How Many Business Days Is That?
Enter the total calendar days in your range and any public holidays to instantly see the number of working days — perfect for deadlines, contracts, and project timelines.
A standard US work year has 249 working days — never assume a calendar month means 22 business days.
249
working days in a standard US year after federal holidays
5/7
ratio of weekdays to calendar days — the basis of the working days formula
11
federal public holidays in the United States in 2026
Working days in planning and contracts
Why the 5/7 formula works
Any stretch of calendar days contains roughly 5/7 weekdays, because weeks are the fundamental unit of the work calendar. This approximation is accurate to within ±1 day for most ranges. For legal or contractual precision over short periods (under 2 weeks), count days manually to avoid the rounding error.
Public holidays vary by state and country
Federal holidays apply to federal government employees, but private employers are not required to give time off. Each US state has additional holidays. Internationally, working calendars differ significantly — the UK, India, Germany, and Australia all have different holiday counts and dates. Always check your specific regional calendar.
Use working days for contract deadlines
Contracts, legal notices, and SLAs typically specify deadlines in 'business days' rather than calendar days. Always confirm whether a deadline is calendar days or working days before calculating. Misreading this distinction is a common source of missed deadlines and disputes in commercial contracts.
How the Working Days Calculator Works
Formula
Working Days ≈ (Calendar Days × 5/7) − Public HolidaysThe calculator multiplies total calendar days by 5/7 to estimate weekdays, then subtracts public holidays in the range. This is an approximation accurate to ±1 day for most ranges — for legal precision over short periods, manually count each weekday.
Enter the total days between your two dates (not including the start date) and the number of public bank or federal holidays that fall within that range.