycheck covers a half month of salary, so salaried pay is steady, but hourly staff see paychecks of slightly different lengths. In 2027 the default 15th-and-last-day schedule produces the dates in the table below after weekend and holiday moves.

What changed from 2026

The calendar days are the same every year but the weekdays are not, so a different set of dates falls on weekends. In 2027 the 15th falls on a Saturday in May, a Sunday in August and the Presidents Day holiday in February, and the last day falls on a Sunday in January, February, July and October and on the Memorial Day holiday in May. Three 2027 holidays fall on a Saturday: Juneteenth (June 19), Christmas Day (December 25) and, for 2028, New Year's Day (January 1). The Federal Reserve schedule says that for holidays falling on Saturday the Reserve Banks stay open the preceding Friday, so Friday June 18, Friday December 24 and Friday December 31, 2027 are normal bank days. Independence Day falls on a Sunday, so the Reserve Banks close Monday July 5.

Which dates move

Direct deposit settles on bank days, so employers commonly pay on the previous bank day when a pay date lands on a weekend or closure. Eight 2027 dates move on the 15th and last day schedule: Sun Jan 31 (Sunday) to Fri Jan 29; Mon Feb 15 (Washington’s Birthday (Presidents Day)) to Fri Feb 12; Sun Feb 28 (Sunday) to Fri Feb 26; Sat May 15 (Saturday) to Fri May 14; Mon May 31 (Memorial Day) to Fri May 28; Sat Jul 31 (Saturday) to Fri Jul 30; Sun Aug 15 (Sunday) to Fri Aug 13; Sun Oct 31 (Sunday) to Fri Oct 29. A schedule on the 1st and 15th moves a different set, and the tool above shows yours. The bank closures that apply are listed next.

Worked example (2027)

An employee paid semi-monthly on the 15th and the last day is paid January 15 (Friday) and then, because January 31 is a Sunday, on Friday January 29. February 15 is Presidents Day, so that payday moves to Friday February 12, and February 28 is a Sunday, so it moves to Friday February 26. March 15 and March 31 both fall on bank days and are paid as scheduled. With a 5-day lag the period for the March 15 payday ended March 10. A $78,000 salary pays $3,250.00 per payday over 24 pay dates, compared with $3,000.00 on 26 biweekly paydays.

Method

The tool places the two pay days in each of the 12 months of 2027, using the last calendar day where a month is shorter than the day you entered or where you entered last. A date that falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a Federal Reserve bank holiday is moved to the previous bank day and flagged. The period end is the paid date minus the lag you set. Dates are handled as UTC calendar days so your browser time zone never shifts them. Closures come from the Federal Reserve schedule read on November 9, 2026.

What this does not cover

• State rules on how often and when employees must be paid, and rules on final pay.
• Employers that pay after a weekend or holiday instead of before it.
• Overtime, taxes and net pay: this is a date calendar only.
• Pay dates that depend on a company's own cutoff rules.

Figures read from the sources below on November 9, 2026. Last updated November 9, 2026.

Sources

• Federal Reserve Financial Services: Holiday Schedules (FedCash and FedACH, 2026 to 2030) (retrieved November 9, 2026)