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OPM leave year and NFC pay dates

Federal Pay Periods 2026

Federal employees are paid biweekly on one government-wide grid. Leave year 2026 has 26 pay periods, from Sunday, Jan 11, 2026 to Saturday, Jan 9, 2027. For agencies on the National Finance Center payroll, pay arrives by direct deposit on the Monday nine days after each period ends.

Today
pay periods in leave year 2026
26
pay period 1 starts
Jan 11
NFC deposits in calendar 2026
26
months with 3 deposits
2

2026 federal pay period calendar

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Federal pay periods 2026
Pay periodStarts (Sun)Ends (Sat)Deposit (NFC)
PP 1Monday, official Feb 5
PP 2Tuesday, official Feb 19
PP 3Monday, official Mar 5
PP 4Monday, official Mar 19
PP 5Monday, official Apr 2
PP 6Monday, official Apr 16
PP 7Monday, official Apr 30
PP 8Monday, official May 14
PP 9Tuesday, official May 28
PP 10Monday, official Jun 11
PP 11Monday, official Jun 25
PP 12Monday, official Jul 9
PP 13Monday, official Jul 23
PP 14Monday, official Aug 6
PP 15Monday, official Aug 20
PP 16Monday, official Sep 3
PP 17Monday, official Sep 17
PP 18Monday, official Oct 1
PP 19Tuesday, official Oct 15
PP 20Monday, official Oct 29
PP 21Monday, official Nov 12
PP 22Monday, official Nov 26
PP 23Monday, official Dec 10
PP 24Monday, official Dec 24
PP 25Monday, official Jan 7
PP 26Tuesday, official Jan 21

Sources: OPM leave year dates, NFC pay period calendar 2026 and NFC pay dates. Other payroll providers pay on other days: GSA-serviced agencies get direct deposit on Fridays (GSA payroll calendars). Ask your agency which provider pays you.

Compared with the published calendars

  • NFC: Direct deposit (EFT) dates, leave year 2026

    All 26 published dates match this page. Official source

    Read from the NFC pay period calendar, one page per month.

  • NFC: Official pay dates, leave year 2026

    All 26 published dates match this page. Official source

    Always a Thursday, 12 days after the pay period ends. Not moved for holidays.

GSA-serviced agencies

GSA publishes its own calendar with Friday deposits. Shown as published; GSA numbers its pay periods by payroll year, not by leave year.

  • Direct deposit (EFT) dates 2026

    Jan 2, Jan 16, Jan 30, Feb 13, Feb 27, Mar 13, Mar 27, Apr 10, Apr 24, May 8, May 22, Jun 5, Jun 18, Jul 2, Jul 17, Jul 31, Aug 14, Aug 28, Sep 11, Sep 25, Oct 9, Oct 23, Nov 6, Nov 20, Dec 4, Dec 18, Dec 31

    GSA source

  • Official pay dates 2026

    Jan 7, Jan 21, Feb 4, Feb 18, Mar 4, Mar 18, Apr 1, Apr 15, Apr 29, May 13, May 27, Jun 10, Jun 24, Jul 8, Jul 22, Aug 5, Aug 19, Sep 2, Sep 16, Sep 30, Oct 14, Oct 28, Nov 10, Nov 25, Dec 9, Dec 23, Dec 31

    GSA source

2026 calendar of NFC deposits

  • NFC direct deposit
  • Bank holiday or federal day off

January

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

February

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

March

Today3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

April

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

May

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

June

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

July

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

August

Today3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

September

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

October

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

November

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

December

Today
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

Federal retirement annuity dates 2026

OPM pays CSRS and FERS annuities on the first business day of each month, for the month before.

  • Late: New Year's Day
  • Late: Sunday
  • Late: Sunday
  • Late: Saturday
  • Late: Sunday

Source: OPM annuity payments.

Computed schedules for planning. Your employer's payroll calendar is the final word.

Questions

When does pay period 1 of 2026 start?

Sunday, Jan 11, 2026. It ends Saturday, Jan 24. The 2026 leave year runs from Sunday, January 11, 2026 to Saturday, January 9, 2027.

How many federal pay periods are in 2026?

26. A leave year has 27 pay periods only when the Sunday grid lines up that way. OPM's leave year table marks 2023 as one; 2026 is not.

When is federal payday in 2026?

It depends on your payroll provider. For agencies paid by the National Finance Center, direct deposit lands on the Monday nine days after the pay period ends (the Tuesday when that Monday is a holiday), and the official pay date is the Thursday after. The first 2026 deposit for pay period 1 is Monday, February 2, 2026.

Which months have 3 federal paydays in 2026?

Counting NFC deposit dates in calendar 2026: March and August.

More calendars

Federal pay periods 2026Federal pay periods 2027Federal pay periods 2028

A few times a year: official pay calendar changes and next year's calendars, the day they post.