{"id":11031,"date":"2025-11-21T06:11:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T11:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/?post_type=resources&p=11031"},"modified":"2025-11-26T06:13:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T11:13:26","slug":"managing-extra-pay-periods-caused-by-the-calendar","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/payroll\/managing-extra-pay-periods-caused-by-the-calendar\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing Extra Pay Periods Caused by the Calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Rena Pirsos, JD<\/strong>, Brightmine Legal Editor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

HR and Payroll departments play a crucial role in forecasting and managing extra pay periods caused by the calendar. While they are a natural occurrence, failure to plan for them can lead to a surprising increase in payroll costs. \u00a0Early preparation is essential to manage the financial impact and ensure smooth operations for all stakeholders.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why It Happens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Extra pay periods generally occur because a calendar year and an employer’s pay periods do not always coincide precisely. In every calendar year of 365 days, at least one day of the week occurs 53 times (i.e., 52 weeks x 7 days\/week = 364 days). In leap years, which have 366 days, two days of the week will occur 53 times. And about every 10 years a rare 53rd week or extra 27th pay period for biweekly and weekly pay schedules occurs regardless of whether it is a leap year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The potential payroll impact of an extra pay period depends largely on the pay frequency used and whether employees are classified as exempt or nonexempt. And the exact year in which an extra pay period falls depends on the day an employer designates as payday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are ways to effectively plan for and manage these situations to prevent any unexpected wage expense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weekly and Biweekly Paydays<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An employer that pays employees on a weekly basis will have an extra pay period every five or six years. An employer that pays employees on a biweekly basis will have an extra pay period about every 10 or 11 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than holidays or other factors that can shift payday, payroll run weekly or biweekly is always paid on the same day of the week. If an employer’s processing schedule is weekly and the selected payday of the week happens to occur 53 times, an extra payday must be accounted for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If an employer pays biweekly, whether the extra payday occurs will depend on when paydays fall in late December and early January. If there are only 26 payrolls each in both the year that is ending and the ensuing year, there is no cause for concern. However, if one of the two years has 27 paydays, how the pay is handled for that year may have to be adjusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semimonthly Paydays<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Semimonthly paydays, which typically fall on the same two dates of every month, often must be pushed forward or backward when the normal payday falls on a holiday or weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if paydays are on the 15th and last day of the month and December 31st falls on a Saturday when direct deposits are not typically posted, the proactive thing to do is push the payday back to an earlier day before the 31st, rather than forward (e.g., to January 2). There are two main reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n