Guide
Use this date calculator to count the days between two dates or find a date a set number of days, weeks, months, or business days away. Business days skip Saturdays and Sundays by default. You can also skip US federal holidays, choose other weekly days off, or list your company holidays. Results update as you type.
How to use
- Choose Days between dates or Add or subtract.
- Enter a date with the month first, like 3/4/2027, 2027-03-04, or March 4, 2027. You can also select a date from the calendar. When the page opens, the start date is today.
- To add or subtract, choose Add or Subtract, enter a number, and pick days, weeks, months, years, or business days.
- Under Days off, check your weekly days off. Check Also skip US federal holidays if you follow the federal schedule. List any other days off, one per line.
- The result shows the date or count, how it was calculated, and the Excel formula that gives the same answer.
Example: 10 business days over the year-end holidays
Suppose a request comes in on Friday, December 18, 2026, and you have 10 business days to reply.
- Skipping weekends and federal holidays: the 10th business day is Tuesday, January 5, 2027. The count skips 6 weekend days and 2 holidays: Christmas Day (Friday, December 25, 2026) and New Year's Day (Friday, January 1, 2027).
- Skipping weekends only: the 10th business day is Friday, January 1, 2027. That date is New Year's Day, a federal holiday.
Example: days and business days in February 2027
From Monday, February 1, 2027 to Monday, March 1, 2027:
- Calendar days: 28 days, not counting the start date. 29 days if you count both dates. That is 4 weeks, 0 days, or 1 month, 0 days.
- Business days, counting both dates: 21 with only weekends skipped. With federal holidays skipped too, there are 20, because Washington's Birthday falls on Monday, February 15, 2027.
Is the start date counted?
Days between dates does not count the start date. From March 1 to March 3 is 2 days. That is the same as =B2-A2 in Excel.
The result also shows the count with both dates included, which is 3 days here. Use it for a trip or time off that runs from one date to another.
Business days count both the start and end dates, the same as NETWORKDAYS in Excel.
Adding does not count the start date either. 10 days after March 1 is March 11. 10 business days after March 1 is the 10th business day starting March 2, the same as WORKDAY in Excel.
How months and years are counted
Adding months keeps the day of the month. January 15, 2027 plus 3 months is April 15, 2027.
If the new month has no matching day, the result is the last day of that month. January 31, 2027 plus 1 month is February 28, 2027. February 29, 2024 plus 1 year is February 28, 2025.
Between two dates, a month counts only when the end date reaches the same day of the month. Any remaining days are counted from there. The table shows a few cases.
| Start date | End date | Days | Months and days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/31/2027 | 2/28/2027 | 28 | 0 months, 28 days |
| 1/31/2027 | 3/1/2027 | 29 | 1 month, 1 day |
| 2/29/2024 | 2/28/2025 | 365 | 11 months, 30 days |
| 3/15/2027 | 4/14/2027 | 30 | 0 months, 30 days |
January 31 to February 28 is not a full month yet, because the 28th comes before the 31st. January 31 to March 1 is 1 month and 1 day. February has no 31st, so the month ends on February 28, and one more day reaches March 1.
Which days are skipped
- Weekly days off: Saturday and Sunday are checked by default. Change them if your week is different, for example Sunday only.
- US federal holidays: check this to also skip the federal holidays in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), on the days federal employees have them off. The next section lists them.
- Other days off: list company holidays or any other days, one per line. A date that is already a weekly day off is not skipped twice.
- In Excel, weekly days off go into NETWORKDAYS.INTL and WORKDAY.INTL as 7 digits, Monday first, where 1 means a day off. Sunday only is "0000001". The result shows the digits for your settings.
US federal holidays in 2026 and 2027
5 U.S.C. 6103(a) lists the legal public holidays (11 since Juneteenth was added in 2021). Some have a fixed date, like Independence Day on July 4. Others fall on a set weekday, like Labor Day on the first Monday in September.
When a holiday falls on a Saturday, most federal employees get the Friday before off. When it falls on a Sunday, they get the Monday after off. The Saturday rule is in 5 U.S.C. 6103(b)(1). The Sunday rule is in Executive Order 11582, section 3(a).
With federal holidays checked, this tool skips the day off, not the weekend day. The table shows the days off.
| Holiday | Rule | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1 | Thu, Jan 1 | Fri, Jan 1 |
| Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. | Third Monday in January | Mon, Jan 19 | Mon, Jan 18 |
| Washington's Birthday | Third Monday in February | Mon, Feb 16 | Mon, Feb 15 |
| Memorial Day | Last Monday in May | Mon, May 25 | Mon, May 31 |
| Juneteenth National Independence Day | June 19 | Fri, Jun 19 | Fri, Jun 18 (observed) |
| Independence Day | July 4 | Fri, Jul 3 (observed) | Mon, Jul 5 (observed) |
| Labor Day | First Monday in September | Mon, Sep 7 | Mon, Sep 6 |
| Columbus Day | Second Monday in October | Mon, Oct 12 | Mon, Oct 11 |
| Veterans Day | November 11 | Wed, Nov 11 | Thu, Nov 11 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Fourth Thursday in November | Thu, Nov 26 | Thu, Nov 25 |
| Christmas Day | December 25 | Fri, Dec 25 | Fri, Dec 24 (observed) |
- New Year's Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027. That gives 2027 twelve federal days off.
- Inauguration Day is not included. It comes every four years on January 20 and applies only in the Washington, DC area.
- Extra days off that the President gives by executive order, such as Christmas Eve, are not included. They are not on OPM's schedule ahead of time.
- These days off are for federal employees. The law and OPM do not say that private employers must give them. Your state or employer may follow a different list.
- This tool has federal holidays for 1986 through 2099. Years after 2026 follow the law as of November 3, 2026.
Sources, checked on November 3, 2026: 5 U.S.C. 6103 (2024 edition on govinfo), Executive Order 11582 (National Archives), and OPM: Federal Holidays.
Do the same in Excel
Put the start date in A2 and the end date in B2. Both cells need real dates, not text. Keep the start date on or before the end date. If it is later, DATEDIF returns the #NUM! error.
| To find | Formula |
|---|---|
| Days between, start date not counted | =B2-A2 |
| Days between, both dates counted | =B2-A2+1 |
| Months and days | =DATEDIF(A2,B2,"M")&" months, "&(B2-EDATE(A2,DATEDIF(A2,B2,"M")))&" days" |
| Business days, both dates counted | =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,Holidays!A:A) |
| 10 business days later | =WORKDAY(A2,10,Holidays!A:A) |
| 10 business days earlier | =WORKDAY(A2,-10,Holidays!A:A) |
| 3 months later | =EDATE(A2,3) |
| 10 days later or earlier | =A2+10 or =A2-10 |
If WORKDAY or EDATE shows a number instead of a date, format the cell as a date.
Get the federal holiday list for Excel
NETWORKDAYS and WORKDAY take a list of holidays as the third argument. Add a sheet named Holidays and paste the dates in column A. Then Holidays!A:A in the formulas skips them.
Copy the list below. Each row has the date, written year first like 2027-01-01, and the holiday name. Saturday and Sunday holidays are listed on the weekday that federal employees get off.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my count one day off from another calculator?
Most often, one tool counts the start date and the other does not. This tool shows both counts. Business days can also differ when one tool skips holidays and the other does not.
Does my employer have to give federal holidays off?
The federal holiday rules cover federal employees. The law and OPM do not say that private employers must give these days off. Check your employer's holiday schedule, and list its holidays under Other days off.
What happens when a federal holiday falls on a weekend?
For most federal employees, a Saturday holiday is observed on the Friday before, and a Sunday holiday on the Monday after. This tool skips the observed day.
Is Christmas Eve a federal holiday?
No. It is not one of the legal public holidays in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a). The President sometimes gives federal employees an extra day off by executive order. Those days are not on OPM's schedule ahead of time, so this tool does not include them. You can add one under Other days off.
Are the dates I enter saved or sent anywhere?
No. The dates and numbers are calculated in your browser. They are not uploaded, added to the URL, or saved in the browser. Analytics records only which options you used and how many times you calculated.
Can I add up hours instead of days?
Yes. Use the time card calculator to add up the hours on a weekly time card.
