Divide by 26, not 24
A year holds 52 weeks, so there are exactly 26 two-week pay periods. Paid from an hourly rate instead, the check is rate × hours per week × 2 — usually rate × 80 for a 40-hour week. To go the other way, multiply a biweekly figure by 26 to recover the annual salary.
Biweekly and semi-monthly are not the same paycheck
Both start from the same salary, but biweekly splits it into 26 checks and semi-monthly into 24. Each biweekly check is smaller, yet you receive two extra of them each year. On $60,000 the gap per check is about $192.
Same $60,000 salary. Semi-monthly checks look bigger, but biweekly delivers 26 of them versus 24 — the yearly total is identical.
Salary to biweekly, common amounts
| Annual | Biweekly (÷ 26) | Hourly (40 h/wk) |
|---|---|---|
| $26,000 | $1,000.00 | $12.50 |
| $40,000 | $1,538.46 | $19.23 |
| $52,000 | $2,000.00 | $25.00 |
| $60,000 | $2,307.69 | $28.85 |
| $75,000 | $2,884.62 | $36.06 |
| $100,000 | $3,846.15 | $48.08 |
These are gross figures. Federal, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%) and any state tax come out before the amount that reaches your account.
The three-paycheck months
- Two months a year carry a third check. The 26 checks don't split evenly across 12 months, so two of them hold three biweekly paychecks.
- Which months depend on your first payday. A first check on 2–3 January puts the extras in January and July; a first check around 9–10 January shifts them to May and October.
- Budget on two checks, treat the third as a bonus. Base monthly spending on two paychecks so the extra one is free for savings or debt, not already spent.
Common questions
How do I turn an annual salary into biweekly pay?
Divide the yearly salary by 26, the number of two-week periods in a year. A 65,000 salary is 65,000 divided by 26, which is 2,500 gross every two weeks.
Is biweekly the same as twice a month?
No. Biweekly means every 14 days, which lands 26 times a year. Twice a month, called semi-monthly, lands only 24 times. That is why the two give different per-check amounts from the same salary.
Why do some months have three paychecks?
Because 26 checks do not divide evenly into 12 months, two months each year contain three biweekly paychecks instead of two. Which months depends on the date of your first check of the year.
