Federal Holidays 2027: Dates and Observed Days

The 2027 federal holiday calendar

The holidays are set by 5 U.S.C. § 6103. These are the days off for federal employees in 2027, as published by the Office of Personnel Management:

Washington’s Birthday is the legal name of the February holiday. Many businesses and states call it Presidents’ Day, but the law and OPM use Washington’s Birthday.

Here is the whole 2027 calendar with every federal holiday and observed day off marked:

Why some holidays move: the observed-day rule

Five holidays have a fixed date: New Year’s Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Veterans Day and Christmas. When one of them falls on a weekend, federal employees with a Monday-to-Friday workweek get another day off instead:

• Saturday: the Friday before is the holiday, under section 6103(b)(1).
• Sunday: the Monday after is the holiday, under Executive Order 11582.

In 2027 the rule moves Juneteenth to Friday, June 18, Independence Day to Monday, July 5, and Christmas to Friday, December 24. The other six holidays are always on a Monday or a Thursday, so they never move.

New Year’s Day 2028 is a day off in 2027

January 1, 2028 is a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027. OPM lists it at the top of its 2028 schedule, but on a calendar it is a 2027 weekday.

That gives federal workers 12 weekday holidays inside calendar year 2027: the 11 holidays of 2027 plus the observed New Year’s Day of 2028. It also means two long weekends in a row at year end: Friday, December 24 to Sunday, December 26, and Friday, December 31 to Sunday, January 2, 2028.

How many business days are in 2027

2027 has 365 days, 104 of them on a weekend, which leaves 261 weekdays. Take out the 12 weekday holidays and you get 249 business days. We checked it with our days between dates calculator, counting business days from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028 without the end date.

365 days − 104 weekend days − 12 weekday holidays = 249 business days

If your employer does not give the observed Friday for New Year’s Day 2028, your count for 2027 is 250.

What the holidays mean for deadlines in business days

A deadline counted in business days skips weekends and holidays, so it ends later around these dates:

• 5 business days from Monday, June 14, 2027 is Tuesday, June 22, because Friday, June 18 is the observed Juneteenth.
• 5 business days from Monday, December 20, 2027 is Tuesday, December 28, because Friday, December 24 is the observed Christmas.

Long weekends in 2027 come with New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day 2028. Veterans Day and Thanksgiving fall on Thursdays. To count down to any of them, use the countdown calculator.

Who actually gets the day off

Section 6103 sets the holidays for the pay and leave of federal employees. Private employers, states, schools and banks set their own calendars, and many do not close on every federal holiday. Banks follow the Federal Reserve calendar, which can differ from the OPM list. For a contract, court or bank deadline, check the calendar of whoever sets it, and for your own days off, check your employer’s policy.

Official sources

• 5 U.S.C. § 6103: federal holidays · subsection (a) holidays, (b)(1) Saturday rule
• U.S. Office of Personnel Management: federal holidays · 2027 and 2028 holiday schedules; Sunday rule, Executive Order 11582

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