Remember bank holidays when running payroll
Thursday, January 1, is a federal banking holiday. The Federal Reserve pauses ACH payments on all federal holidays, which can delay direct deposit payments. If your payday falls on or immediately after this holiday, you may need to run payroll one business day early to avoid paying employees late. And if the payday falls on the holiday, you'll need to change the check date.
Check dates scheduled for Thursday, January 1, should be adjusted to Wednesday, December 31, and submitted by Monday, December 29, to avoid paying employees late*.
If your payday falls on Friday, January 2, you won't need to change the check date to avoid paying employees late, but you will need to submit payroll one business day earlier.
*Based on a 2-day turnaround. For 4-day turnaround, submit by December 25 (see other deadlines below).
Payroll submission deadlines for a 2-day turnaround
| Payday falls on | Submission deadline* | Employer draft date | Check date |
| Wednesday 12/31 | Monday 12/29* | Tuesday 12/30 | Wednesday 12/31 |
| Thursday 1/1 | Monday 12/29* | Tuesday 12/30 | Wednesday 12/31 |
| Friday 1/2 |
Tuesday 12/30* |
Wednesday 12/31 | Friday 1/2 |
| Monay 1/5 | Wednesday 12/31* | Friday 1/2 | Monday 1/5 |
*OnPay’s Banking cut-off is 11:30 PM ET. Any payrolls processed after 11:30 PM ET are considered to be submitted on the next business day. Submission deadline can be on the holiday, before 11:30 PM ET, without affecting the payroll turnaround time.
See submission deadlines for a 4-day turnaround
Check dates scheduled for Wednesday, January 1, should be adjusted to Tuesday, December 31, and submitted by Wednesday, December 25, to avoid paying employees late*.
*Based on a 4-day turnaround.
If your payday falls on any date between January 2 and January 6 (Thursday-Monday), you'll need to run payroll one business day earlier to avoid paying employees late.
| Payday falls on | Submission Deadline* | Employer draft date | Check date |
| Wednesday 12/31 | Thursday 12/25* | Friday 12/26 | Wednesday 12/31 |
| Thursday 1/1 | Thursday 12/25* | Friday 12/26 | Wednesday 12/31 |
| Friday 1/2 | Friday 12/26* | Monday 12/29 | Friday 1/2 |
| Monay 1/5 | Monday 12/29* | Tuesday 12/30 | Monday 1/5 |
| Tuesday 1/6 | Tuesday 12/30* | Wednesday 12/31 | Tuesday 1/6 |
| Wednesday 1/7 | Thursday 1/1* | Friday 1/2 | Wednesday 1/7 |
*OnPay’s Banking cut-off is 11:30 PM ET. Any payrolls processed after 11:30 PM ET are considered to be submitted on the next business day. Submission deadline can be on the holiday, before 11:30 PM ET, without affecting the payroll turnaround time.
Questions about your turnaround time? Learn more about how turnaround time is determined→
How to adjust the check date
You can adjust the check date when you start running payroll, by clicking the pay schedule information in the upper right.
If your payday falls on a bank holiday, change the scheduled check date to the business day before, and submit payroll by your submission deadline. This will not affect check dates of future pay runs.
Run payroll early
Refer to the schedules outlined in the tables at the beginning of this article when adjusting the check date for a holiday. Your turnaround will affect your payroll submission deadline.
Direct deposit effective dates may be automatically adjusted from the date you enter, based on turnaround time. The number of business days between the check date and the date payroll is submitted cannot be fewer than your payroll turnaround time. Always refer to the direct deposit date presented in the pay run Confirmation (step 3).
If you have questions about processing your payroll around this holiday, or need help running payroll, submit a request for support, or call us at (877) 328-6505.
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