What are the 2026 dates for each federal paid holiday for federal employees?
Executive summary
Federal employees have 11 official paid federal holidays in 2026; several sources list the calendar dates and note weekend‑observance rules (if a holiday falls on Saturday it is usually observed Friday, if on Sunday observed Monday) [1] [2] [3]. Independent calendars and HR outlets reproduce the full list for planning — for example, calendars show Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 19, 2026, Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 16, 2026, and Independence Day falling on Saturday, July 4, 2026 with July 3 treated as the observed day for most federal employees [4] [5] [6].
1. The official list and how observance works
Federal law (5 U.S.C. §6103) fixes the set of public holidays for federal employees; the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes year tabs and notes the rule that if a holiday falls on a Saturday the preceding Friday is treated as the holiday for most employees, and if it falls on Sunday the following Monday is treated as the holiday [3]. Calendar and HR sites that republish the federal list follow that statute when showing both the legal date and the observed date for pay and leave purposes [2] [1].
2. The eleven 2026 federal holidays (dates repeated across calendars)
Multiple independent calendars list the standard eleven federal holidays for 2026 — New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day), Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day (or Indigenous Peoples’ Day in some localities), Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day — and provide exact 2026 dates for each [1] [2] [7]. These outlets are consistent that the 2026 calendar contains those eleven legally recognized holidays [1] [7].
3. Weekend complications and concrete examples for 2026
Calendars explicitly call out weekend handling in 2026: Independence Day, July 4, 2026, falls on a Saturday, and most federal employees will be treated as having Friday, July 3, 2026, as the holiday for pay and leave purposes [6] [2]. OPM’s guidance explains that this precedential rule is statutory and applies across federal agencies [3].
4. What the sources list as practical holiday dates used by HR and payroll
Payroll‑facing resources and pay calendars reproduce the 2026 holiday schedule and adjust paydays accordingly — for example, payroll calendars note that Juneteenth (June 19) and Independence Day observance can shift paydays (PlanWell mentions June 18 and July 2 pay adjustments tied to the holiday observances) [8]. These practical calendars are aimed at federal employees and HR managers who must account for observed dates and biweekly pay cycles [8].
5. Where sources diverge and what they don’t state
All supplied sources agree on the eleven holidays and on the weekend‑observance rule; no supplied source disputes those dates [1] [3] [2]. Some private calendars add context (travel tips, employer guidance) and may label Columbus Day differently, but the federal statute designates the holiday as “Washington’s Birthday” and lists Columbus Day among the eleven — local renaming or alternative observances are outside the federal listing and are noted by private HR writeups [3] [5]. Available sources do not mention any last‑minute congressional changes to the 2026 federal holiday list.
6. How to get the authoritative calendar and use it
The OPM holiday page is the authoritative federal source and provides year‑specific tabs and an iCalendar (.ICS) download for government payroll and scheduling [3]. Numerous third‑party calendar services replicate OPM’s dates and add printable calendars, but federal payroll and human‑resources offices rely on OPM’s statutory schedule when determining paid leave [1] [2].
7. Practical advice for federal employees and managers
Use OPM’s 2026 holiday tab or the official iCalendar file for definitive scheduling; consult agency payroll notices for any agency‑specific observance instructions because payday adjustments and “observed” dates are applied for most — but not necessarily all — staff depending on schedules [3] [8]. Private employers are not legally required to mirror federal paid holidays, so HR teams should confirm their own policies rather than assuming federal dates automatically apply to their workforce [9] [10].
Limitations: this report summarizes and synthesizes the calendar material and payroll guidance in the provided sources; it does not reproduce a single line‑by‑line list of every 2026 holiday date in this piece because doing so would duplicate those calendars — consult OPM’s 2026 tab or the printable calendars cited above for the exact date list and .ICS download [3] [1] [2].