Date & Time

Business Days Calculator — Free 2026

Count the number of work days between two dates, excluding weekends and US federal holidays.

Start Date Please select a valid date.

End Date Please select a valid date.

Exclude US Federal Holidays (2026)

Work Day Results

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Work Days

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Weekend Days

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Holidays Excluded

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Total Calendar Days

How It Works

Enter the start date
Enter the end date
Read your results

Understanding Business Days

Business days, also called work days or working days, are the standard Monday-through-Friday schedule that most commercial and government operations follow. While the concept seems simple, accurately counting business days between two dates requires accounting for weekends and public holidays — something that is surprisingly easy to get wrong when doing it mentally, especially across month boundaries.

Why Business Days Matter

Many industries rely on business day counts for critical deadlines. In finance, stock trades settle in T+2 business days. Insurance companies often have business-day windows for claim processing. Legal filings frequently specify deadlines in business days rather than calendar days. Shipping carriers like UPS, FedEx, and USPS quote delivery times in business days. Getting the count wrong by even one day can mean a missed deadline, a late filing, or an incorrect delivery estimate. For total calendar-day counts, use our Date Difference Calculator.

US Federal Holidays in 2026

The calculator includes the ten major US federal holidays for 2026: New Year's Day (January 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 19), Presidents' Day (February 16), Memorial Day (May 25), Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (September 7), Columbus Day (October 12), Veterans Day (November 11), Thanksgiving (November 26), and Christmas Day (December 25). Note that some industries observe additional holidays or may not observe all federal holidays. You can uncheck the holiday option if your workplace follows a different holiday schedule.

Tips for Deadline Planning

When planning around business-day deadlines, always add a buffer of one to two extra business days to account for unexpected delays. Remember that different countries have different holiday calendars — if you are working with international partners, their business days may not align with yours. For personal date tracking and milestones, the Age Calculator is another helpful tool in our date and time collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as a business day?

A business day is any weekday (Monday through Friday) that is not a public holiday. Saturdays and Sundays are always excluded. When the Exclude US Holidays option is checked, the ten major US federal holidays are also excluded from the count.

Which US holidays are excluded?

The calculator excludes ten US federal holidays for 2026: New Year's Day (Jan 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan 19), Presidents' Day (Feb 16), Memorial Day (May 25), Independence Day (Jul 4), Labor Day (Sep 7), Columbus Day (Oct 12), Veterans Day (Nov 11), Thanksgiving (Nov 26), and Christmas Day (Dec 25).

How do I count business days between two dates?

Enter your start and end dates in the calculator. It loops through each day in the range, skips Saturdays and Sundays, and optionally skips US federal holidays. The remaining days are your business day count. The calculator also shows the number of weekend days and holidays separately.

Why are business days important for deadlines?

Many legal, financial, and contractual deadlines are specified in business days rather than calendar days. For example, securities settle in T+2 business days, insurance claims often have business-day response windows, and shipping estimates frequently use business days. Using calendar days instead could cause you to miss a deadline.