How business days are counted
The calculator walks through every date in the range, skipping Saturdays and Sundays and — if selected — the observed dates of U.S. federal holidays. Both endpoints are included when counting.
Example: September 2026 (Sept 1–30) has 30 calendar days and 22 weekdays. Excluding Labor Day (Monday, September 7) leaves 21 business days. Adding 1 business day to Friday, September 4 gives Tuesday, September 8.
U.S. federal holidays 2026
| Holiday | Observed date |
|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thu, January 1 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Mon, January 19 |
| Washington’s Birthday | Mon, February 16 |
| Memorial Day | Mon, May 25 |
| Juneteenth | Fri, June 19 |
| Independence Day | Fri, July 3 |
| Labor Day | Mon, September 7 |
| Columbus Day | Mon, October 12 |
| Veterans Day | Wed, November 11 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thu, November 26 |
| Christmas Day | Fri, December 25 |
State and local holidays, and company-specific closures (such as the day after Thanksgiving), are not included. Need calendar days instead? Use the days between dates calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a business day?
A business day is normally Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Banks and U.S. federal agencies also close on federal holidays, which you can exclude with the checkbox.
Are the start and end dates included?
When counting between two dates, both the start and end dates are included if they are business days. When adding business days, the count starts the day after the start date — so 1 business day after a Friday is the following Monday (or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday).
What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?
For federal employees, a holiday on Saturday is observed on the preceding Friday, and one on Sunday is observed the following Monday. The calculator applies this rule; for example, July 4, 2026 is a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday, July 3.
How many business days are in a year?
A year has 260 or 261 weekdays. After removing the 11 U.S. federal holidays, there are usually about 249–251 business days.