Quick answer: A payroll cycle is how often you pay employees and the steps that produce each payment. A pay period (the "wage period" in the Code on Wages) is the time one payment covers. Indian employers can fix a daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly wage period, never longer than a month; most salaried staff are paid monthly, with wages due by the 7th of the next month. A payroll calendar sets each month's cut-off, pay date and statutory due dates in advance; a 2026-27 template is below.
"Payroll cycle", "pay cycle", "pay period" and "payroll calendar" are used loosely, and a lot of what turns up in search is written for the United States, where biweekly pay and 26 pay periods are normal. This guide explains each term for India, the wage periods the law allows and when each must be paid, how a monthly payroll cycle runs step by step, and gives a ready payroll calendar for April 2026 to March 2027 with cut-off dates, pay dates and TDS, PF and ESI dates.
Payroll cycle, pay period, pay date and payroll calendar
| Term | Meaning | Example (monthly) |
|---|---|---|
| Pay period (wage period) | The time one payment covers | 1 to 30 November 2026 |
| Payroll cycle (pay cycle) | How often you pay, and the repeating steps to do it | Monthly: inputs, processing, approval, payment, deposits |
| Cut-off date | Last date for inputs for the period | 20 November |
| Pay date (payday) | When salaries reach accounts | 30 November |
| Payroll calendar (schedule) | The year's list of periods, cut-offs, pay dates and due dates | The 2026-27 table below |
"Per pay cycle" simply means for each payment: a monthly deduction of ₹200 is ₹200 per pay cycle on a monthly payroll.
Wage periods allowed in India, and when wages are due
Under the Code on Wages, 2019, the employer fixes the wage period for each employee as daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and no wage period may be longer than a month (different wage periods may be fixed for different establishments; the appropriate Government may prescribe other payment time limits). Section 17 then sets the latest time for payment in each case (section 17):
| Wage period | Pay periods a year | Wages must be paid | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily | Each working day | At the end of the shift | Casual and daily-rated workers |
| Weekly | 52 (53 in some years) | On the last working day of the week, before the weekly holiday | Construction, some factories |
| Fortnightly | 26 (27 in some years) | Before the end of the second day after the fortnight ends | Uncommon; some contract and piece-rated workforces |
| Monthly | 12 | Before the end of the 7th day of the following month | Almost all salaried employees |
Wages due on resignation, removal, dismissal or retrenchment are paid within two working days, whatever the wage period. See our Code on Wages guide for the wider rules.
Monthly, weekly or biweekly: why India mostly pays monthly
- Monthly fits the way Indian salaries are quoted (CTC and monthly gross), how TDS, PF and ESI are deposited (all monthly) and how monthly payslips are prepared. It is the default for offices, IT, banking and most services.
- Weekly and daily payrolls suit workers paid by the day or the hour, and are common in construction and some manufacturing; statutory deposits are still made monthly on the wages paid in the month.
- Fortnightly (26 pay periods) is allowed but uncommon in India. The "26 pay periods" questions in search results come mostly from the US biweekly system.
Some employers run two cycles: monthly for salaried staff and weekly for daily-rated workers.
Steps in a monthly payroll cycle
- Collect inputs up to the cut-off: attendance and leave, joiners and exits, revisions, overtime, incentives and claims (see payroll cut-off date).
- Process payroll: calculate earnings, loss of pay, PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS for each employee.
- Check and approve: compare with last month, investigate variances, get HR and finance approval.
- Pay salaries through the bank on the pay date, and issue payslips.
- Deposit and file: TDS by the 7th, PF and ESI by the 15th, professional tax on the state's date, and quarterly TDS statements (see our payroll compliance calendar).
- Post the accounts and reconcile payroll with the books (see payroll accounting).
A full payroll cycle runs from collecting inputs for a pay period to paying salaries, depositing TDS, PF and ESI, and reconciling the accounts; on a monthly payroll it spans about six weeks. The whole cycle in detail is in our payroll process guide.
How to calculate the number of pay periods
- Monthly: always 12 a year; each period is the calendar month (28 to 31 days).
- Weekly: 52 a year, or 53 when the year contains 53 of your paydays (for example, a Friday payday in a year with 53 Fridays).
- Fortnightly or biweekly: count every 14 days from the first payday. In 2026, a Friday payday starting on 2 January gives 26 paydays, while a Thursday payday starting on 1 January gives 27, because 2026 has 53 Thursdays.
To convert pay between cycles, work through the annual figure: annual pay ÷ number of pay periods. A ₹6,00,000 annual salary is ₹50,000 a month, about ₹23,077 a fortnight over 26 periods, or about ₹11,538 a week over 52.
Example: one employee through the November 2026 cycle
An employee on ₹50,000 a month, calendar-month pay period, cut-off on the 20th:
- 1 to 20 November: leave, attendance and an overtime claim are entered and approved.
- 20 November: inputs frozen; one day of unpaid leave on 26 November will be deducted in December.
- 23 to 27 November: salary, PF on PF wages, professional tax and TDS calculated; payroll approved.
- 30 November: November salary credited and the payslip issued.
- 7 December: TDS on November salary deposited.
- 15 December: PF for November paid through the monthly ECR (EPFO revamped ECR). ESI does not apply, as ₹50,000 is above the ₹21,000 ESI wage ceiling.
Payroll calendar 2026-27 (monthly template)
This template assumes a calendar-month pay period, an input cut-off on the 20th (moved back to Friday when it falls on a weekend), and payment on the last weekday of the month. Adjust for your public holidays and bank lead times.
| Month | Pay period | Input cut-off | Pay date | TDS deposit | PF and ESI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2026 | 1–30 Apr | Mon 20 Apr | Thu 30 Apr | Thu 07 May | Fri 15 May |
| May 2026 | 1–31 May | Wed 20 May | Fri 29 May | Sun 07 Jun | Mon 15 Jun |
| Jun 2026 | 1–30 Jun | Fri 19 Jun | Tue 30 Jun | Tue 07 Jul | Wed 15 Jul |
| Jul 2026 | 1–31 Jul | Mon 20 Jul | Fri 31 Jul | Fri 07 Aug | Sat 15 Aug |
| Aug 2026 | 1–31 Aug | Thu 20 Aug | Mon 31 Aug | Mon 07 Sep | Tue 15 Sep |
| Sep 2026 | 1–30 Sep | Fri 18 Sep | Wed 30 Sep | Wed 07 Oct | PF: Sat 31 Oct (extended); ESI: Thu 15 Oct |
| Oct 2026 | 1–31 Oct | Tue 20 Oct | Fri 30 Oct | Sat 07 Nov | Sun 15 Nov |
| Nov 2026 | 1–30 Nov | Fri 20 Nov | Mon 30 Nov | Mon 07 Dec | Tue 15 Dec |
| Dec 2026 | 1–31 Dec | Fri 18 Dec | Thu 31 Dec | Thu 07 Jan | Fri 15 Jan |
| Jan 2027 | 1–31 Jan | Wed 20 Jan | Fri 29 Jan | Sun 07 Feb | Mon 15 Feb |
| Feb 2027 | 1–28 Feb | Fri 19 Feb | Fri 26 Feb | Sun 07 Mar | Mon 15 Mar |
| Mar 2027 | 1–31 Mar | Fri 19 Mar | Wed 31 Mar | Fri 30 Apr | Thu 15 Apr |
Notes: TDS for March is due by 30 April. EPFO extended the PF due date for September 2026 to 31 October 2026 because the wage ceiling changed mid-month (SCC Online report); ESI for September was still due on 15 October. Where a due date falls on a weekend or holiday (15 August 2026 is both), do not assume it moves to the next working day; deposit on the previous working day to be safe. Professional tax and labour welfare fund dates by state are in the payroll compliance calendar.
How to set your payroll schedule
- Choose the wage period for each category of employee and state it in the appointment letter and standing orders.
- Pick a pay date that meets the legal deadline with room to spare: the last working day of the month, or the 1st to 5th of the next month for monthly payrolls.
- Work back to the cut-off, allowing for processing, approval and the bank's lead time.
- Publish the calendar for the year before 1 April, and send monthly reminders before each cut-off.
- Review it each year for holidays, year-end (March) and any change in statutory dates.
For new joiners in a part month, see adding a new employee to payroll and pro rata salary.
Related reading: Payroll process · Payroll cut-off date · Payroll compliance calendar · Salary on 26 or 30 days
Run each pay cycle from one workbook. The Complete Indian Payroll Excel Workbook takes the month's inputs, calculates salaries, PF, ESI, PT and TDS, and produces payslips and challan totals for every pay period.
Frequently asked questions
What is a payroll cycle?
A payroll cycle is how often employees are paid and the recurring set of steps that produces each payment: collecting inputs, calculating pay and deductions, approving, paying and depositing statutory dues. In India most salaried employees are on a monthly payroll cycle; daily, weekly and fortnightly cycles are used mainly for workers paid by the day or the hour.
What is a pay period?
A pay period, called the wage period in the Code on Wages, is the stretch of time a single salary payment covers, such as a calendar month. The employer fixes it, and it cannot be longer than one month.
Why are there 26 pay periods?
26 pay periods is a biweekly (every two weeks) cycle: 52 weeks divided by 2. It is common in the United States and some other countries, but rare in India, where the law allows a fortnightly wage period but most employers pay monthly, giving 12 pay periods a year.
Are there 26 pay periods in 2026?
For a biweekly payroll paid on Fridays, yes: 2026 has 52 Fridays, so there are 26 paydays. A biweekly payroll paid on Thursdays starting 1 January 2026 has 27 paydays, because 2026 has 53 Thursdays. A monthly payroll always has 12.
What is a payroll schedule?
A payroll schedule, or payroll calendar, lists every pay period of the year with its input cut-off date, processing dates, pay date and statutory due dates. It is published in advance so managers, employees and finance know each deadline.
What are the three stages of a payroll cycle?
Payroll is usually described in three stages: pre-payroll (collecting and checking attendance, leave, joiners, exits and claims), payroll processing (calculating pay, deductions and taxes and getting approval), and post-payroll (paying salaries, issuing payslips, depositing TDS, PF and ESI, filing returns and posting the accounts).
Position as of 14 November 2026. Based on the Code on Wages, 2019 (sections 16 and 17), the Income-tax Act, 2025 and Rules, 2026, and EPFO and ESIC due dates. The calendar template uses weekdays only and does not account for public holidays. General information, not legal or tax advice.