How working days are counted
Working days, or business days, are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. You need the count for delivery times ("ships within 10 business days"), payment terms, project planning, leave requests, or converting a day rate into a monthly figure.
The calculator works in three steps:
- It counts all calendar days from the start date up to and including the end date.
- It subtracts Saturdays and Sundays.
- It subtracts public holidays that fall on a weekday, then any days off you enter.
Which holidays are included?
United States (federal): New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (third Monday in January), Washington's Birthday or Presidents' Day (third Monday in February), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), Juneteenth (June 19, since 2021), Independence Day, Labor Day (first Monday in September), Columbus Day (second Monday in October), Veterans Day, Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November) and Christmas Day. When a fixed-date holiday falls on a Saturday, federal workers get the Friday before off; on a Sunday, the Monday after. That means New Year's Day can be observed on December 31 of the previous year, as in 2027. Private employers may observe fewer holidays, and state holidays are not included.
United Kingdom (England and Wales): New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the early May bank holiday, the spring bank holiday, the summer bank holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, with substitute weekdays when they fall on a weekend. Scotland and Northern Ireland have some different bank holidays. One-off holidays, such as those for coronations or jubilees, are not included.
Netherlands: New Year's Day, Easter Monday, King's Day, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Easter moves every year. The calculator computes Easter itself with the Gregorian algorithm, so the dates for Good Friday, Easter Monday and other movable holidays are right for any year.
Examples
Working days in 2026. The year has 365 days, 104 of them on weekends.
| 2026 | Weekday holidays | Working days |
|---|---|---|
| United States (federal) | 11 | 250 |
| United Kingdom (England & Wales) | 8 | 253 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 255 |
A project from November 2 to December 31, 2026. That is 60 calendar days with 16 weekend days. With US federal holidays (Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) it leaves 41 working days; with UK bank holidays (Christmas Day and the Boxing Day substitute on December 28) it leaves 42.
Working days per year and month
A typical year has about 260 weekdays. After public holidays, around 250 to 256 working days remain, or roughly 21 per month. That figure is often used to turn an annual salary into a day rate or a day rate into a monthly amount: $500 a day × 21 days = $10,500 a month. For annual planning, remember vacation too: in the UK most full-time workers are entitled to 28 days of paid leave including bank holidays, while the US has no federal minimum.
Business days in contracts
Check whether a deadline is stated in calendar days or business days. Ten business days usually means two full weeks, while ten calendar days can include a weekend or two. Many contracts also say that a deadline falling on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day. To count calendar days between two dates, use the days between dates calculator. To see which ISO week a date falls in, use the week number tool.
Frequently asked questions
How many working days are there in 2026?
In 2026 there are 250 working days with US federal holidays, 253 with England and Wales bank holidays and 255 in the Netherlands.
Are the start and end dates included?
Yes, both are counted if they are working days. Monday to Friday of the same week is 5 working days.
What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?
In the US the federal holiday is observed on the Friday before or the Monday after. In the UK a substitute bank holiday is given, usually the next Monday or Tuesday. The calculator applies both rules.
Does the calculator include state holidays?
No. It uses US federal holidays only. If your state or employer observes extra days, such as the day after Thanksgiving, enter them as your own days off.
How many working days are in a month?
About 21 on average, ranging from 19 to 23 depending on the month and holidays.
Is Good Friday a US federal holiday?
No. It is a bank holiday in the UK, but not a federal holiday in the US, although some states and employers give the day off.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-06. Results are estimates for information only.