United States: federal holidays and working days

How US federal holidays work

• Federal holidays are set by law (5 U.S.C. 6103): New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Juneteenth, 19 June, was added in 2021.
• Five fall on fixed dates. The other six fall on a set weekday, such as the third Monday of January for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the fourth Thursday of November for Thanksgiving, so they move from year to year.
• For federal employees, a holiday on a Saturday is observed on the Friday before and one on a Sunday on the Monday after. New Year's Day 2028 is a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday 31 December 2027.
• The list binds federal employees. States add their own holidays and private employers decide which days they give, so whether a given office closes on, say, Columbus Day or Veterans Day depends on the employer.

Rules: OPM federal holidays (5 U.S.C. 6103)

2028 federal holidays (observed)

250 working days for federal offices, Monday to Friday.

Source: OPM: Federal Holidays 2028 (5 U.S.C. 6103, as amended 17 June 2021) · list as of 2021-06-17 · checked 2026-10-03

2027 federal holidays (observed)

249 working days for federal offices, Monday to Friday.

Source: OPM: Federal Holidays 2027 (5 U.S.C. 6103, as amended 17 June 2021) · list as of 2021-06-17 · checked 2026-10-03

2026 federal holidays (observed)

250 working days for federal offices, Monday to Friday.

Source: OPM: Federal Holidays 2026 (5 U.S.C. 6103, as amended 17 June 2021) · list as of 2021-06-17 · checked 2026-10-03

Days that differ from mainland China

The United States and mainland China have one holiday in common every year, New Year's Day; others coincide only by chance, as when the Dragon Boat Festival and Juneteenth both fall on 19 June 2026. Spring Festival, Labour Day and the National Day week are working days in the US, and the mainland's makeup workdays fall on weekends, when US offices are closed. The table lists every date on which one side works and the other does not.

In 2027 both sides work on the same 232 days. On 33 other days only one side is at work: 16 when mainland China works and United States does not, 17 the other way round.

Weekends both sides take off are left out. Computed from the two official calendars on this site.

Planning work between the US and China

• New York is 12 hours behind Beijing in summer and 13 in winter; Los Angeles is 15 and 16 hours behind. With a 09:00–18:00 day on both sides there is no shared hour at all, so calls fall early in the morning or in the evening for one side.
• US daylight saving time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. China has none, so the gap with Beijing changes by an hour twice a year, on US dates.
• Around Spring Festival and the National Day week, US teams keep working while mainland offices close for a week or more. Send anything that needs a mainland answer before the break.
• Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November; the Friday after is not a federal holiday, though some employers give it. The weeks around Christmas are a common time for leave in the US, while mainland offices work normally apart from New Year's Day.
• If your counterpart works for a state or local government, check their state's holidays too: some states close offices on days that are not federal holidays.

What these dates don't cover

• State and local holidays, such as Patriots' Day in Massachusetts and Maine.
• Private employers, which set their own holidays and may close on the day after Thanksgiving or on Christmas Eve.
• Inauguration Day, a holiday for federal employees in the Washington, D.C. area every four years, next on 20 January 2029.
• Time zones. The calculator decides what "today" is using New York time; the team overlap tool covers the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific zones.

Questions

Is the day after Thanksgiving a holiday?

Not a federal one. Some states and private employers give it, so check with the office you work with.

What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?

For federal employees, a Saturday holiday is observed on the Friday before and a Sunday holiday on the Monday after. In 2027 Christmas Day is a Saturday, so Friday 24 December is the day off.

Does the US have makeup workdays like mainland China?

No. A holiday is never paid back by working on a weekend.

Why are only federal holidays shown?

They are the one nationwide list the government publishes. States and employers add their own days, so treat this as the minimum set of days off.