Final Paycheck Deadline by State

It depends on the state. Regular pay and earned commissions always count. Accrued vacation is the classic trap: California and Illinois say earned vacation must be paid out and cannot be forfeited, Maine requires payout for vacation accrued since 2023 at employers with more than 10 employees, Nebraska counts earned unused vacation as wages, and many other states only require it if your written policy or agreement promises it. The calculator shows the rule for the state you pick when the statute addresses it.

Many states tie the deadline to the payday the employee would have been paid on if they had stayed. Only you know that date. Without it, the calculator still shows the fixed-day part of the rule, labeled as the latest or earliest the deadline can be.

Monday to Friday. Holidays are not skipped, so a business-day deadline shown here is never later than the real one. If a holiday falls inside the window, the law may give you one more day, but paying on the date shown is always on time.

Some states treat a layoff like a discharge and some give laid-off employees until the next payday. Where a state's law does not say, the calculator uses the earlier of the two and says so.