Guide

Weekly paycheck: how it is calculated and what is taken out

A weekly paycheck pays you once every week — 52 times a year. It is common in hourly and shift work because it matches pay closely to hours worked.

How your weekly pay is worked out

For hourly work, weekly gross pay is simply hours worked × hourly rate, plus any overtime. For a salaried worker, it is the annual salary divided by 52. A $52,000 salary is $1,000 gross per week.

What gets deducted

Your weekly paycheck is reduced by federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, any state income tax, and any benefits or retirement contributions. So a $1,000 gross week might land around $780–$850 in your account, depending on your state and withholdings.

Weekly vs biweekly vs monthly

• Weekly: 52 paychecks a year — smaller, more frequent.
• Biweekly: 26 paychecks a year (every two weeks).
• Semi-monthly: 24 paychecks a year (twice a month).
• Monthly: 12 paychecks a year — larger, less frequent.

Check your numbers

Work out hours and gross pay with the work hours calculator, convert between pay periods with the salary to hourly calculator, and see your after-tax weekly amount with the take-home pay calculator.