Payroll Cutoff Calculator

Why is this payday smaller than the last one?

You check your payslip and the amount is lower than last cutoff, even though you didn't miss a day. Or HR says your overtime from the 27th will show up "next cutoff", and you're not sure when that is. Most of the time, the answer is in the cutoff: which dates this payday actually covers, and how many workdays fell inside it.

This calculator lays out your company's cutoff schedule for the whole year. For each payday, you see the work dates it covers, the workdays in it, the holidays inside it, and the date you'll actually get paid after weekends and holidays move it.

How to use the calculator

How payroll cutoffs work

A cutoff is the set of work dates covered by one payday. Most Philippine companies pay twice a month, so the year has 24 cutoffs. Payroll needs a few days to check attendance, overtime and leave, so the cutoff usually closes a few days before payday.

• Lagging cutoff. 11–25 is paid on the 30th, and 26–10 is paid on the 15th. Your pay is always about 5 days behind your work. This is the most common setup.
• Current cutoff. 1–15 is paid on the 15th, and 16 to month-end is paid on the last day. You're paid up to the day itself, so payroll has to estimate or adjust late entries in the next cutoff.
• Other lags. 1–15 paid on the 20th, or 6–20 paid on the 25th. Same idea, with a different gap.

Article 103 of the Labor Code requires wages to be paid at least twice a month, at intervals of no more than 16 days. When a payday moves earlier because of a holiday, the next gap can look longer. That's because you were paid early, not late.

Why your pay changes from cutoff to cutoff

If you're paid per day, each cutoff pays for the days you worked in it. A 26–10 cutoff over New Year has holidays and fewer workdays than a regular one, so it's smaller. Regular holidays on your workdays are still paid if you were present or on paid leave the day before. Special non-working days follow "no work, no pay".

If you're on a monthly salary, every cutoff is half your monthly pay, no matter how many workdays it has. A ₱20,000 salary is ₱10,000 per cutoff before deductions. Differences then come from absences, late and undertime, overtime, holiday pay, and deductions like SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and tax, which some companies take in only one of the two cutoffs.

Your first payday on a new job depends on the cutoff too. If you start on November 3 under a 26–10 cutoff, your first pay covers November 3 to 10 and comes on the 15th, or the workday before if the 15th is a weekend. It's for 6 workdays, not a full half-month.

Example: 11–25 and 26–10 in early 2027

Let's say your company uses 11–25 and 26–10, pays on the 15th and 30th, and moves payday to the workday before a weekend or holiday. You work Monday to Friday.

At ₱700 a day, those three cutoffs pay ₱6,300, ₱7,700 and ₱8,400. Same job, same rate, three different amounts, all because of the calendar. On a monthly salary, all three would be the same half-month pay.

If your pay looks wrong

• Check the period printed on your payslip, not just the payday.
• Count the workdays in that period with your DTR. Use the DTR Calculator for late and undertime.
• Overtime or leave filed after the cutoff closes is usually paid in the next cutoff.
• If you worked on a holiday in the cutoff, check the premium with the Holiday Pay Rate Calculator.
• The calendar uses national holidays. Local holidays, like your city's founding day, aren't included. For Metro Manila, tick the box to add the November 16–18, 2026 ASEAN Summit special days.
• If payday passes and you still haven't been paid, ask HR in writing. Unpaid wages can be brought to the DOLE office that covers your workplace.

Questions about payroll cutoffs

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