Updated for 2026 • US • UK • CA • AU

Work Days in a Year Calculator

Calculate working days, business days, and billable days for any year.

Quickly figure out how many work days are in a year with this free calculator. Whether you need business days for payroll, billable days for freelancing, or working days for project planning, it accounts for weekends, federal holidays, and custom PTO dates to give you an accurate count.

Last updated for 2026
Custom holidays / PTO
Net work days
250
in 2026 • US
Total days
365
Weekends
104
Public holidays
11
Custom holidays
0
Public holidays in range (11)
New Year's DayJan 1
Martin Luther King Jr. DayJan 19
Presidents' DayFeb 16
Memorial DayMay 25
JuneteenthJun 19
Independence DayJul 3
Labor DaySep 7
Columbus DayOct 12
Veterans DayNov 11
Thanksgiving DayNov 26
Christmas DayDec 25
4 country calendars
Custom PTO supported
Instant results
Free — no signup

How this work days calculator works

This calculator starts with the total number of days in the selected year (365 or 366 for leap years). It then subtracts weekend days (Saturdays and Sundays) and public holidays based on the country you select. For custom date ranges, it counts only the days within your specified period. The result is the net number of work days available for business, payroll, or project planning.

1

Pick a year or date range

Default is the current year. Switch to a custom range for partial-year calculations.

2

Choose a country calendar

Supports US federal, UK bank, Canada federal, and Australia national public holidays.

3

Toggle weekends & holidays

Exclude Saturdays & Sundays and public holidays (default) or include them for shift-work scenarios.

4

Add custom holidays / PTO

Add company closures, personal time off, or extra paid days off and the total updates instantly.

Quick answer for 2026: In the United States, there are 365 total days, 104 weekend days, and 11 federal holidays on weekdays — leaving 250 work days.

Work days per year (US)

Year-by-year breakdown of total days, weekends, federal-holiday weekdays, and net work days for common Monday-through-Friday schedules.

YearTotal daysWeekend daysHoliday weekdaysWork days
202436610411251
202536510411250
202636510411250
202736510411250
202836610610250
202936510411250
203036510411250

Counts assume a standard Monday–Friday work week and the 11 US federal holidays. Observed dates are used when a holiday falls on a weekend. Use the calculator above to see matching totals for the UK, Canada, or Australia.

When to use this calculator

Knowing exactly how many workable days are in a year unlocks more accurate planning across payroll, billing, and operations.

Payroll planning

Turn annual work days into salary-to-hourly conversions and accurate weekly pay expectations.

Freelancing & consulting

Set realistic daily rates based on how many billable work days actually exist in the year.

Project management

Build timelines that reflect real capacity by excluding weekends and public holidays from estimates.

HR & PTO planning

Calculate PTO accrual rates, parental leave, and sabbatical lengths against actual work days.

Budgeting & labor cost

Forecast labor spend by multiplying daily cost by real work days per quarter or year.

Attendance & SLA tracking

Measure deadlines and SLAs in business days instead of calendar days for accurate performance targets.

Example calculations

Three worked examples showing how the calculator handles full years, partial years, and custom PTO.

Full year 2026 (US)
  • Total days365
  • Weekend days104
  • Federal holiday weekdays11
  • Net work days250
Partial year H2 2026 (Jul 1 – Dec 31)
  • Total days184
  • Weekend days52
  • Federal holiday weekdays6
  • Net work days126
Full year 2026 with 15 PTO days
  • Total days365
  • Weekend days104
  • Federal holidays11
  • Custom PTO (weekdays)15
  • Net work days235

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about working-day calculations, country calendars, and common edge cases.

How many work days are in a year?▾
In the United States, there are typically 250 to 252 work days in a year after subtracting 104 weekend days (52 weeks of Saturdays and Sundays) and 10 to 11 federal holidays. The exact number varies depending on how holidays fall within the week and whether the year is a leap year.
How many work days are in 2026?▾
In 2026, there are 250 work days in the United States when you subtract 104 weekend days and 11 federal holidays that fall on (or are observed on) weekdays. Some payroll calendars report 251 if they don’t count the observed date for Independence Day. The calculator above uses observed dates for the most conservative payroll-ready total.
Do work days include holidays?▾
By default this calculator excludes federal or public holidays from work days, because most salaried and hourly employees don’t work on those days. Use the “Include holidays” toggle if you’d like to count them as work days for a specific planning scenario.
How do I calculate work days for a partial year?▾
Switch to “Custom range” mode and pick any start and end date. The calculator counts every day in that range, removes weekends and public holidays, and gives you the net work days for that period. You can add your own PTO or company-closure dates as custom holidays.
What countries are supported?▾
The tool supports four national holiday calendars out of the box: United States (federal holidays), United Kingdom (bank holidays – England & Wales), Canada (federal statutory holidays), and Australia (national public holidays). For other countries, use custom holidays to add your own list.
Why do some years have 251 work days and others have 252?▾
The count depends on which day of the week the year starts, whether it’s a leap year, and how many federal holidays land on weekends (which are already non-working). For example, when Independence Day falls on a Saturday, it’s observed on Friday but the Saturday itself is already not a work day, so the total can drift by a day.
Does this match my company’s payroll calendar?▾
For most standard Monday–Friday businesses, yes. If your company observes additional paid holidays (Good Friday, day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, floating holidays, or a winter shutdown), add them as custom holidays and your work-day total will update automatically.

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