Generate Biweekly Pay Dates

Excel Formulas › HR & Payroll

All versionsSEQUENCE

Build a year of biweekly paydays from a single start date — every 14 days. A spilled SEQUENCE generates them all at once, or add 14 to the row above for older Excel.

Quick formula: 26 biweekly pay dates from a start date:
=start + (SEQUENCE(26,1,0) * 14)
SEQUENCE produces 0, 1, 2…; times 14 days, added to the start date, gives every payday.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

SEQUENCE

The example

Paydays every other Friday.

AB
1#Pay date
21Jan 2
32Jan 16

The formula

The formula:

=start + (SEQUENCE(26,1,0) * 14) // every 14 days

How it works

How it works:

  1. SEQUENCE(26, 1, 0) spills the numbers 0 through 25 — one per pay period.
  2. Multiply by 14 (days in a biweekly cycle) and add the start date.
  3. The result spills 26 paydays down the column automatically.
  4. No dynamic arrays? Put the start in the first cell and use =above + 14 filled down.

Biweekly vs semimonthly: biweekly is every 14 days — 26 (sometimes 27) paychecks a year. Semimonthly is twice a month (e.g. the 15th and last day) — always 24 checks, but uneven gaps. For semimonthly, use DATE and EOMONTH rather than a fixed 14-day step.

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

First payday; shows the next several.

Variations

Fill-down (older Excel)

Add 14 each row:

=B2 + 14

Weekly instead

7-day step:

=start + (SEQUENCE(52,1,0) * 7)

Next payday from today

Round up to cycle:

=start + CEILING((TODAY()-start)/14, 1) * 14

Pitfalls & errors

26 vs 27 periods. Some years have a 27th biweekly payday — generate enough rows and check the final date.

Format as dates. The result is a date serial; apply a date number format to display it.

SEQUENCE needs 365. Use the fill-down =above+14 method in older Excel.

Practice workbook

📊
Download the free Generate Biweekly Pay Dates practice workbook
A biweekly-pay-dates sheet with the fill-down, weekly, and next-payday variants, plus 4 challenges with answers. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

How do I generate biweekly pay dates in Excel?
From a start date, spill them with =start + (SEQUENCE(26,1,0) * 14), which adds 14 days per period. In older Excel, use =above + 14 filled down.
How many biweekly pay periods are in a year?
Usually 26, but some years have 27 because 26 × 14 = 364 days leaves a remainder. Generate enough rows and verify the last date.
How is biweekly different from semimonthly?
Biweekly is every 14 days (26 checks); semimonthly is twice a month (24 checks) with uneven gaps — build that with DATE and EOMONTH instead.

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Related formulas: Sequence of numbers · Next recurring date · Workdays between dates

Function references: SEQUENCE