Biweekly Pay Calculator
Convert an hourly rate or annual salary into your biweekly paycheck, then see weekly, semimonthly, monthly, and annual equivalents across all 26 pay periods.
Biweekly Pay Calculator
What do you know?
Hourly Pay
Annual Salary
Weekly Pay
Monthly Pay
Overtime (optional)
Overtime adds to your base biweekly gross using the hours and rate above. To split a single week's hours at 40, use the Overtime Calculator.
Estimates only, not tax or legal advice. This shows gross pay before taxes and deductions.
From gross to real take-home
This converter stops at gross so it stays fast and accurate. ClockWage44 logs your shifts across as many jobs as you work and resolves federal tax, state tax, FICA, overtime, and deductions into a to-the-cent take-home figure, all on-device.
How to calculate biweekly pay
Biweekly pay lands every other week, so a year holds 26 paychecks (52 weeks ÷ 2). Two formulas cover almost every case.
From an hourly rate, multiply the rate by hours per week, then by 2: rate × hours × 2. At $25/hr and 40 hours, that comes to $25 × 40 × 2 = $2,000 per check. From a salary, divide the annual figure by 26, so a $52,000 salary is $52,000 ÷ 26 = $2,000 biweekly.
Standard full-time work runs 40 hours a week, so a normal biweekly period covers 80 hours, and a full year adds up to 2,080 hours (40 × 52). Enter your actual hours if you work part-time or a variable schedule.
Biweekly vs. semimonthly pay: why 26 checks isn't 24
Biweekly and semimonthly both land around two checks a month, but they run on different clocks. Biweekly pays every 14 days, anchored to a weekday like every other Friday, for 26 checks a year. Semimonthly pays on two fixed calendar dates, usually the 15th and the last day, for 24 checks a year.
Because semimonthly splits the same salary into 24 periods instead of 26, each semimonthly check is a little larger. The tradeoff is timing: semimonthly resets with the calendar every month, so it never produces a three-paycheck month. Only biweekly does.
Three-paycheck months and the occasional 27th check
Twenty-six biweekly periods span 26 × 14 = 364 days, one short of a full year. That leftover day (two in a leap year) slides paydays earlier over time. The drift bunches an extra payday into two months each year, which is where three-paycheck months come from.
Over a longer stretch the same drift produces a 27th biweekly check in certain years, when a payday slips in on or before December 31. Salaried biweekly workers may then see slightly smaller per-check amounts, since the annual salary divides across one more period. Which months carry the extra check depends on your first payday, so use the Pay Period Calculator to map exact dates.
From gross biweekly pay to real take-home
Every figure here is gross, before anything comes out. Your real paycheck subtracts federal income tax, state income tax where it applies, and FICA: Social Security at 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500, plus Medicare at 1.45% on all wages. Add 401(k), health insurance, and other deductions, and take-home usually lands well below gross.
For the after-tax number, you need to model brackets, state rules, and FICA together. That's the job of ClockWage44 and the Take-Home Pay Calculator. These figures are estimates only and not tax or legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about biweekly pay calculator
How do I calculate biweekly pay from an hourly rate?
Multiply your hourly rate by hours worked per week, then by 2, since a biweekly period covers two weeks. At $25/hr and 40 hours, that's $25 × 40 × 2 = $2,000 gross per paycheck before taxes.
How many biweekly pay periods are in a year?
26. A year has 52 weeks, and biweekly pay lands every other week, so 52 ÷ 2 = 26 paychecks. To turn a biweekly amount into an annual salary, multiply by 26; to go the other way, divide the salary by 26.
What's the difference between biweekly and semimonthly pay?
Biweekly pays every 14 days for 26 checks a year, always on the same weekday. Semimonthly pays twice a month on fixed dates like the 15th and last day, for 24 checks. Semimonthly checks are a bit larger because the salary is split 24 ways, but only biweekly gives you three-paycheck months.
When do I get three paychecks in a month?
On a biweekly schedule, two months each year land three paydays instead of two. Which months those are depends on when your first paycheck of the year falls, so there's no single answer. Use the Pay Period Calculator to map your exact three-paycheck months.
How many hours are in a biweekly pay period?
A standard full-time biweekly period is 80 hours (40 hours × 2 weeks). Across a full year that comes to the familiar 2,080 hours (40 × 52). Part-time and variable schedules will differ, so enter your actual hours per week.
Is this my take-home pay?
No, this shows gross pay before deductions. Your actual paycheck gets reduced by federal income tax, state income tax, and FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500, plus Medicare 1.45%), along with any 401(k) or insurance deductions. Use the Take-Home Pay Calculator or the ClockWage44 app for the after-tax figure.
Can some years have 27 biweekly paychecks?
Yes. Because 26 periods cover 364 days and a calendar year is 365 or 366, paydays drift earlier over time until an extra check occasionally falls before December 31, giving you a 27-paycheck year. When that happens, salaried biweekly pay may be split across the extra period.
How do I convert biweekly pay to an annual salary?
Multiply your biweekly gross by 26. A $2,000 biweekly check works out to $52,000 a year. This calculator shows the annual equivalent automatically, alongside weekly, semimonthly, and monthly figures.