US payroll glossary

Pay date (check date): the day wages are paid

Definition

The pay date, often printed as check date, is the day an employee is paid. It is separate from the pay period, the dates the work covers. Tax rules follow the pay date: wages count in the year they are paid, and federal deposit deadlines run from the date wages are paid, not the period end.

Every 2027 payday for your schedule, moved off weekends and bank holidays.

Plan your 2027 pay dates

Updated October 8, 2026 · Approved by PayDocs, October 8, 2026

Pay date and pay period are different dates

Every paycheck has two sets of dates. The pay period says which days of work it covers, for example 14 to 27 December. The pay date says when the money reaches the employee, for example 2 January. Payroll needs time to collect hours and run the numbers, so the pay date usually trails the period end by a few days.

Publication 15 (2026) ties your deposits to the date wages are paid. On the semiweekly schedule, taxes on wages paid Wednesday to Friday are due by the following Wednesday, and on wages paid Saturday to Tuesday by the following Friday. Monthly depositors pay by the 15th of the following month.

DOL Fact Sheet 21 lists both dates among the records an employer must keep: the date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment.

A paycheck that crosses the new year

A biweekly period runs 13 to 26 December 2026 and is paid on Monday 4 January 2027. Under the pay-date rule:

The wages belong to 2027, so they go on the employee's 2027 Form W-2, not 2026.
Withholding uses the 2027 rules and wage bases in force on the pay date.
A semiweekly depositor owes the tax by Friday 8 January 2027, because wages paid Saturday to Tuesday are due the following Friday.

If the same check were paid on Thursday 31 December instead, all three answers would move back into 2026. That is why year-end paydays get planned in advance.

Where the dates sit on a stub

A pay stub shows the period start, period end and pay date as three separate fields, usually in the header. Year-to-date totals are counted by pay date, so the first stub paid in January starts a new year even when the work was done in December.

Questions

What is the difference between pay date and pay period?

The pay period is the span of days the work covers. The pay date is the day the employee is paid for it. Taxes, deposits and the W-2 year all follow the pay date.

Is check date the same as pay date?

Yes. Check date is the older name from when wages were paid by paper check, and many payroll reports still use it. For direct deposit it is the day the money is made available to the employee.

Which year does a paycheck count in if the work was done in December?

The year it is paid. Wages paid on 4 January 2027 for December work are 2027 wages, reported on the 2027 W-2 and withheld under the 2027 rules.

Sources

IRS: Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide (read October 8, 2026)
DOL: Fact Sheet #21, Recordkeeping requirements under the FLSA (read October 8, 2026)
IRS: General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026) (read October 8, 2026)

Figures are for the 2026 tax year unless the text says otherwise. This page explains a payroll term; it is general information, not tax or legal advice.