2025 U.S. Payroll Calendar: Employer’s Guide

Your payroll software might be top-tier, but do your employees know when they’re getting paid?

It used to be as simple as picking a day and cutting the checks. But now your team in Tokyo has different banking holidays than your team in Toronto. Suddenly, the simple question of “when do we get paid” has a dozen different answers depending on where someone logs in from.

Welcome to payroll planning in 2025, where going global means your payment schedule needs to work across continents, currencies, and compliance rules.

That’s when a payroll calendar comes into play. A payroll calendar is a schedule that maps out when your employees get paid throughout the year. It sounds straightforward until you realize this one document affects cash flow planning, benefits deductions, tax withholdings, and whether your team can actually pay rent on time.

For employers, getting the payroll calendar right means fewer panicked Slack messages and smoother operations. For employees, it means financial predictability. They can plan their mortgage payments, budget for groceries, and know precisely when that direct deposit will hit their account.

Here’s the question that trips up even seasoned HR teams in 2025: how many pay periods are actually in this year? That depends entirely on your payroll cycle or the frequency with which you pay your employees. In this guide, we address these questions and more on how to create your payroll calendar for the rest of 2025 and beyond.

How many pay periods are in 2025?

The answer depends on how often you pay your people. This matters for your budget, your accounting team, and your employees’ monthly expenses. Each payroll frequency has its own rhythm and trade-offs.

Let’s break down what 2025 looks like for each schedule.

Weekly payroll

• 52 pay periods in 2025
• Employees receive pay once per week, typically on Friday
• Offers consistent cash flow but requires additional administrative work

Bi-weekly payroll

• 26 pay periods in 2025, though some employers may have 27, depending on their start date
• Employees are paid every two weeks, commonly on Friday
• Bi-weekly payroll is the most popular pay schedule in the U.S.

Semi-monthly payroll

• 24 pay periods in 2025
• Employees are paid twice per month, such as on the 15th and the last day of the month
• Aligns with monthly reporting cycles for finance teams

Monthly payroll

• 12 pay periods in 2025
• Employees are paid once per month
• Simplest for employers, but it can create budgeting challenges for employees

There are also nuances between how often salaried versus hourly employees are paid, although many organizations now harmonize these pay cycles.

“While salaried employees typically earn the same amount each semi-monthly period (and usually aren’t required to submit timesheets), businesses generally choose to pay hourly staff biweekly because it’s intuitive for hourly staff to submit timecards every Friday,” says Mark Wald, CFO and advisor at SPRCHRGR.

“That not only keeps things simple and consistent for the hourly employee, but also makes it easier for the employer to calculate overtime compensation for staff who are not exempt from overtime compensation rules,” he adds.

2025 Payroll calendar key dates

Federal holidays can throw a wrench in your payroll schedule. Banks close, processing delays happen, and employees start wondering where their money went. The solution is simple. Plan ahead and adjust your payroll calendar so paychecks land before the holiday hits.

Here are the U.S. federal holidays to watch in 2025:

• January 1 (Wednesday). New Year’s Day
• May 26 (Monday). Memorial Day
• July 4 (Friday). Independence Day
• September 1 (Monday). Labor Day
• November 27 (Thursday). Thanksgiving Day
• December 25 (Thursday). Christmas Day

If your regular payday falls on or immediately after a federal holiday, process payroll early. Your banking partners need extra time to clear transactions, and your employees need their paychecks to arrive on schedule. This is especially critical for teams working across different countries, where local holidays might create global payroll compliance hurdles and additional processing gaps.

Payroll scheduling best practices

Getting your payroll calendar right takes more than picking random dates and hoping for the best. These practices help you avoid the chaos of missed payments, confused employees, and surprise budget issues.

• Choose a schedule that works for everyone. Balance what’s required by law, what your employees need for financial stability, and what your team can realistically manage without burning out.
• Plan around holidays and bank closures. Adjust payroll dates in advance so employees receive payment before banks shut down. This is critical during year-end when multiple holidays cluster together.
• Communicate the schedule clearly and early. Share your annual payroll calendar with employees at the start of the year. Post it somewhere accessible and send reminders before any schedule changes or holiday adjustments.
• Account for extra pay periods. If 2025 brings a 27th biweekly period or 53rd weekly period, revisit how you handle benefits deductions and salary calculations. Spread the adjustments evenly so no single paycheck looks drastically different.
• Leverage technology and payroll providers. Modern payroll systems automate holiday detection, calculate deductions, and flag potential issues before they become problems. This is especially valuable for global teams that rely on international payroll providers to handle different local requirements.
• Document your payroll policies. Create written guidelines that explain how you handle things like mid-month hires, terminations, and holiday pay. This protects both you and your employees when questions arise.
• Test payrolls before significant changes. Before switching schedules or entering a year with extra pay periods, process a test run. Catch errors in a sandbox environment rather than in your employees’ bank accounts.

“Looking globally, the employment policies of every country have their own complexities: wage structures can include varied and unique components, while work processes and tax schemes may be complex and dynamic, with the business environment characterized by frequent regulatory changes,” writes David Rad, VP Implementation & Projects at Hilan.

A well-designed payroll calendar is a stabilizing force in this complexity. When regulations shift and requirements multiply across different markets, having a clear and consistent payment schedule keeps both your operations and your employees grounded.

FAQs for employers

These are the questions that come up in every HR meeting, finance review, and panicked Slack thread when someone realizes payroll is more complicated than they thought. We’ve collected the most common ones here with straight answers that actually help.

How many pay periods in a year?

It ultimately depends on your payroll frequency. Weekly gives you 52 periods, biweekly gives you 26, semi-monthly gives you 24, and monthly gives you 12.

How many pay periods in 2025 for bi-weekly payroll?

Most biweekly schedules have 26 pay periods in 2025. However, some employers may encounter 27 depending on where their pay cycle starts. This happens when the calendar alignment creates an extra payday.

Which payroll schedule is most common?

Biweekly is the most popular among U.S. employers. It balances administrative efficiency with regular employee cash flow.

What happens if there are 27 pay periods in 2025?

Employers typically adjust deductions like benefits so they are distributed evenly across all periods. This prevents employees from seeing unexpectedly high deductions in certain paychecks. Your payroll system should flag this early so you can plan accordingly.

Can I change my payroll frequency mid-year?

Yes, but it requires careful planning and clear communication. You need to notify employees in advance, adjust tax withholdings, and ensure payroll compliance with state wage payment laws. Some states have specific requirements about how often you must pay employees.

Do payroll calendars differ by country?

Absolutely. Payment frequencies, holiday schedules, and statutory requirements vary significantly across borders. Monthly payroll is standard in many European and Latin American countries, while biweekly dominates in North America.

How far in advance should I publish my payroll calendar?

Publish your annual payroll calendar at least one month before the new year starts. This gives employees time to plan their finances and helps your accounting team prepare for any quirks in the schedule.

Streamline your payroll calendar with Pebl

Managing payroll across multiple countries means juggling different regulations, payment frequencies, and compliance requirements that can overwhelm even experienced HR teams. Pebl takes that administrative burden off your plate by handling the complexity of global payroll operations so you can focus on building your business. Whether your team is in Boston, Berlin, or Bangkok, we ensure everyone gets paid accurately and on time according to local requirements. Get in touch to learn more.

This information does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or tax advice and is for general informational purposes only. The intent of this document is solely to provide general and preliminary information for private use. Do not rely on it as an alternative to legal, financial, taxation, or accountancy advice from an appropriately qualified professional. The content in this guide is provided “as is,” and no representations are made that the content is error-free.

© 2025 Pebl, LLC. All rights reserved