Assumptions
- Federal holidays only. State, county and employer holidays are not included, and neither is Inauguration Day, which applies only to the Washington, DC area.
- A Monday-to-Friday schedule is assumed. 5 U.S.C. 6103(b) sets a different in-lieu-of day for employees whose regular non-workday is not Saturday.
- Leave suggestions ignore how much leave you actually have and whether your employer approves it. They only show the longest stretch the calendar allows.
- Days closed by a one-off executive order, such as a national day of mourning, cannot be predicted and are not included.
- Everything is computed in your browser. No dates are sent anywhere.
How it is calculated
- Fixed-date holidays — New Year's Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Veterans Day and Christmas — sit on the same calendar date every year.
- Weekday holidays are computed from the statute's wording: the third Monday in January, the third Monday in February, the last Monday in May, the first Monday in September, the second Monday in October, the fourth Thursday in November.
- Observed date = the statutory date, moved to the Friday before if it falls on a Saturday and to the Monday after if it falls on a Sunday.
- Long weekend = three or more consecutive days that are a weekend or an observed holiday.
- Leave planning = every stretch containing at most n workdays, ranked by total length, keeping only the stretches that cannot be extended.
Examples
| Situation | Leave | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Independence Day lands on a Saturday | none | Observed Friday July 3, so July 3–5 is three days off |
| The Friday after Thanksgiving | 1 day | Thursday through Sunday, four days off, every year |
| 2027 Juneteenth falls on a Saturday | none | Observed Friday June 18 |
| 2027 Christmas to New Year | 4 days (Dec 27–30) | Dec 24 – Dec 31, eight days off |
Common mistakes
- Private employers are not bound by this list. Federal holidays govern federal offices. Nothing in federal law requires a private employer to give you the day off or to pay extra for working it.
- Banks and markets keep their own calendars. The stock exchanges close on Good Friday, which is not a federal holiday, and stay open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day, which are.
- Book leave after the schedule is confirmed. A day closed by executive order can appear with little notice, and it will not be in this list.
- Check your state. Several states do not observe Columbus Day, and some add days of their own that are not here.
FAQ
How many federal holidays are there?
Eleven. 5 U.S.C. 6103(a) lists them: New Year's Day, the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Juneteenth is the newest, added in June 2021. The count has not changed since.
What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?
For anyone on a Monday-to-Friday schedule, 5 U.S.C. 6103(b) makes the Friday before a legal public holiday when the holiday falls on a Saturday. A holiday falling on a Sunday is observed the following Monday under section 2(b) of Executive Order 11582. That is why the table here shows both the statutory date and the day offices actually close, and why Independence Day 2026 is observed on Friday July 3.
Why is the Friday after Thanksgiving not on the list?
Because it is not a federal holiday. Many private employers close that day, and some agencies grant it by separate executive order, but the statute stops at Thursday. That is exactly why it is the single most valuable day of leave in the year: one day turns a Thursday holiday into four days off.
Is Washington's Birthday the same thing as Presidents Day?
The federal statute says Washington's Birthday, and that is the name used here. "Presidents Day" is a common usage and the official name in a number of states, but it is not the federal name. Several states also observe the day differently or not at all.
Does this cover state holidays?
No. This is the federal list only, which governs federal offices and is what most employers anchor to. States add their own days, and a few of the federal holidays are not observed by every state government. Check your state and your own employer handbook before booking anything.
What about Inauguration Day?
Under 5 U.S.C. 6103(c), Inauguration Day is a holiday only for federal employees in the Washington, DC area, and only in the years following a presidential election. Because it applies to a small area rather than the country, it is not included in this list.
How are the leave suggestions chosen?
If a stretch of the calendar contains n workdays or fewer, taking leave on exactly those workdays buys the whole stretch. So every stretch with at most n workdays is measured and the longest ones listed first. Stretches whose neighbours are also days off are dropped, because in that case a longer stretch already covers the same vacation.