Semimonthly pay: what it means and how it differs from biweekly
Semimonthly pay comes twice a month, 24 times a year, on set dates. How it differs from biweekly pay, what it does to each check, and how to budget for it.
Checked October 22, 2026
Semimonthly means twice a month. A semimonthly paycheck arrives 24 times a year, on two set dates, so it never has a three-paycheck month.
What semimonthly means
Semimonthly pay arrives twice a month on set dates, for example the 1st and the 16th. The IRS lists it as 24 pay periods a year in its withholding tables, next to biweekly at 26, weekly at 52 and monthly at 12.
The dates stay the same each month, but the weekday changes.
Semimonthly vs biweekly
Biweekly is every 14 days, so you get 26 checks a year, and two months of the year hold three of them. Semimonthly gives 24 checks, and every month holds exactly two. That makes semimonthly easier to budget on: your income looks the same every month.
The yearly pay is the same either way, so a semimonthly check is a bit larger. At $65,000 a year, each gross check is $65,000 / 24 = $2,708.33 semimonthly, against $65,000 / 26 = $2,500 biweekly.
Semimonthly and shared bills
If one of you is paid semimonthly and the other biweekly, you will not always get paid on the same day. Pick one bill date for the shared bills and plan to cover it from the paycheck before it.
Our guide to biweekly versus semimonthly pay walks through the two schedules side by side, and the 2026 calendar shows which months hold three biweekly checks.
A worked example: $65,000 a year
- Semimonthly gross check: $65,000 / 24 = $2,708.33.
- Biweekly gross check: $65,000 / 26 = $2,500.
- Difference per check: $2,708.33 - $2,500 = $208.33.
- Per month on a semimonthly schedule: $2,708.33 x 2 = $5,416.67 gross.
- Per month on a biweekly schedule, averaged: $2,500 x 26 / 12 = $5,416.67 gross. The same money, in different slices.
More words like this in money words, in plain English.
Questions people ask
What does semimonthly mean?
Twice a month, on set dates. It is 24 paychecks a year.
Is semimonthly the same as biweekly?
No. Biweekly is every 14 days, 26 paychecks a year. Semimonthly is twice a month on fixed dates, 24 a year.
How many paychecks is semimonthly?
24 a year, two in every month.
Which is better, biweekly or semimonthly?
Neither pays more over a year. Semimonthly is steadier month to month. Biweekly has two months with an extra check.
Sources
1 source · read October 22, 2026
Every number on this page comes from irs.gov. If a source has changed since, the source is right.
Wonderful gives general information. It isn't a financial or tax advisor.