How to count business days
- Enter a start date and an end date in MM/DD/YYYY. The end date is included.
- Leave "Exclude U.S. federal holidays" on to skip the holidays for those years, or turn it off to count weekdays only.
- To find a date instead — "10 business days from a date" — switch to Add or subtract days.
Worked example
From 10/01/2026 (a Thursday) through 10/30/2026 (a Friday) is 30 calendar days. Eight of them are Saturdays or Sundays, which leaves 22 weekdays. Columbus Day falls on Monday, October 12, so the answer is 21 business days.
How the holidays are worked out
From the statute, not from a list. 5 U.S.C. § 6103 names eleven federal holidays and says where each one falls — the third Monday in January, the last Monday in May, and so on — so the dates are computed for whatever year you ask about, including years nobody has published a calendar for yet.
Two rules decide when a holiday is actually taken. A holiday on a Saturday is observed the Friday before, and one on a Sunday the Monday after. Both land on a weekday, so both cost a working day — and because a holiday is only ever subtracted on its observed date, it is never counted twice or missed.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, so years up to 2020 have ten rather than eleven. Inauguration Day is not counted: it is a holiday only for employees in the Washington DC area.
Checked against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's published schedules for 2011 to 2030. This site is not affiliated with OPM.
Frequently asked questions
Is the end date included?
Yes. The count runs from the start date through the end date. If your contract counts differently, subtract one.
Which holidays are excluded?
The U.S. federal holidays set by 5 U.S.C. § 6103, for the years the range covers. When a holiday falls on a Saturday it is observed on the Friday before, and on a Sunday the Monday after — the observed weekday is the one that costs a working day.
What about state holidays or company days off?
They are not included. Only the federal holidays are, and states, employers and contracts add their own. Count those separately, or turn the federal holidays off and work from plain weekdays.
Can I add 10 business days to a date?
Yes. Switch to Add or subtract days, enter the start date and the number of business days, and the calculator returns the resulting date, skipping weekends and holidays. A negative number counts backwards.
Does the count include today?
Only if today is the start date you entered. The calculator does not assume today.
How many business days are in a year?
Between 248 and 252, depending on how the calendar falls and how many federal holidays land on a weekday. The exact figure for each year is on business days in a year .