What this page sets up
The calculator opens on a semi-monthly card: the 1st to the 15th or the 16th to the last day of the month. Those periods almost never start on the first day of a workweek, so the card is padded to whole workweeks. The days before and after the period are shaded, and their hours count toward their workweek but not toward this period’s totals.
That padding is the point. Take a period that starts on a Wednesday. If you worked 10 hours on Monday and Tuesday of that week, the last pay period already paid them as straight time, but they still count toward this week’s 40. Leave them out and this period’s overtime comes out too low. Fill in the shaded days before the period starts, then this period’s own days, and the overtime lands on the right hours.
Reading the example
The example fills every weekday on the card, the shaded ones too, with 9 hours. Each full workweek is 45 hours with 5 of overtime. On a period like September 16 to 30, 2026, the first workweek’s overtime falls on Friday the 18th, inside the period. The last workweek runs into October, so its overtime falls on October 2 and belongs to the next card. The period itself has 99 hours with 10 of overtime.
Year view
The last table on this page shows how many days of each coming period’s first and last workweek fall outside it, for a Sunday-to-Saturday workweek. A 0 means the period starts or ends exactly on a workweek boundary.
The example card, worked out
This is what the example button above fills in on the card for Sep 16 – 30, 2026, calculated by the tool.
| Day | In – Out | Unpaid break | Hours | Overtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Sep 14 (other period) | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Tue, Sep 15 (other period) | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Wed, Sep 16 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Thu, Sep 17 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Fri, Sep 18 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | 5:00 |
| Mon, Sep 21 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Tue, Sep 22 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Wed, Sep 23 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Thu, Sep 24 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Fri, Sep 25 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | 5:00 |
| Mon, Sep 28 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Tue, Sep 29 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Wed, Sep 30 | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Thu, Oct 1 (other period) | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | |
| Fri, Oct 2 (other period) | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | 5:00 |
- Workweek Sep 13 – 19, 2026: 45:00 hours, 40:00 regular and 5:00 overtime.
- Workweek Sep 20 – 26, 2026: 45:00 hours, 40:00 regular and 5:00 overtime.
- Workweek Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2026: 45:00 hours, 40:00 regular and 5:00 overtime.
Days marked “other period” count toward their workweek, not this period. Pay period total: 99:00 (99.00 hours): 89:00 regular, 10:00 overtime.
The next 24 semi-monthly periods and the workweeks they cut
With a workweek from Sunday to Saturday: how many days of each period's first workweek fall in the period before it, and how many days of its last workweek fall in the next one.
| Period | Days from the period before | Days into the next period |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 1 – 15, 2026 | 4 | 2 |
| Oct 16 – 31, 2026 | 5 | 0 |
| Nov 1 – 15, 2026 | 0 | 6 |
| Nov 16 – 30, 2026 | 1 | 5 |
| Dec 1 – 15, 2026 | 2 | 4 |
| Dec 16 – 31, 2026 | 3 | 2 |
| Jan 1 – 15, 2027 | 5 | 1 |
| Jan 16 – 31, 2027 | 6 | 6 |
| Feb 1 – 15, 2027 | 1 | 5 |
| Feb 16 – 28, 2027 | 2 | 6 |
| Mar 1 – 15, 2027 | 1 | 5 |
| Mar 16 – 31, 2027 | 2 | 3 |
| Apr 1 – 15, 2027 | 4 | 2 |
| Apr 16 – 30, 2027 | 5 | 1 |
| May 1 – 15, 2027 | 6 | 0 |
| May 16 – 31, 2027 | 0 | 5 |
| Jun 1 – 15, 2027 | 2 | 4 |
| Jun 16 – 30, 2027 | 3 | 3 |
| Jul 1 – 15, 2027 | 4 | 2 |
| Jul 16 – 31, 2027 | 5 | 0 |
| Aug 1 – 15, 2027 | 0 | 6 |
| Aug 16 – 31, 2027 | 1 | 4 |
| Sep 1 – 15, 2027 | 3 | 3 |
| Sep 16 – 30, 2027 | 4 | 2 |