52 weeks or 50 in a salary year?
Pick 52 paid weeks or fewer based on unpaid time off, and say which one you used.
Short answer
Use 52 when the salary pays every week. Use fewer weeks when some weeks are unpaid. Do not switch between 50 and 52 in the same comparison.
Name the unpaid time
Paid vacation is still part of a salaried year: you were paid, so those weeks stay in the 52 if you are explaining the salary. Unpaid leave, an unpaid summer, or a furlough should come out, because dividing by 52 pretends those weeks were paid.
Write the assumption next to the rate. “$48.08 at 40 × 52” can be checked. “About $50 an hour” cannot. The hourly calculator keeps the weeks visible for that reason.
Common mistakes
- Subtracting paid holidays and unpaid leave as if they were the same.
Frequently asked questions
- What about 2,087 hours?
- Some payroll systems average a year as 2,087 hours. If HR used that figure, use theirs when you are checking their paycheck, and say so.
Related
- Annual salary to hourly rateConvert an annual salary into an hourly rate from the hours you actually work in a week and a year.
- How many hours are in a work year?See why 2,080 hours shows up so often, and when a different work year is the honest denominator.
- A part-time salary as an hourly rateConvert a part-time annual amount with the hours that job actually schedules, not a 40-hour week.