US Federal Holidays 2027

Federal holidays in 2027

Eleven holidays, and all eleven fall on a weekday once the observed-date rule is applied — so 2027 costs a full-time schedule eleven working days rather than the usual eight to ten.

The two bold rows are the ones that catch people out. If you are booking travel, scheduling a payroll run or calculating a payment deadline that lands in late June or late December 2027, use the observed date — not the date printed in the calendar.

Long weekends in 2027

Eight of the eleven holidays sit on a Monday or a Friday, which means eight natural three-day weekends with no leave taken at all.

Two more can be stretched to four days with a single day of leave. Thanksgiving is a Thursday, so taking Friday November 26 gives a four-day break. Veterans Day is also a Thursday, so taking Friday November 12 does the same. Planning leave against these two dates gets you four days off for one day of PTO.

Why two holidays move in 2027

Federal holidays are defined by statute in 5 U.S.C. § 6103. When a holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday, the federal government does not simply take the loss — it shifts the day off to an adjacent weekday.

The logic is straightforward: if the holiday already falls on a non-working day, employees would get nothing. Shifting it preserves the benefit.

What the rule does not do is move the public holiday for everyone. Private employers, retailers and schools are free to follow the nominal date, the observed date, or neither. If you are scheduling work in late December 2027, the safest question is not "when is Christmas" but "which day is your organisation closed".

A trap in 2028

New Year's Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so the observed federal holiday is Friday, December 31, 2027. That is the only case in this three-year window where a holiday is observed in the previous calendar year, and it is easy to miss when you are planning a year-end payroll run.

Federal holidays in 2026 and 2028

Across the three years the working year is 250 days in 2026, 249 in 2027 and 250 in 2028. The one-day dip in 2027 is worth knowing about if you are budgeting billable days, because it is a real day and not a rounding artefact.

What the holidays do to a working year

A common year has 365 days, which is 52 weeks and one day, giving about 261 weekdays. Remove the federal holidays that land on a weekday and the working year contracts.

Two of those rows deserve a note. 2027 comes in at 249 — a day lower than its neighbours — because December 31, 2027 is itself a federal holiday, carrying the observed date for New Year's Day 2028. And 2028 has only 260 weekdays despite being a leap year: a leap year is 52 weeks plus two days, and in 2028 those two days are a Saturday and a Sunday, so the extra day adds no weekday at all.

The practical effect is that a business-day count is a reasonable capacity unit across all three years, but 2027 is genuinely one day shorter than 2026. If you are budgeting billable days or comparing annual output, that single day is worth knowing about before you commit to a number.

If you need the exact figure for a specific month or span, the business days calculator counts working days between two dates and excludes the holidays automatically.

Three places this trips people up

1. A December 2027 payroll run

Payroll is scheduled for the last business day of December 2027. December 31 falls on a Friday, so it looks like the natural date — but Friday December 31, 2027 is the observed holiday for New Year's Day 2028. The last business day is therefore Thursday, December 30, 2027.

Processing payroll on the 31st would mean the funds do not move until the following Tuesday at the earliest.

2. A contract signed in late June 2027

A purchase order is dated Friday June 18, 2027 with Net 30 terms. Counting 30 calendar days gives Sunday July 18, 2027. But the more useful question is how many of those days the counterparty is actually at work: the span contains Juneteenth (observed Friday June 18 — the signing day itself) and Independence Day (observed Monday July 5).

Counting 30 business days instead pushes the deadline to Friday July 30, 2027 — twelve calendar days later. Whether the contract means calendar or business days is worth checking before you sign, not after.

3. Booking travel to avoid the peak

The cheapest Saturdays to fly in 2027 are the ones adjacent to a holiday weekend nobody has thought about yet. Juneteenth lands on an observed Friday in 2027, creating a three-day weekend with no leave required — and the following Monday June 21 is a normal working day, so flights home that Monday are cheaper than the Sunday.

Conversely, the weeks of July 5 and December 24 are the two most expensive travel windows of the year, precisely because the observed holiday extends them.

Five mistakes to avoid

1. Using the nominal date instead of the observed date. In 2027 that means treating December 24 and June 18 as ordinary days, and December 25 and June 19 as holidays when they are already weekends.
2. Assuming every employer observes the federal list. Federal holidays bind federal agencies. Private employers can observe fewer, more, or different days entirely.
3. Assuming the stock market closes on all eleven. The NYSE and Nasdaq stay open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day, so a trading desk and a bank have different closed days.
4. Forgetting the year-end crossover. New Year's Day 2028 is observed on December 31, 2027 — a holiday that lands in the previous year for payroll and posting purposes.
5. Treating 250 business days as always true. It happens to hold for 2026 through 2028, but years where more holidays fall on a weekend can come in at 251 or 252. Count the specific year rather than assuming.

Sources and standards

FAQ

How many federal holidays are there in 2027?

Eleven, under 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.

What day is Christmas 2027 observed?

Friday, December 24, 2027. Christmas Day falls on Saturday, December 25, and the federal rule moves a Saturday holiday to the preceding Friday.

When is Juneteenth 2027 observed?

Friday, June 18, 2027. Juneteenth falls on Saturday, June 19, so the observed holiday moves back a day.

Is July 5, 2027 a federal holiday?

Yes. Independence Day falls on Sunday, July 4, and a Sunday holiday is observed on the following Monday — July 5, 2027.

How does the observed-date rule work?

A holiday falling on Saturday is observed the preceding Friday; one falling on Sunday is observed the following Monday. The rule prevents employees losing a holiday to a day they would not have worked anyway.

Do banks close on federal holidays?

The Federal Reserve and most banks observe the federal schedule, so no funds move on those days. Some retail bank branches stay open but cannot clear payments. The Fed calendar is close to, but not identical with, the federal holiday list.

Does the stock market close on federal holidays?

The NYSE and Nasdaq close on nine of the eleven and stay open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day. Bond markets follow their own calendar and often close early on the day before a holiday.

How many business days are there in 2027?

261 weekdays, less the eleven federal holidays — all of which fall on a weekday in 2027 — and less December 31, which is the observed date for New Year's Day 2028. That leaves 249 business days in 2027.

What is the longest weekend in 2027?

Eight holidays fall on a Monday or Friday, each creating a three-day weekend. Add one day of leave to the Friday after Thanksgiving or the Friday after Veterans Day for a four-day break.

Are federal holidays the same as state holidays?

No. Many states add Good Friday, Lincoln's Birthday, Patriots' Day or Cesar Chavez Day, and a few do not observe every federal holiday. Private employers are not required to observe any of them.

Do I have to give employees federal holidays off?

No. Federal holidays bind federal agencies and indirectly the banks and markets. A private employer only has to observe one if a contract, collective bargaining agreement or state law says so.

When does New Year's Day 2028 fall?

January 1, 2028 is a Saturday, so the observed holiday is Friday, December 31, 2027 — the only case in this window where a holiday is observed in the previous year.