How Business Days Are Counted
The basic rule is simple: count Monday to Friday and skip holidays. Most mistakes come from the edges: whether the first day counts, and what happens when a holiday falls on a weekend.
The basic rule
In the United States a business day is any Monday to Friday that is not a federal holiday. To count business days in a period:
business days = calendar days − weekend days − holidays on weekdays
A year has 104 to 106 weekend days and usually 11 federal holidays on weekdays, which leaves 250 working days in 2026.
Counting the days between two dates
The usual convention, and this site's default, is to leave out the start date and count the end date. This matches how people think about elapsed time: from Monday to Tuesday is one day, not two.
Example. From Monday, November 23, 2026 to Monday, November 30, 2026:
- 7 calendar days are counted, from the day after the start through the end date.
- 2 are weekend days and 1 is a holiday (Thanksgiving Day).
- That leaves 4 business days. Counting the start date as well gives 5.
Count both dates when you want the number of working days in a period you name by its first and last day, such as a pay period or a month. The business days per month pages count both the first and last day.
Adding business days to a date
When you add business days, the start date is never counted. Day 1 is the next business day. If something happens on a Friday and you have 3 business days to respond, day 1 is Monday, unless Monday is a holiday.
Example. 3 business days after Thursday, July 2, 2026:
- Friday, July 3, 2026: Independence Day (observed), skipped
- Saturday, July 4, 2026: weekend, skipped
- Sunday, July 5, 2026: weekend, skipped
- Monday, July 6, 2026: business day 1
- Tuesday, July 7, 2026: business day 2
- Wednesday, July 8, 2026: business day 3
The answer is Wednesday, July 8, 2026, 6 calendar days after the start date.
Holidays that fall on a weekend
For federal employees, a holiday on a Saturday is observed on the Friday before and a holiday on a Sunday on the Monday after. The observed day is the one skipped, so a weekend holiday still removes a business day. When New Year's Day is a Saturday, the day off is Friday, December 31 of the year before.
Where the rules differ
- Banks. Banks follow the Federal Reserve, which closes on federal holidays. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, though, Federal Reserve Banks stay open on the Friday before, so that Friday is a business day for transfers.
- Courts. Federal court deadlines stated in days count every day, including weekends and holidays. If the last day falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next day that is not (Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 6). State courts have their own rules.
- Shipping. "Delivery in 3 to 5 business days" counts from the first business day after the package ships. Carriers set their own delivery days and holidays, and some deliver on Saturdays.
- Payment terms. Terms such as net 30 count calendar days, not business days. See net 30 terms explained.
- Other countries. Holidays differ, and so can the weekend: Saudi Arabia, for example, has a Friday and Saturday weekend.
When a contract or rule defines business days, its definition wins. Look for a definitions section, often near the start of the document.
Count it for your dates
The business days calculator counts or adds business days for any dates, lets you change the weekend, and shows which days it skipped.