How Many Pay Periods Are in a Year?
There are 26 bi-weekly pay periods in a year, once every two weeks. The bi-weekly pay period is the most common. However not every company pays its employees every two weeks.
There can be up to 27 bi-weekly pay periods in a year. Once every 11 years an extra bi-weekly payroll period occurs due to the added days from leap years and because a bi-weekly payroll only accounts for 364 days per year instead of 365. All of these days combine to create an extra payroll period. Some companies and organizations choose to pay employees on a monthly basis. These employees are usually salaried and are paid either at the beginning or end of a month. There are 12 pay periods per year for monthly payments. Employers can also utilize a weekly pay period. There are 52 potential weekly pay periods in a year, but employees may not work during each of these pay periods due to holidays, company shut downs or vacation time. Hourly employees are often paid using weekly pay periods. Semi-monthly or bi-monthly employees are paid twice per month, or 24 times per year. Employees can expect to be paid most commonly on the 1st and the 15th of every month.
