Semi-monthly payroll is obtained by dividing an employees annual salary by 24 (the amount of pay periods in a year). As an illustration, an individual making $48,000 per year would make a semi-monthly gross salary of 2,000. Using this system guarantees regular paychecks, but the amount of working days in the period might vary. The employers are also required to continue deducting taxes and other deductions according to the needs of each period. This is generally applied to salaried jobs where the number of hours worked does not vary greatly one month to the next.