How to count business days and find a deadline
A business day is a Monday to Friday that isn't a public holiday. To find a deadline N business days away, start counting on the next day and skip weekends and holidays. Five business days after Wednesday, November 25, 2026 is Thursday, December 3, because Thanksgiving (November 26) and the weekend don't count.
The same example, day by day
| Date (2026) | Counted as |
|---|---|
| Wed, Nov 25 | Starting day, not counted |
| Thu, Nov 26 | Skipped: Thanksgiving |
| Fri, Nov 27 | Business day 1 |
| Sat, Nov 28 and Sun, Nov 29 | Skipped: weekend |
| Mon, Nov 30 | Business day 2 |
| Tue, Dec 1 | Business day 3 |
| Wed, Dec 2 | Business day 4 |
| Thu, Dec 3 | Business day 5 |
Forgetting the holiday gives Wednesday, December 2, one day early. The day after Thanksgiving is not a federal holiday, so it counts as a business day here. If your office is closed that day, add one more day.
Does today count?
The calculator never counts the starting day: business day 1 is the first business day after it. If you send a form on Monday, October 5, 2026 and are told to expect a reply within 3 business days, the calculator gives Thursday, October 8. Not everyone counts this way, so when a contract or a rule spells out how to count, follow its wording.
Business days in a date range
To count the business days in a period, count the weekdays and subtract the holidays that fall on them. July 2026 has 31 days, 8 of them on a weekend, which leaves 23 weekdays. Independence Day falls on Saturday, July 4 that year, so federal offices take Friday, July 3 off instead, and the month ends up with 22 business days. November 2026 has 19: 21 weekdays minus Veterans Day (Wednesday, November 11) and Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 26).
In the business day counter, the end date always counts, and the start date counts while "Include start date" is on (the default). To count a whole month, enter the 1st and the last day.
Which holidays are skipped
With the US calendar selected, the calculator skips the 11 federal holidays listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103 on the days federal offices observe them. A holiday on a Saturday is observed on the Friday before and one on a Sunday on the Monday after, which is why July 3, 2026 is skipped. The guide to federal holidays that fall on a weekend lists the observed dates for 2026 to 2028.
Federal holidays are days off for federal employees. State governments and private employers set their own schedules, and state holidays and company closures aren't in the calculator's list, so check which calendar the other side uses.
Long deadlines over the holidays
Holidays pile up at the end of the year. Ten business days after Friday, December 18, 2026 is Tuesday, January 5, 2027. Christmas Day and New Year's Day both fall on a Friday and are skipped along with two weekends, so the deadline lands 18 calendar days later.
When a rule defines "business day" itself
Some regulations use their own definition, and it doesn't always match Monday to Friday. Under the federal Truth in Lending rules (Regulation Z), the right to cancel certain loans secured by your home counts every calendar day except Sundays and the federal legal holidays. Saturdays count there, and so does an observed holiday such as Friday, July 3, 2026. This calculator always skips Saturdays, so don't use it for those deadlines; read the rule or ask the lender.
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