How many pay periods in a year

The pay period refers to the frequency of receiving payments from an employer in the form of wages and salaries. You can quickly figure out how many times you’re going to receive payments from your employer by calculating the number of pay periods in a year. 

While there are 12 months and 52 weeks in a year, it doesn’t always translate to the number of pay periods in a year.

Figure out the number of pay periods in 2024

Some people get paid weekly, some get biweekly, and some get paid monthly. It all depends on the contract you have with your employer and how often payroll is processed at the company. That said, to figure out how many periods are there in a year for you, first take how often you’re getting paid and compare it with the year. The result should be the following.

If you’re getting paid weekly, then there are 52 pay periods in a year.

If you’re getting paid biweekly, then there are 26 pay periods in a year.

If you’re getting paid monthly, then there are 12 pay periods in a year.

Though it’s easy for employees to calculate how many pay periods there are, it gets tricky with self-employed individuals. Since self-employed individuals have a wide range of income streams, figuring out their pay periods can get tricky. That’s why self-employed people don’t really care about pay periods as it doesn’t really mean much with the many ups and downs.