In 2028, both common Friday biweekly schedules have 26 nominal dates. Semimonthly schedules have 24 and monthly schedules have 12. Weekly counts depend on the weekday: Saturday and Sunday occur 53 times, while Monday–Friday occur 52 times.
Pay-date counts by frequency
| Frequency | Count | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 or 53 | 52 Monday–Friday dates; 53 Saturday or Sunday dates |
| Biweekly on Friday | 26 | January 7 or January 14 anchor |
| Biweekly on other weekdays | 26 or 27 | A January 1 Saturday or January 2 Sunday anchor has 27 dates |
| Semimonthly | 24 | Two dates per calendar month |
| Monthly | 12 | One date per calendar month |
These are counts of nominal dates within the civil year. A salaried employee’s payroll divisor, benefit deduction schedule and tax-reporting year must follow the employer’s actual policy and applicable rules. Neither 366 days nor 53 weekends automatically changes everyone’s paycheck amount.
Semimonthly dates and the leap day
| Month | 1st and 15th | 15th and last day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1 / 15 | 15 / 31 |
| February | 1 / 15 | 15 / 29 |
| March | 1 / 15 | 15 / 31 |
| April | 1 / 15 | 15 / 30 |
| May | 1 / 15 | 15 / 31 |
| June | 1 / 15 | 15 / 30 |
| July | 1 / 15 | 15 / 31 |
| August | 1 / 15 | 15 / 31 |
| September | 1 / 15 | 15 / 30 |
| October | 1 / 15 | 15 / 31 |
| November | 1 / 15 | 15 / 30 |
| December | 1 / 15 | 15 / 31 |
February ends on Tuesday, February 29, 2028. A 15th-and-last-day schedule therefore includes February 29; it should not inherit February 28 from a non-leap-year template. Weekend and holiday adjustments are deliberately not imposed on these nominal dates.
Worked example: the same salary on two frequencies
An annual salary of $78,000 divided evenly over 26 biweekly dates gives $3,000 gross per paycheck. Dividing the same salary over 24 semimonthly dates gives $3,250. Annual gross pay is the same in this example, although the timing of cash flow and deductions differs.
Biweekly schedules repeat every 14 days and create two three-date months for each common Friday anchor in 2028. Semimonthly schedules follow calendar dates and do not represent equal-length work periods. Overtime tracking, work-period boundaries and payroll lag require their own rules.
Build the processing calendar backwards
Start with the employer-approved payday, then identify provider funding deadlines, approval cutoffs and bank processing days. Friday November 24 follows Thanksgiving, a Federal Reserve holiday, so a provider may require an earlier submission. Friday November 10 is a federal-office observance but not an automatic Federal Reserve Bank closure.
Keep New Year’s Day 2028’s December 31, 2027 observance in the prior-year handoff notes. An early deposit, the official payroll date and tax-reporting treatment can be different concepts. Have payroll confirm the year-end treatment rather than inferring it from a bank notification.
Method, assumptions and release timing
OPM published 2028 observances and Federal Reserve schedules, with UTC civil-calendar enumeration. Nominal payroll anchors are not employer-approved payment or settlement dates. New Year’s Day 2028 is federally observed on December 31, 2027.
Civil dates and published observances are available now. Employer calendars and payment-provider cutoffs require separate confirmation.
Primary sources: Published 2028 federal holiday schedule · 2026–2030 Federal Reserve holiday schedules
Frequently asked questions
Does the leap year automatically create a 27th biweekly paycheck?
No. The count depends on the anchor weekday and date. Both common Friday sequences have 26 dates in 2028; some Saturday and Sunday sequences have 27.
Does February 2028 end on the 28th?
No. February 2028 has 29 days. A nominal last-day-of-month payroll falls on February 29 before any employer-specific policy is applied.
What is the difference between biweekly and semimonthly?
Biweekly repeats every 14 days. Semimonthly pays twice per calendar month, usually yielding 24 dates with unequal-length intervals.
Does a federal office holiday always close banks?
No. Federal office observances, Federal Reserve schedules, bank branch hours and individual payment services can differ. A Saturday holiday does not automatically close Federal Reserve Banks on the preceding Friday. Check the provider’s processing calendar.
Explore a related calculator
Payroll calculator. Check the calculator’s supported year and assumptions; it may use a different year from this planning reference.