How to fill in a semi-monthly timesheet
- Choose the month and the half: the 1st to the 15th, or the 16th to the last day of the month.
- Type each day's in and out times and the unpaid break minutes. Leave days off blank. A shift that ends after midnight counts on the day it starts.
- Under Workweek and overtime, set the day your employer's workweek starts, and the hours you worked earlier in the first workweek if it began in the last period.
- Add your hourly rate to see gross pay, then print the timesheet with lines to sign, or download it for Excel or as a CSV file.
The times stay in this browser, kept by date, so the next period opens where you left it. For a week at a time, use the time card calculator; for a pay period of exactly two weeks, the biweekly time card calculator; for a whole month on one sheet, the monthly timesheet calculator.
Semi-monthly timesheet template
The Excel button saves the period as a timesheet template with formulas. Each pay period with times saved in this browser gets its own sheet: each day's hours worked out from the in and out times, a subtotal and the overtime for every workweek, and the pay once a rate is filled in. Change a time in Excel and the totals follow. On paper, print the monthly card from the blank time card template and use the rows from the 1st to the 15th, or from the 16th to the end of the month.
Overtime when a workweek crosses the pay period
Federal overtime is counted per workweek, a fixed and recurring period of seven days, and each workweek stands alone (29 CFR 778.104 and 778.105). Semi-monthly periods start on the 1st and the 16th whatever the weekday, so most of them begin and end in the middle of a workweek. The calculator splits the period into your workweeks and counts overtime in each one, adding the hours you worked in the same workweek before the period started.
October 1–15, 2026, with Sunday-to-Saturday workweeks. You work Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute unpaid lunch: 9:00 a day. On September 28, 29 and 30 you already worked 27:00.
- Sep 27–Oct 3
- 2 workdays here, 18:00 + 27:00 in September: 5:00 overtime
- Oct 4–Oct 10
- 5 workdays here, 45:00: 5:00 overtime
- Oct 11–Oct 17
- 4 workdays here, 36:00: 0:00 overtime, week goes on
- Hours in the period
- 99:00 = 89:00 regular + 10:00 overtime
- Gross pay at $20 an hour
- 89 × $20 + 10 × $30 = $2,080.00
The week of Oct 11 goes on into the next period, so its overtime is not settled yet: working Friday, Oct 16, as well brings it to 45:00, and the 5:00 over 40 lands on the next timesheet. As a general rule, overtime earned in a workweek is due on the regular payday for the period in which that workweek ends; when it cannot be worked out by then, it is due as soon as practicable, and no later than the next payday after that (29 CFR 778.106).
Semi-monthly or biweekly
| Semi-monthly | Biweekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Paydays a year | 24, on two set dates each month | 26, every other week (27 in some years) |
| Days in a period | 13 to 16 | 14 |
| Hours at 40 a week | 86:40 on average (2,080 ÷ 24) | 80:00 |
| Workweeks | Usually split at both ends | Two whole workweeks when the period starts on the workweek's first day |
Because the dates are fixed, the number of workdays changes from one period to the next. In 2026, a period holds 10 to 12 weekdays, so a full-time employee on 8-hour days works 80 to 96 hours in it before any holidays.
Days and weekdays in every 2026 and 2027 pay period
| Period | 2026 | 2027 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days | Mon–Fri | Days | Mon–Fri | |
| Jan 1–15 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Jan 16–31 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 10 |
| Feb 1–15 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 11 |
| Feb 16–28 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 9 |
| Mar 1–15 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 11 |
| Mar 16–31 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 12 |
| Apr 1–15 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Apr 16–30 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| May 1–15 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 10 |
| May 16–31 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 11 |
| Jun 1–15 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Jun 16–30 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Jul 1–15 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Jul 16–31 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 11 |
| Aug 1–15 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| Aug 16–31 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 12 |
| Sep 1–15 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Sep 16–30 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Oct 1–15 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Oct 16–31 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 10 |
| Nov 1–15 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 11 |
| Nov 16–30 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Dec 1–15 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| Dec 16–31 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 12 |
Mon–Fri counts the weekdays in each period; holidays are not taken off.
Semi-monthly salary and overtime
A salary does not remove overtime for a nonexempt employee. To find the regular rate, the federal rule turns a semi-monthly salary into a weekly one by multiplying by 24 and dividing by 52, then divides by the hours the salary is meant to cover (29 CFR 778.113).
A nonexempt employee earns $2,000 each semi-monthly payday for a 40-hour week.
- Weekly salary
- $2,000 × 24 ÷ 52 = $923.08
- Regular rate
- $923.08 ÷ 40 = $23.08 an hour
- Each overtime hour
- at least 1.5 × $23.08 = $34.62
The overtime calculator works out a week's pay with differentials and bonuses, and the decimal hours chart converts the period's total for payroll.
Questions
What is a semi-monthly pay period?
A pay period that runs twice a month on fixed dates, usually the 1st to the 15th and the 16th to the last day of the month, with 24 paydays a year on set dates such as the 15th and the last day of the month.
How many hours are in a semi-monthly pay period?
At 40 hours a week, 86:40 on average, or 86.67 in decimal hours: 2,080 hours a year divided by 24 periods. A single period has 10 to 12 weekdays in 2026, so with 8-hour days it is 80 to 96 hours.
Is overtime calculated per pay period or per week?
Per workweek under federal law. Hours are not averaged over the pay period, so 45 hours in one week and 35 in the next still give 5 hours of overtime (29 CFR 778.104).
Which paycheck pays overtime for a week split between two periods?
Generally the paycheck for the period in which the workweek ends. If the amount cannot be worked out in time, the employer pays it as soon as practicable, and no later than the next payday after that (29 CFR 778.106).
How do I convert a semi-monthly salary to an hourly rate?
Multiply the salary by 24 and divide by 52 for the weekly amount, then divide by the hours in the workweek it pays for. $2,000 semi-monthly for 40 hours a week is $23.08 an hour (29 CFR 778.113).
Is semi-monthly the same as bimonthly?
Not always. Semi-monthly means twice a month. Bimonthly can mean twice a month or once every two months, so semi-monthly is the clearer word for a twice-a-month payroll.