Business Days Calculator
Count the business days between two dates, or find the date a set number of business days from today. Weekends and US federal holidays are excluded automatically.
Count the working days (Monday to Friday) between two dates, excluding weekends and, optionally, US federal holidays.
Business Days
21
Calendar Days
30
Weekend Days
8
Holidays Skipped
1
Federal holidays in this range:
- Columbus Day (2026-10-12)
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Track it automatically →What Is a Business Day?
A business day is any Monday through Friday that is not a public holiday. Saturday and Sunday are never business days, and in the United States the 11 federal holidays are excluded as well. That is the definition banks, courts, government agencies, and shipping carriers use, and it is the definition this calculator applies.
2026 has 250 business days. A normal week has 5, a week with a Monday holiday has 4, and the week of Thanksgiving has 3. When someone says a payment will clear in “2 to 3 business days,” they mean weekdays only, so a Friday request may not finish until Tuesday or Wednesday.
How Business Days Are Counted
This calculator follows the convention used by banks, courts, and shipping carriers:
Start counting the day after
The start date itself is day zero. If a contract says "within 5 business days" of a Monday notice, day 1 is Tuesday and day 5 is the following Monday.
Skip Saturdays and Sundays
Weekends never count as business days, regardless of whether a business happens to be open.
Skip observed federal holidays
When a federal holiday falls on a Saturday it is observed the Friday before; when it falls on a Sunday, the Monday after. The observed date is the non-working day.
Counting a full year instead? See our work days in a year calculator.
What Counts as a Business Day
Three tests decide whether a date is a business day. It must be a weekday, it must not be a public holiday, and, for the purpose of a specific deadline, it must be a day the relevant institution is open. The first two tests are universal. The third is where the exceptions live.
Always a business day
Any Monday through Friday that is not on the federal holiday list. The day after Thanksgiving is a business day for banks and courts even though many offices close.
Never a business day
Saturday, Sunday, and the observed date of each federal holiday. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are business days unless they are the observed date of the holiday itself, as December 31, 2027 will be.
Depends on context
State holidays, carrier holidays, and company closures. A state court may close for a state holiday that the calculator does not exclude. Toggle holidays off and count manually if a state-specific list applies.
How Long Is a Business Day?
For counting purposes, a business day is a whole date, not a number of hours. A request received at 4:55 PM on Tuesday and one received at 9:05 AM on Tuesday both count Tuesday as day zero. The usual working portion of a business day in the US is 9 AM to 5 PM, or 8 hours, which is why 5 business days is often treated as 40 working hours in payroll and staffing math.
Many institutions also set a cutoff time. Banks commonly treat deposits after 5 PM local time as received the next business day, and carriers treat pickups after the last collection as shipped the next business day. When a cutoff applies, the count effectively starts one day later than the calendar suggests.
Business Days vs Working Days vs Calendar Days
The terms are close enough to be confused and different enough to change a deadline. This is how each one counts.
| Term | What it counts | Example | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar days | Every day, including Saturday, Sunday, and holidays | 7 calendar days from Monday is the following Monday | Rent, interest, subscriptions, most consumer contracts |
| Business days | Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays | 5 business days from Monday is the following Monday (no holiday) | Banks, courts, shipping, government agencies |
| Working days | Days a specific business or person is open or working | A clinic open Tuesday to Saturday has 5 working days that are not all business days | Payroll, scheduling, capacity planning |
| Weekdays | Monday to Friday, holidays included | The week of Thanksgiving has 5 weekdays but 3 business days | Calendars, school schedules, quick estimates |
In most US contexts “business days” and “working days” produce the same count. They diverge for businesses that operate on weekends or close on days that are not public holidays.
What 3 to 5 Business Days Means
“3 to 5 business days” is the most common delivery and processing window. It never includes the day the order is placed, never includes weekends, and stretches by one day for every holiday inside it. The table shows how the calendar date of arrival moves depending on when the order goes in.
| Order placed | Earliest (3 business days) | Latest (5 business days) | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Thursday (3 business days) | Monday of the next week (5 business days) | No weekend in the earliest window |
| Wednesday | Monday of the next week | Wednesday of the next week | Both windows cross a weekend |
| Friday | Wednesday of the next week | Friday of the next week | Saturday and Sunday do not count at all |
| Friday before a Monday holiday | Thursday of the next week | Monday two weeks later | The holiday adds a full day to both ends |
The same logic applies to “2 to 3 business days” for bank transfers and “7 to 10 business days” for refunds. 10 business days is two full calendar weeks, and 7 business days from a Wednesday is the Friday of the following week. Use the “add business days” mode of the calculator to get the exact date for any window.
Business Days in Each Month of 2026
2026 has 261 weekdays and 250 business days after federal holidays. The monthly count ranges from 19 in November to 22 in March, April, July, and December.
| Month | Calendar days | Weekdays | Federal holidays | Business days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 22 | 2 | 20 |
| February | 28 | 20 | 1 | 19 |
| March | 31 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| April | 30 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| May | 31 | 21 | 1 | 20 |
| June | 30 | 22 | 1 | 21 |
| July | 31 | 23 | 1 | 22 |
| August | 31 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| September | 30 | 22 | 1 | 21 |
| October | 31 | 22 | 1 | 21 |
| November | 30 | 21 | 2 | 19 |
| December | 31 | 23 | 1 | 22 |
| Total | 365 | 261 | 11 | 250 |
US Federal Holidays in 2026
These 11 federal holidays are excluded when the holiday option is enabled:
| Holiday | 2026 Date |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thursday, January 1 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Monday, January 19 |
| Washington's Birthday | Monday, February 16 |
| Memorial Day | Monday, May 25 |
| Juneteenth | Friday, June 19 |
| Independence Day | Saturday, July 4 (observed Friday, July 3) |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 7 |
| Columbus Day | Monday, October 12 |
| Veterans Day | Wednesday, November 11 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thursday, November 26 |
| Christmas Day | Friday, December 25 |
For state holidays, bank holidays, and observance details, see our complete list of US holidays.
Business Days in Banking, Shipping, Legal, and Payroll
Each field applies the same weekday rule but its own holiday list and cutoff conventions.
| Context | How business days apply | Holidays excluded |
|---|---|---|
| Banking | Deposits, wire transfers, and ACH payments post on business days only. A deposit made Friday evening often clears Tuesday. | Federal Reserve holidays (the 11 federal holidays) |
| Shipping | Carriers quote transit in business days. Ground service "3 to 5 business days" excludes weekends, and most carriers exclude their own holiday list. | Carrier-specific, usually the major federal holidays |
| Legal and courts | Filing deadlines under most federal and state rules count in court days, which skip weekends and legal holidays. If a deadline lands on a weekend it rolls to the next business day. | Court holidays, which follow the federal list plus state additions |
| Payroll | Pay dates that fall on a weekend or bank holiday are paid the business day before. Direct deposit needs two business days of lead time at most banks. | Bank holidays |
| Contracts and HR | Notice periods, probation periods, and response windows are usually written in business days or calendar days. The contract wording decides which one applies. | Whatever the contract defines, or federal holidays by default |
For payroll teams, the practical rule is to run payroll two business days before the pay date and to move any pay date that lands on a weekend or bank holiday to the business day before it. Our biweekly pay calculator lays out the pay dates for a full year.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a business day?
A business day is any weekday, Monday through Friday, that is not a public holiday. In the US that means excluding the 11 federal holidays. Saturdays and Sundays are never business days in the standard definition, even if a particular business is open.
Is Saturday a business day?
No. Saturday is not a business day, even though many shops, restaurants, and bank branches are open. Banks do not process transactions, courts are closed, and carriers do not count Saturday toward a business-day delivery estimate unless you pay for Saturday delivery.
Is Friday a business day?
Yes. Friday is a full business day unless it is a public holiday or the observed date of one, such as Friday, July 3, 2026, when Independence Day is observed. Something due in 1 business day from a Thursday is due Friday; from a Friday it is due the following Monday.
What does "3-5 business days" mean?
Count forward from the next weekday, skipping weekends and holidays. If something ships Friday with 3 to 5 business day delivery, day 1 is Monday (assuming no holiday), so it arrives between Wednesday and Friday of the following week. Enter your date in the calculator above with 3 and then 5 business days to see the exact window.
What is 3 business days from today?
If today is Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, 3 business days from today is Thursday, Friday, or the following Monday. If today is Thursday, it is the following Tuesday, and if today is Friday, it is the following Wednesday. A federal holiday in the window pushes the answer one more day. The calculator uses today's date by default and applies the 2026 holiday calendar.
How many business days is 2 weeks?
Two calendar weeks contain 10 business days when there is no holiday. If a federal holiday falls in the window, it is 9. The reverse is also true: 10 business days is 14 calendar days, and 15 business days is 21 calendar days, plus one calendar day for each holiday.
10 business days is how many calendar days?
10 business days is 14 calendar days when no holiday is involved, because two weekends fall inside the window. Starting on a Monday, 10 business days ends on the Friday of the following week. Starting on a Wednesday, it ends on the Tuesday two weeks later, which is still 14 calendar days.
How many business days are in a month?
Between 19 and 23. In 2026, November has the fewest at 19 because of Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, while March, April, July, and December have 22. The average across the year is 20.8 business days per month.
How many business days are in a year?
A typical year has 260 to 262 weekdays. After subtracting the 11 US federal holidays that fall or are observed on weekdays, most years have 249 to 251 business days. 2026 has 261 weekdays and 250 business days. Use our work days in a year calculator for any specific year.
Do business days include federal holidays?
No. Banks, government offices, courts, and most businesses treat federal holidays as non-working days, so deadlines quoted in business days skip them. Some private companies stay open on lesser-observed holidays like Columbus Day and Veterans Day, so check the specific context for contractual deadlines. The calculator lets you toggle holiday exclusion on or off.
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