Do Federal Holidays Count as Business Days?

Federal holidays generally do not count as business days. For banking, court filings, tax deadlines, and most government operations, the eleven federal holidays are treated as non-business days, and a deadline that lands on one usually rolls to the next regular business day.¹ The specifics shift depending on which rulebook governs your situation, and a few of the wrinkles catch people off guard.

The Eleven Federal Holidays

Federal statute establishes these holidays for all federal employees:

New Year’s Day (January 1)
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (third Monday in January)
Washington’s Birthday (third Monday in February)
Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19)
Independence Day (July 4)
Labor Day (first Monday in September)
Columbus Day (second Monday in October)
Veterans Day (November 11)
Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November)
Christmas Day (December 25)

When a holiday falls on Saturday, it is typically observed on the preceding Friday. When it falls on Sunday, it moves to the following Monday. Independence Day in 2026 falls on a Saturday, so banks and federal offices observe Friday, July 3.²

One holiday on the books doesn’t apply nationwide. Inauguration Day, January 20 every fourth year after a presidential election, is a legal holiday only for federal and D.C. government workers in the Washington metropolitan area, including parts of Maryland and Virginia near the capital.¹ Everywhere else it’s a normal business day. The next one is January 2029.

Court Deadlines

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6 treats federal holidays as non-business days for deadline computation. You count every calendar day, but if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period runs until the end of the next day that is none of those.³ Federal appellate deadlines work the same way.⁴

Rule 6’s definition of “legal holiday” reaches further than the eleven federal days. It also picks up any day the President or Congress declares a holiday, and for deadlines that run after an event (such as serving a complaint), it includes state holidays declared by the state where the federal court sits.³ Patriots’ Day can extend a filing deadline in a Boston federal court while doing nothing for a case in Texas.

There’s also a physical-access safety valve. If the clerk’s office is inaccessible on the last day of a period, the deadline extends to the next day it is accessible. That matters when a storm compounds a holiday weekend.

Tax Deadlines

The IRS follows a parallel rule. When the last day to file a return, make a payment, or perform any other required tax act falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next day that isn’t one of those.⁵

The tax code defines “legal holiday” as any legal holiday in the District of Columbia, not just the eleven federal ones.⁵ That’s why D.C. Emancipation Day on April 16 can push the national tax filing deadline past April 15 for every taxpayer in the country. When April 16 lands on a Saturday, the observed holiday moves to Friday, April 15, and the filing deadline becomes the following Monday.⁶

Statewide holidays matter in a narrower way. A statewide legal holiday delays the due date for returns filed at an IRS office in that state, and for individuals it delays filing based on the state of residence. Statewide holidays never delay a federal tax deposit.⁷

One exception runs the other direction. Certain excise tax deposits due on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday must be made on the preceding business day rather than the following one.⁷ If excise deposits are part of your work, check the calendar carefully; missing the earlier date triggers penalties.

Banking, Wires, and Direct Deposits

The Federal Reserve does not process Fedwire transfers or settle transactions on federal holidays.⁸ Because virtually all interbank payments flow through Fed systems, wire transfers, ACH direct deposits, and check settlements pause on those days. Most commercial banks and credit unions close, though some keep branches open for basic services.

A paycheck or government benefit set to arrive by direct deposit on a federal holiday won’t hit the account until the next business day. A wire sent late on the day before a holiday may sit queued until the system reopens.⁸

Check Deposits

Regulation CC, the federal rule for how quickly banks must make deposited funds available, defines a “business day” as any calendar day except Saturday, Sunday, and the federal holidays listed in 5 U.S.C. § 6103. Even a Saturday when the branch is open doesn’t count as a business day for funds-availability purposes.⁹ Deposit a check on Tuesday before a Wednesday holiday, and the availability clock pauses that Wednesday and resumes Thursday.

Credit Card Due Dates

Federal law protects cardholders when a due date falls on a day the issuer does not accept mail payments, including weekends and holidays. A payment received on the next business day cannot be treated as late.¹⁰ The protection is automatic across open-end consumer credit card accounts. You don’t need to call and ask for an extension.

Stock Markets Follow a Different Calendar

The NYSE and NASDAQ set their own holiday schedules, and they don’t line up perfectly with the federal list. Good Friday is not a federal holiday, but the exchanges close for it. Columbus Day and Veterans Day are federal holidays, but the markets stay open.¹¹ If you’re timing trades around a long weekend, check the exchange calendar rather than assuming it mirrors the government’s.

Mortgage Closings and Rescission

Mortgage lending uses two different definitions of “business day,” and mixing them up can be costly. For most disclosure purposes, a business day is any day the lender’s offices are open for substantially all business functions. For the three-day right of rescission on home equity loans and refinances, and for the Closing Disclosure delivery timing, the definition changes: a business day is every calendar day except Sundays and the legal public holidays listed in 5 U.S.C. § 6103(a).¹²

Saturdays count as business days for rescission and disclosure timing. Close a refinance on a Wednesday with no holidays in the way, and the three-day rescission period runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, expiring at midnight Saturday.¹³ A federal holiday inside that window pauses the count and adds a day. Map out the actual dates on any closing scheduled near a holiday.

Private Employers and Holiday Pay

No federal law requires private employers to give workers time off on federal holidays, with or without pay. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not mandate holiday pay, vacation pay, or premium rates for working a holiday.¹⁴ Whether you get a paid day off, extra pay for working, or nothing at all comes down to your employment agreement, company policy, or union contract. Some states add their own rules, but the federal floor is zero.

Hours worked on a federal holiday count the same as hours worked any other day for overtime. If holiday hours push you past 40 in the workweek, the employer owes time-and-a-half for the excess, but no federal rule requires double time simply because it’s a holiday.¹⁵ A paid day off you didn’t actually work does not count as “hours worked” toward the 40-hour overtime threshold.

Mail and Shipping

The Postal Service does not deliver mail or run retail counters on federal holidays.¹⁶ When a holiday falls on Saturday, some postal employees observe the preceding Friday for pay and leave, but Saturday delivery is already limited so most customers see little difference.

Private carriers like FedEx and UPS set their own schedules, with reduced or suspended service on major holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving and closer-to-normal operations on others.¹⁷ Anything time-sensitive around a federal holiday deserves a look at the specific carrier’s operating calendar.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 6103 – Holidays
2
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Federal Holidays
3
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time; Time for Motion Papers
4
Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 26 – Computing and Extending Time
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7503 – Time for Performance of Acts Where Last Day Falls on Saturday, Sunday, or Legal Holiday
6
Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Ruling 2015-13 – Section 7503
7
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 509 (2026), Tax Calendars
8
Federal Reserve Financial Services. Wholesale Services Operating Hours and FedPayments Manager
9
eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC)
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1637 – Open End Consumer Credit Plans
11
NYSE. Holidays and Trading Hours
12
eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.2 – Definitions and Rules of Construction
13
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Do I Have to Rescind? When Does the Right of Rescission Start?
14
U.S. Department of Labor. Holiday Pay
15
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Hours Worked Advisor – Holidays, Vacations and Sick Time
16
United States Postal Service. Holidays and Events
17
FedEx. Demand Surcharges