2026 payroll calendar

2026 semimonthly payroll calendar: 1st and 15th

All 24 paydays for a 1st and 15th schedule in 2026, moved to the previous business day when they land on a weekend or bank holiday.

Watch for Friday, July 3: federal offices close, but the Federal Reserve is open, so it's a normal payday. Plenty of payroll calendars get this wrong; see the Saturday holiday rule.

2026 paydays

The January 1 payday moves into 2025: it's paid on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. Wages are reported in the year they're paid, so that check counts toward 2025, not 2026.

#PaydayMoved fromSubmit payroll by
1Wednesday, December 31, 2025Thu January 1 (New Year's Day)Monday, December 29
2Thursday, January 15, 2026Tuesday, January 13
3Friday, January 30, 2026Sun February 1 (weekend)Wednesday, January 28
4Friday, February 13, 2026Sun February 15 (weekend)Wednesday, February 11
5Friday, February 27, 2026Sun March 1 (weekend)Wednesday, February 25
6Friday, March 13, 2026Sun March 15 (weekend)Wednesday, March 11
7Wednesday, April 1, 2026Monday, March 30
8Wednesday, April 15, 2026Monday, April 13
9Friday, May 1, 2026Wednesday, April 29
10Friday, May 15, 2026Wednesday, May 13
11Monday, June 1, 2026Thursday, May 28
12Monday, June 15, 2026Thursday, June 11
13Wednesday, July 1, 2026Monday, June 29
14Wednesday, July 15, 2026Monday, July 13
15Friday, July 31, 2026Sat August 1 (weekend)Wednesday, July 29
16Friday, August 14, 2026Sat August 15 (weekend)Wednesday, August 12
17Tuesday, September 1, 2026Friday, August 28
18Tuesday, September 15, 2026Friday, September 11
19Thursday, October 1, 2026Tuesday, September 29
20Thursday, October 15, 2026Tuesday, October 13
21Friday, October 30, 2026Sun November 1 (weekend)Wednesday, October 28
22Friday, November 13, 2026Sun November 15 (weekend)Tuesday, November 10
23Tuesday, December 1, 2026Friday, November 27
24Tuesday, December 15, 2026Friday, December 11

Download: CSV for Excel or Google Sheets

How the dates are worked out

Direct deposits settle through the Federal Reserve's ACH network, which is closed on weekends and on Fed holidays. When a payday lands on one of those days, the usual practice is to pay on the previous business day so nobody is paid late. The "submit by" column is 2 banking days before payday, the common deadline for a standard ACH payroll file; check your provider's own cut-off.

Generate any schedule with the API

Payroll software can build these calendars for every client and every year, for US (us-fed) or Canadian (ca-payments) payrolls:

curl "https://bankday.dev/v1/payroll/schedule?calendar=us-fed&frequency=semimonthly&days=1,15&year=2026" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BANKDAY_KEY"

Other 2026 schedules: Weekly · Biweekly · Semimonthly (15th and last) · Monthly · Canada

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