Fortnightly & Quarterly Pay Dates Calculator
From one known fortnightly payday, list your upcoming pay dates (moved off weekends and US, Mexican, Colombian or Spanish holidays), the next quarterly pay date, paydays per month, quarter and year — including 27-payday years and three-payday months.
How it works
fortnightly paydays repeat every 14 days from the anchor · next payday = anchor + 14 × n, the first one on or after your date · a payday on a weekend or holiday moves to the previous (or next) working day · quarter ends are Mar 31, Jun 30, Sep 30 and Dec 31 (plus any days you add) · paydays per year = paid dates that fall in that calendar year (26, sometimes 27)
Many employers and pension or dividend schemes mix a fortnightly (every 14 days) payroll with quarterly payments tied to the calendar quarter ends. Once you know a single fortnightly payday the whole 14-day cycle is fixed, so this lists the next paydays, each with its weekday, ISO date and quarter. A payday that lands on a Saturday, Sunday or a chosen public holiday is moved to the previous working day by default (or the next one, or left as scheduled), and the table shows where it moved from. Alongside it you get the next quarterly payment — on the quarter-end date or a set number of days after it — and how many fortnightly paydays fall in each quarter and month. A fortnightly schedule usually gives 26 paydays a year, with two months that have three; about once every 11 years the cycle fits 27 times into a calendar year. Add your paycheck amount to see pay per quarter and per year.
Worked example
With an anchor payday of Friday, January 9, 2026 and looking from September 16, 2026, the next fortnightly payday is Friday, September 18, 2026, then October 2 and October 16. The next quarter-end pay date is Wednesday, September 30, 2026. In 2026 the cycle gives 26 paydays, and May and October have three each (May 1, 15 and 29; October 2, 16 and 30). With US federal holidays on, the payday scheduled for Friday, December 25, 2026 is paid on Thursday, December 24.
Sources: OPM — Federal holidays · Mexico — Federal Labor Law, Article 74
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a quarter-end date?
The last calendar day of each standard quarter: March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31. Quarterly bonuses, commissions and many dividends are paid on or shortly after these dates; use “a number of days after quarter end” for schemes that pay, say, 15 days later.
How is fortnightly different from semi-monthly?
Fortnightly pays every 14 days, giving 26 paydays a year (sometimes 27) and two three-payday months. Semi-monthly pays on two fixed dates each month (such as the 15th and the last day), giving exactly 24 paydays that always land in the same month.
What if a payday falls on a weekend or holiday?
By default the calculator moves it to the previous working day, which is what most employers do. You can choose the next working day instead or keep the scheduled 14-day date, and pick US, Mexican, Colombian or Spanish national holidays.
Why do some years have 27 fortnightly paydays?
A year is 365 or 366 days, one or two days more than 26 × 14 = 364. The spare days add up, so roughly every 11 years the first payday falls early enough in January for a 27th payday to fit before December 31. The calculator counts the actual paid dates in the year.
Which months have three paydays?
With 26 paydays spread over 12 months, two months get three. Which ones depends on your anchor date; the results list them for the year of your next payday and the monthly table shows every month.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.