When you measure working days for US payroll periods, federal filing deadlines, or service-level agreements, you must remove not just weekends but the 11 federal holidays — and apply the observed-date rule, because a holiday on a weekend shifts the day federal offices actually close. This tool does both: it counts the weekdays in your range and subtracts each federal holiday on its correctly computed observed date.
How it works
The tool generates the 11 federal holidays for each year your range covers, using two rules:
- Fixed-date holidays (New Year’s Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Veterans Day, Christmas Day) are placed on their calendar date, then shifted: a Saturday date moves to the preceding Friday, a Sunday date moves to the following Monday.
- Floating holidays are computed by weekday position — for example Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November and Memorial Day is the last Monday in May.
It then walks the inclusive date range, removing Saturdays, Sundays, and any day matching an observed holiday.
Notes and example
If 2026-07-04 (Independence Day) falls on a Saturday, federal offices observe it on Friday 2026-07-03, so that Friday is the day deducted. A holiday already on a weekend is not deducted twice, because the weekend removed it.
This counter applies the federal set only. States such as California or Texas observe extra holidays, and many private employers follow their own calendars, so confirm against your specific calendar for binding deadlines.