A plain-language guide to the "1st and 15th" rule, why some deposits move earlier, and the official dates still ahead in 2026.

The rule behind the calendar

Active-duty members of the U.S. military are paid twice a month. Mid-month pay is due on the 15th. End-of-month pay is due on the 1st of the following month. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service publishes the official payday calendar each year. When the 15th or the 1st falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a federal holiday, the official payday moves to the preceding business day.

That is why the familiar shorthand "paid on the 1st and the 15th" is only a starting point. The label on a payday also describes the pay period, not always the calendar month in which the deposit arrives. March end-of-month pay, for example, is due on 1 April when 1 April is a business day.

Which dates moved in 2026

The Office of Personnel Management's 2026 holiday schedule is the reference for federal holidays. New Year's Day was Thursday, 1 January. Independence Day, 4 July, fell on a Saturday and was observed on Friday, 3 July. Christmas Day is Friday, 25 December. New Year's Day in 2027 falls on Friday, 1 January, which also matters for the last payday of 2026.

Applying the DFAS rule to the 2026 calendar produces several well-known adjustments:

  • 1 February and 1 March were Sundays, so January and February end-of-month pay moved to Friday, 30 January and Friday, 27 February.

  • 15 February and 15 March were Sundays, so those mid-month paydays moved to Friday, 13 February and Friday, 13 March.

  • 1 August was a Saturday, so July end-of-month pay moved to Friday, 31 July.

  • 15 August was a Saturday, so August mid-month pay moved to Friday, 14 August.

  • 1 November was a Sunday, so October end-of-month pay moved to Friday, 30 October.

  • 15 November was a Sunday, so November mid-month pay moved to Friday, 13 November.

Those earlier Fridays also create months with three official paydays. July had the 1st, the 15th and the 31st. October had the 1st, the 15th and the 30th. December will have the 1st, the 15th and the 31st.

What is still ahead

After mid-November 2026, three official active-duty paydays remain:

  • Tuesday, 1 December 2026 — November end-of-month pay, due on a regular business day.

  • Tuesday, 15 December 2026 — December mid-month pay, also a regular business day.

  • Thursday, 31 December 2026 — December end-of-month pay, moved forward because 1 January 2027 is New Year's Day, a Friday federal holiday.

Veterans Day, Wednesday, 11 November, and Thanksgiving, Thursday, 26 November, did not fall on a 1st or a 15th, so they did not move a payday. Christmas Day, Friday, 25 December, likewise does not coincide with an official payday this year.

Banks, LES dates and other pay types

Some banks and credit unions make an incoming ACH deposit available before the official settlement date. That changes when the money can be spent. It does not change the DFAS payday. If a question is about the official schedule, the DFAS date is the one that matters. If the question is about when funds appear in a particular account, the institution's early-deposit policy is a separate issue.

DFAS also publishes dates on which the Leave and Earnings Statement and Notice of Pay Advice become available in myPay. An LES is not a bank-deposit confirmation. It is the first place to look if the expected amount changed because of a promotion, a move, an allotment, a debt, or an entitlement adjustment.

The active-duty calendar does not govern every military-related payment. Reserve drill pay, military retirement, Survivor Benefit Plan annuities and Department of Veterans Affairs benefits use different schedules. Using an active-duty payday to check a retirement or disability deposit is a common source of confusion.

For planning, it is enough to keep two lists: the official DFAS dates, and any earlier date a particular bank may post the deposit. Rent, allotments and bill due dates should be checked against the official payday, especially in months when the 1st moves back into the previous month. If DFAS later revises a published calendar, the revised official date governs. The remaining 2026 dates above follow the standing rule and the 2026 federal holiday schedule; they should still be confirmed against the current DFAS active-duty payday table before being added to a personal calendar.

Sources

  1. 1.

    Defense Finance and Accounting Service: Understanding your pay

  2. 2.

    U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Federal holidays

  3. 3.

    Military Pay Dates: 2026 active duty military pay dates

  4. 4.

    Defense Finance and Accounting Service: Military pay tables and information

  5. 5.

    Department of Defense: Military Compensation

Service Pay Calendar · last reviewed November 2026.