Federal Holidays 2027: Dates, Days Off and Working Days

Short answer: There are 11 US federal holidays in 2027, and every one lands on a weekday: Jan 1, Jan 18, Feb 15, May 31, Jun 18, Jul 5, Sep 6, Oct 11, Nov 11, Nov 25 and Dec 24. Federal employees also get Friday 31 December 2027 off, because New Year's Day 2028 falls on a Saturday.

Updated October 26, 2026

All 2027 federal holiday dates

The list of federal holidays is set by law in 5 U.S.C. 6103, and the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes the dates federal staff actually take off. The table shows both: the real date of each holiday and the weekday it is observed in 2027.

OPM officially files the 31 December day off under its 2028 schedule, which is why most holiday lists for 2027 miss it. If you plan staff time by calendar year, count it in 2027. The newest holiday on the list is Juneteenth, added by Public Law 117-17 on 17 June 2021. OPM's 2027 schedule still lists the same 11 holidays.

Four holidays move to a different day

When a holiday falls on a weekend, federal employees take a nearby weekday instead. According to OPM, "if a holiday falls on a Saturday, for most Federal employees, the preceding Friday will be treated as a holiday." A Sunday holiday moves to the following Monday, under Section 3(a) of Executive Order 11582.

2027 is unusual because four holidays shift:

• Juneteenth is a Saturday, so the day off is Friday 18 June.
• Independence Day is a Sunday, so the day off is Monday 5 July.
• Christmas Day is a Saturday, so the day off is Friday 24 December.
• New Year's Day 2028 is a Saturday, so the day off is Friday 31 December 2027.

The result is two long weekends back to back at the end of the year, and two fewer working days in the last fortnight of December than a normal week pattern suggests. If your team works from a shared rota, block those Fridays now.

Banks and the stock market close on different days

This is where most 2027 calendars will catch payroll teams out. Federal offices, the Federal Reserve Banks and the New York Stock Exchange each use their own weekend rule. The Federal Reserve says: "For holidays falling on Saturday, Federal Reserve Banks and Branches will be open the preceding Friday." The NYSE says that because New Year's Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, "no New Year's Day holiday is observed."

All three are closed on the other seven holidays: 1 Jan, 18 Jan, 15 Feb, 31 May, 6 Sep and 25 Nov, plus 5 July shown above. The practical lesson: a day your office is closed is not always a day the banks are closed, and the other way round.

Payroll dates to check before January

Payroll runs on bank days, not office days. The Federal Reserve Banks are closed on nine weekdays in 2027: 1 Jan, 18 Jan, 15 Feb, 31 May, 5 Jul, 6 Sep, 11 Oct, 11 Nov and 25 Nov. If a payday lands on one of those dates, plan to send the run a business day earlier and confirm the cut-off with your bank or payroll provider.

Three checks worth doing now:

1. Map every 2027 payday against the nine Fed closures above. Biweekly Friday paydays can hit 1 January; Monday paydays can hit six Monday closures.
2. Mark the "office closed, bank open" days (18 Jun, 24 Dec, 31 Dec). Payments still move, but the person who approves them may be off. Approve hours the day before.
3. Close timesheets early in holiday weeks. Four-day weeks are when missing hours and late edits pile up, which delays the whole run.

If you already turn tracked hours into pay, our guide to running payroll from tracked hours walks through the full process, and handling missing hours and leave requests covers the holiday-week clean-up.

Working days in 2027, month by month

2027 has 261 weekdays. Take away the federal holidays and you get the working days your team actually has. The formula is simple:

Working days = weekdays in the period − holidays that fall on those weekdays
Working hours = working days × hours per day

Worked example for January 2027: 21 weekdays − 2 holidays (1 Jan and 18 Jan) = 19 working days. At 8 hours a day, that is 152 working hours.

December counts both 24 and 31 December. If your business gives the 11 holidays but not the 31 December day, you have 250 working days (2,000 hours) and 22 in December. For comparison, federal pay uses a fixed figure: OPM says hourly rates are computed "by dividing an employee's annual rate of basic pay by 2,087 hours."

Do private employers have to give federal holidays?

No. Federal holidays bind federal agencies, not private businesses. The US Department of Labor says the Fair Labor Standards Act "does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations or holidays," and that holiday pay is a matter of agreement between employer and employee (DOL, holidays). The DOL's FLSA FAQ adds that "the FLSA does not require extra pay for weekend or night work" and "has no requirement for double time pay."

Most employers give paid holidays anyway. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in March 2026 "81 percent had access to paid holidays" among private industry workers. Which days you choose is your call: many firms skip Columbus Day or Veterans Day and add the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve.

State or local law, union agreements and your own written policy can add rules, so check those before you publish your 2027 list. General information, not legal or tax advice.

Overtime in a holiday week

Under federal law, overtime depends on hours worked in the week, not on whether a holiday falls in it. The DOL says covered, non-exempt employees "must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half" their regular rate (DOL, overtime).

Worked example for Labor Day week (6 to 10 September 2027), for an hourly employee on $25 an hour:

Any holiday pay you promise for the Monday is set by your policy and sits on top of these figures. Some states have their own daily overtime rules, so confirm yours. Our guide to overtime for remote employees covers the details.

Plan 2027 leave for a remote or offshore team

Federal holidays only cover your US staff. If you work with virtual assistants or contractors in the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh or the UK, they follow their own public holidays, and those rarely line up with the US list. The simplest fix is one shared holiday calendar per country, published before January, so nobody is surprised by an empty shift.

In TrustHours, holidays and leave live on the same Pay and leave screen as payroll, which works out pay as rate × tracked hours. Holiday time is not tracked, and nothing is captured on a day off. Leave and holidays are on the Team and Business plans; see pricing for details.

Before you roll tracking out to a new team, show them exactly what TrustHours sees and what it never captures: no typing, no passwords, nothing during breaks or paused time.

FAQs

How many federal holidays are there in 2027?

There are 11 federal holidays in 2027, and all are observed on weekdays. Federal employees also get Friday 31 December 2027 off, which OPM counts as the observed New Year's Day 2028. That gives federal staff 12 weekday holidays inside calendar year 2027.

Is 31 December 2027 a federal holiday?

Yes, for most federal employees. New Year's Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so the preceding Friday, 31 December 2027, is the day off. The Federal Reserve Banks and the NYSE stay open that day, so payments and trading still run.

Is Good Friday a federal holiday in 2027?

No. Good Friday, 26 March 2027, is not on the federal list, so federal offices and the Federal Reserve Banks are open. The New York Stock Exchange is closed that day, which matters if your payroll or treasury team works with market dates.

Are banks closed on Juneteenth 2027?

No. Juneteenth falls on Saturday 19 June 2027. Federal offices close on Friday 18 June, but the Federal Reserve Banks stay open that Friday under their Saturday rule. Your own bank's branch hours may differ, so check with them.