Remember bank holidays when running payroll
Thursday, December 25th, 2025, 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. Also, if the payday falls on the holiday, you'll need to change the check date.
Check dates scheduled for Thursday, December 25, should be adjusted to Wednesday, December 24, and submitted by Monday, December 22, to avoid paying employees late*.
If your payday falls on Friday, December 26, 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 18 (see schedules below).
Note: January 1st is also a federal bank holiday. See New Year's holiday pay run schedules→
Payroll submission deadlines for a 2-day turnaround
| Payday Falls On | Submission deadline* | Employer Draft | Check Date |
| Wednesday 12/24 | Monday 12/22* | Tuesday 12/23 | Wednesday 12/24 |
| Thursday 12/25 | Monday 12/22* | Tuesday 12/23 | Wednesday 12/24 |
| Friday 12/26 | Tuesday 12/23* | Wednesday 12/24 | Friday 12/26 |
| Monday 12/29 | Thursday 12/25* | Friday 12/26 | Monday 12/29 |
*OnPay’s Banking cut-off is 11:30 PM ET. Submission date can be on the holiday, before 11:30 PM ET. Any payrolls processed after 11:30 PM ET are considered to be submitted on the next business day.
Payroll submission deadlines for a 4-day turnaround
| Payday Falls On | Submission deadline* | Employer Draft | Check Date |
| Wednesday 12/24 | Thursday 12/18* | Friday 12/19 | Wednesday 12/24 |
| Thursday 12/25 | Thursday 12/18* | Friday 12/19 | Wednesday 12/24 |
| Friday 12/26 | Friday 12/19* | Monday 12/22 | Friday 12/26 |
| Monday 12/29 | Monday 12/22* | Tuesday 12/23 | Monday 12/29 |
| Tuesday 12/30 | Tuesday 12/23* | Wednesday 12/24 | Tuesday 12/30 |
| Wednesday 12/31 | Thursday 12/25* | Friday 12/26 | Wednesday 12/31 |
*OnPay’s Banking cut-off is 11:30 PM ET. Submission date can be on the holiday, before 11:30 PM ET. Any payrolls processed after 11:30 PM ET are considered to be submitted on the next business day.
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.
OnPay schedules the direct deposit date based on information entered when running payroll and your turnaround time within OnPay. At the "Confirmation" step of the pay run, the direct deposit effective date may differ from the examples outlined above. If this occurs or if you have any questions about processing your payroll around this holiday, please contact us at 877-328-6505 or hello@onpay.com.
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