How to use the Business Days Calculator
- Pick what you need: days between two dates, a date a number of working days before or after another, or the working days in a year.
- Set your work week. Monday–Friday is the default; switch to Sunday–Thursday, a six-day week or tick your own days.
- Choose a public holiday calendar (US federal, England & Wales or Scotland) and add any extra days off, such as a company shutdown.
- Read the result, the holidays that were skipped and the month-by-month breakdown. Copy it, or download a CSV.
What does this tool do?
A business day is any day your organisation normally works — usually Monday to Friday, minus public holidays. The calculator counts them for any range, steps forward or back a set number of working days for deadlines and delivery dates, and gives a full-year total with each month listed.
Built-in holidays are calculated from the official rules rather than typed in by hand: US federal holidays with the Friday/Monday “observed” rule, and UK bank holidays for England & Wales and for Scotland, including substitute days when Christmas or New Year fall at a weekend and one-off holidays such as the 2023 coronation. Every holiday found is listed, and you can mark any of them as a working day if your employer opens.
Results use the same conventions as Excel and Google Sheets: counting includes the start and end dates (NETWORKDAYS), and adding days doesn't count the start date (WORKDAY). The page shows the matching formula, including the weekend code for non-standard work weeks, so you can check a spreadsheet against it.
Why use it?
- US federal and UK bank holidays, worked out for any year.
- Any work week: Mon–Fri, Sun–Thu, six-day or your own pattern.
- Add or subtract working days for deadlines, with holidays skipped.
- Working days per month and per year, with a CSV download.
- Matches Excel NETWORKDAYS.INTL and WORKDAY.INTL.
Use cases
- Notice periods, payment terms (“net 30 business days”) and contract deadlines.
- Delivery and dispatch estimates: “ships in 5–7 business days” from today.
- Payroll and timesheets: how many working days are in this month?
- Project schedules and sprint planning around bank holidays.
- Leave planning: how many working days a holiday booking actually uses.
Example: January 2026
January 2026 has 31 days and 22 weekdays. With US federal holidays, New Year's Day (Thursday 1st) and Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday 19th) come off, leaving 20 working days. With the England & Wales calendar only New Year's Day falls in January, so the answer is 21.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Working days in January 2026 (US federal) | 20 |
| 10 working days after Wed 23 Dec 2026 (England & Wales) | Mon 11 Jan 2027 |
| Working days in 2026 (US federal, Mon–Fri) | 250 |
| Working days in 2026 (England & Wales, Mon–Fri) | 253 |
Common mistakes
- Counting the start day when adding days. “10 business days from Monday” normally means the following Monday week — the day you start from isn't one of the ten.
- Forgetting observed holidays. When 4 July is a Saturday, US federal offices close on Friday 3 July instead.
- Using another country's holidays. Bank holidays in Scotland differ from England (2 January, St Andrew's Day, an earlier August holiday).
- Assuming every business uses Monday–Friday. Many Middle Eastern countries work Sunday–Thursday, and shops often work six days.
Accuracy and limits
- US holidays are the federal ones; states and private employers may add or skip days. UK calendars are national bank holidays; local holidays vary.
- Other countries' holidays aren't built in because they often follow lunar calendars or regional rules — add them as extra days off.
Privacy
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Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate business days between two dates?
Count every Monday–Friday in the range, including both end dates, then subtract any public holidays that fall on those weekdays. The calculator does this for you and lists each holiday it skipped.
Does the count include the start and end date?
Yes by default, like Excel's NETWORKDAYS. Untick “Include the start date” or “Include the end date” if your rule counts from the day after, as many notice periods do.
How many working days are there in 2026?
With a Monday–Friday week there are 261 weekdays in 2026. Taking off the 11 US federal holidays leaves 250; taking off the 8 England & Wales bank holidays leaves 253. Use “Days in a year” for other years and calendars.
What is 5 business days from today?
Choose “Add or subtract days”, leave the start date as today and enter 5. Weekends and the holidays you selected are skipped, and the start day isn't counted.
How long is 3–5 business days?
3 to 7 calendar days for an order placed on a weekday. Ordered on a Monday, that's Thursday to the following Monday; ordered on a Wednesday, it's the following Monday to Wednesday. Holidays add a day each.
How long is 2–8 business days?
2 to 12 calendar days. From a Monday, that's Wednesday at the earliest and Thursday of the next week at the latest. Use “Add or subtract days” with your start date to get the exact dates.
Is Saturday a business day?
Not in most offices, banks or government agencies. For shipping and retail it sometimes is — tick Saturday in the work week if it counts for you.
Can I match this in Excel or Google Sheets?
Yes. The result panel shows the equivalent NETWORKDAYS.INTL or WORKDAY.INTL formula, including the seven-digit weekend code for your work week.
Last reviewed by the M2Toolkit team.