2026 biweekly payroll calendar
Every 2026 pay date when you pay every two weeks (biweekly), with the day to send the bank file and the federal tax deposit due dates.
Build your calendar
The calendar opens with the most common setup. Change it to match your payroll; the pay periods, bank file dates, deposit due dates and holiday moves follow.
Your schedule
Two cycles on this weekday
Every two weeks runs on one of two cycles a week apart. Both are counted by the year each check is paid.
- Pay dates in 2026
- 27
- Moved for a weekend or holiday
- 2
- First pay date
- Fri, Jan 2
- Last pay date
- Thu, Dec 31
Send the bank file by your bank's file deadline; two banking days ahead is common, and a bank holiday in between moves it a day earlier.
2026 at a glance
Pay dates, bank holidays and the monthly deposit due dates for your schedule.
- Pay date
- Deposit due (monthly)
- Bank holiday
- IRS legal holiday, banks open
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, Bank holiday | 2, Pay date | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15, Deposit due (monthly) | 16, Pay date | 17 |
| 18 | 19, Bank holiday | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30, Pay date | 31 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13, Pay date | 14 |
| 15 | 16, Bank holiday | 17, Deposit due (monthly) | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27, Pay date | 28 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13, Pay date | 14 |
| 15 | 16, Deposit due (monthly) | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27, Pay date | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10, Pay date | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15, Deposit due (monthly) | 16, IRS legal holiday, banks open | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24, Pay date | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8, Pay date | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15, Deposit due (monthly) | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22, Pay date | 23 |
| 24 | 25, Bank holiday | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, Pay date | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15, Deposit due (monthly) | 16 | 17 | 18, Pay date | 19, Bank holiday | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3, Pay date, IRS legal holiday, banks open | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15, Deposit due (monthly) | 16 | 17, Pay date | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31, Pay date |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14, Pay date | 15 |
| 16 | 17, Deposit due (monthly) | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28, Pay date | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7, Bank holiday | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11, Pay date | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15, Deposit due (monthly) | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25, Pay date | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9, Pay date | 10 |
| 11 | 12, Bank holiday | 13 | 14 | 15, Deposit due (monthly) | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23, Pay date | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6, Pay date | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11, Bank holiday | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16, Deposit due (monthly) | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20, Pay date | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26, Bank holiday | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4, Pay date | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15, Deposit due (monthly) | 16 | 17 | 18, Pay date | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25, Bank holiday | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31, Pay date |
2026 pay dates and deposit due dates
Every pay date with its pay period, the day to send the bank file and the federal deposit due date under both deposit schedules.
| # | Pay period | Pay date | Send the bank file by | Deposit due, monthly | Deposit due, semiweekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon, Dec 15, 2025 to Sun, Dec 28, 2025 | ||||
| 2 | Mon, Dec 29, 2025 to Sun, Jan 11 | ||||
| 3 | Mon, Jan 12 to Sun, Jan 25 | ||||
| 4 | Mon, Jan 26 to Sun, Feb 8 | ||||
| 5 | Mon, Feb 9 to Sun, Feb 22 | ||||
| 6 | Mon, Feb 23 to Sun, Mar 8 | ||||
| 7 | Mon, Mar 9 to Sun, Mar 22 | ||||
| 8 | Mon, Mar 23 to Sun, Apr 5 | ||||
| 9 | Mon, Apr 6 to Sun, Apr 19 | ||||
| 10 | Mon, Apr 20 to Sun, May 3 | ||||
| 11 | Mon, May 4 to Sun, May 17 | ||||
| 12 | Mon, May 18 to Sun, May 31 | ||||
| 13 | Mon, Jun 1 to Sun, Jun 14 | moved from Fri, Jun 19 | |||
| 14 | Mon, Jun 15 to Sun, Jun 28 | ||||
| 15 | Mon, Jun 29 to Sun, Jul 12 | ||||
| 16 | Mon, Jul 13 to Sun, Jul 26 | ||||
| 17 | Mon, Jul 27 to Sun, Aug 9 | ||||
| 18 | Mon, Aug 10 to Sun, Aug 23 | ||||
| 19 | Mon, Aug 24 to Sun, Sep 6 | ||||
| 20 | Mon, Sep 7 to Sun, Sep 20 | ||||
| 21 | Mon, Sep 21 to Sun, Oct 4 | ||||
| 22 | Mon, Oct 5 to Sun, Oct 18 | ||||
| 23 | Mon, Oct 19 to Sun, Nov 1 | ||||
| 24 | Mon, Nov 2 to Sun, Nov 15 | ||||
| 25 | Mon, Nov 16 to Sun, Nov 29 | ||||
| 26 | Mon, Nov 30 to Sun, Dec 13 | ||||
| 27 | Mon, Dec 14 to Sun, Dec 27 | moved from Fri, Jan 1, 2027 |
Federal tax deposits only; state deposit deadlines and pay date rules differ. Rules last checked on October 3, 2026.
2026 federal payroll tax deadlines
The federal returns and forms due in 2026, moved off weekends and holidays.
| Due date | What is due |
|---|---|
| moved from Sat, Jan 31 | W-2s and 1099-NEC to workers, SSA and IRS |
| moved from Sat, Jan 31 | Form 941 for Q4 due |
| moved from Sat, Jan 31 | Form 940 annual FUTA return |
| Forms 1095-C furnished to employees | |
| Forms 1094-C / 1095-C e-filed with IRS | |
| Form 941 for Q1 due | |
| Form 941 for Q2 due | |
| moved from Sat, Oct 31 | Form 941 for Q3 due |
Monthly depositors deposit by the 15th of the next month. Semiweekly depositors: taxes on pay dates Wednesday to Friday are due the following Wednesday, and Saturday to Tuesday the following Friday, later when a legal holiday leaves fewer than three business days. On either schedule, once the taxes you accumulate in a deposit period reach $100,000, they are due the next business day.
2026 bank holidays and IRS legal holidays
No ACH settlement. By standard practice, a payday that falls on one of these days is paid the business day before. The days marked are IRS legal holidays only: banks are open, so pay dates hold, but no tax deposit is due that day (it moves to the next business day), and a semiweekly deposit gets an extra day when one falls in the three weekdays after its period ends.
| Date | Holiday | Payroll effect |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Banks closed; no ACH settlement | |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Banks closed; no ACH settlement | |
| Washington's Birthday | Banks closed; no ACH settlement | |
| DC Emancipation Day | IRS legal holiday; banks open | |
| Memorial Day | Banks closed; no ACH settlement | |
| Juneteenth | Pay date moves to Thu, Jun 18 | |
| Independence Day | Observed as an IRS legal holiday; banks open | |
| Independence Day | Saturday; banks stay open the Friday before | |
| Labor Day | Banks closed; no ACH settlement | |
| Columbus Day | Banks closed; no ACH settlement | |
| Veterans Day | Banks closed; no ACH settlement | |
| Thanksgiving Day | Banks closed; no ACH settlement | |
| Christmas Day | Banks closed; no ACH settlement |
When a holiday falls on a Saturday, Federal Reserve Banks are open the preceding Friday. Holidays on a Sunday are observed Monday.
2026 payroll calendar questions
What payroll teams ask when they build the year's calendar.
Terms used here: Pay period · Payroll calendar · Tax deposit schedule · Payroll funding
WORKLIO HCM
Tax deposits scheduled every run
With Worklio HCM, tax payments are scheduled to each agency every run, and Forms 941, 940 and their state equivalents are filed for you.
Sources
- IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide
- IRS Publication 509, Tax Calendars
- Federal Reserve holiday schedules
- DC Code §1-612.02, legal holidays
- 29 CFR 541.600, salary level for exempt employees
- Nacha, Same Day ACH
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for your employment taxes.