How long does a Texas employer have to give a final paycheck?
Six calendar days if you ended it, next regular payday if they did. The separation type sets the deadline.
Last updated: August 02, 2026
Direct Answer
Under the Texas Payday Law, an employee who is fired, laid off, or otherwise discharged must receive their final paycheck within six calendar days of discharge. An employee who quits must be paid in full by the next regularly scheduled payday. The deadline includes all earned wages, and commissions and bonuses are due under the terms of the applicable agreement.
Controlling authority: the Texas Payday Law (Tex. Labor Code ch. 61) and the FLSA, with DOL recordkeeping requirements and EEOC recordkeeping rules setting the retention periods.
Two deadlines, set by the separation type
The clock starts the day the separation happens, and the six-day rule for involuntary separations counts calendar days, weekends included. Waiting for the next payroll run is a common mistake when someone is terminated mid-cycle. If your payroll provider cannot cut an off-cycle check, you need a manual process ready before the termination meeting, because the deadline does not move.
Final wages include more than base hours. Earned overtime, earned commissions under the written plan, and any payout your own policy promises all belong in the calculation. What counts as earned depends heavily on how your policy and commission agreements are written, which is why vague policies create the most disputes.
| Requirement | The rule | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Pay frequency — FLSA-exempt employees | At least once a month | Tex. Labor Code ch. 61. |
| Pay frequency — everyone else | At least twice a month | Semi-monthly periods must contain as nearly as possible an equal number of days. |
| No designated paydays | Defaults to the 1st and the 15th | The employer loses the choice by failing to make one. |
| Posting | Payday notices must be posted where easily seen | A cheap, commonly missed requirement. |
| Final pay — discharged, laid off, or fired | Within six calendar days | Calendar days, not business days. |
| Final pay — quit, resigned, or retired | Next regularly scheduled payday | The separation type changes the deadline. |
| Unused PTO, vacation, or severance | Owed only if a written policy or agreement provides it | Texas creates no standalone entitlement. |
| Wage claim deadline | 180 days from the date wages were due | TWC uses the date the claim is received. |
Calendar days, not business days
The most expensive mistake is holding a final check as leverage for unreturned equipment, keys, or uniforms. Texas does not allow an employer to simply withhold final wages until property comes back. Deductions from final pay generally require written authorization from the employee, and even then they cannot take a nonexempt employee below minimum wage for hours worked.
The second mistake is treating a resignation and a termination the same way. Employers who fire someone and then pay on the next regular payday, sometimes two weeks out, hand the former employee a clean Texas Workforce Commission wage claim. The claim costs more to answer than the check ever did.
| Basis for the deduction | Permitted? | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Court order (child support, garnishment) | Yes | Withholding is mandatory once the order is received. |
| Required by state or federal law (IRS withholding, FICA) | Yes | No authorisation needed. |
| Written authorisation from the employee | Yes, for a lawful purpose | The authorisation may not be too general or too broad. |
| Repayment of a loan or advance | Only with written authorisation | An oral agreement to repay is not sufficient. |
| Cash shortages, breakage, or till discrepancies | Only with written authorisation | And never below minimum wage or into overtime pay. |
| Withholding final pay until company property is returned | No | Not permitted without written authorisation, a court order, or statutory authority. Recover the property by other means. |
Where final pay deadlines are missed
Missing a final pay deadline turns a routine separation into an agency matter. Watch for these patterns.
- Terminations processed on the normal payroll cycle instead of within six calendar days
- Final checks held until company property is returned
- Deductions taken without signed written authorization
- Earned commissions or bonuses left out because the employee is gone
- No documented process for calculating and delivering final pay
Code the separation correctly on day one
Before any separation, confirm which deadline applies, list every category of earned pay, and check whether any deduction you plan to take has valid written authorization behind it. Review what your handbook says about PTO payout, because your own policy language controls whether unused time must be paid.
Document the calculation. If the amount is ever challenged, a one-page worksheet showing hours, rates, commissions, and deductions is the difference between a two-day response and a drawn-out claim.
Texas Final Paycheck Deadline Calculator
Gives the exact due date from the separation type and date.
When the separation type is disputed
Get help before the termination meeting when the separation involves commissions, disputed hours, contested deductions, or an employee who has already threatened a claim. A short review of the final pay plan is one of the cheapest pieces of HR work you can buy.
If you process separations regularly and each one is improvised, that is a system gap. A written separation checklist, built once, protects every future termination.
Get a Straight Answer for Your Situation
General rules only go so far. If this question is live in your organization right now, talk it through with a senior HR consultant before you act. One conversation now costs less than one claim later.
Contact UsThis page provides general HR information for employers and is not legal advice. For legal interpretation or representation, consult qualified employment counsel.