2026 opens on a Thursday, which shifts how the year’s weeks line up compared to years that start on a different day — a detail that matters if you’re mapping out which weekdays your important dates will fall on months in advance. Since 2026 is a common year rather than a leap year, it runs the standard 365 days across 12 months, with February holding its usual 28.
Is 2026 a leap year?
No. The rule for which years get the extra day is straightforward: a year is a leap year if it divides evenly by 4, unless it also divides evenly by 100 — in which case it’s a leap year only if it additionally divides evenly by 400. That’s why 2000 was a leap year but 1900 was not, and it’s why a run of ordinary years like 2025, 2026, and 2027 is the norm rather than the exception. The next leap year is 2028.
How the weekdays fall
With January 1 on a Thursday, the year’s fixed-date holidays land like this: Independence Day on a Saturday, Halloween on a Saturday, Christmas on a Friday, and New Year’s Eve on a Thursday. Because 2026 is a common year, every date after February 28 sits one weekday later than it did in 2025 — a Wednesday date last year is a Thursday this year.
Why pull up a full year
People use a year calendar for reasons that go beyond checking a single date. Businesses plot fiscal quarters and holiday closures before the year begins. Families see how school breaks, birthdays, and long weekends fall relative to each other. Anyone booking travel or planning events months out benefits from seeing all twelve months side by side rather than flipping through one at a time, since it makes it easy to spot which weeks have three-day weekends.
US federal holidays in 2026
| Holiday | Date | Day | Observed on (if different) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | January 1 | Thursday | |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | January 19 | Monday | |
| Presidents’ Day (Washington’s Birthday) | February 16 | Monday | |
| Memorial Day | May 25 | Monday | |
| Juneteenth | June 19 | Friday | |
| Independence Day | July 4 | Saturday | Friday, July 3 |
| Labor Day | September 7 | Monday | |
| Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples’ Day | October 12 | Monday | |
| Veterans Day | November 11 | Wednesday | |
| Thanksgiving Day | November 26 | Thursday | |
| Christmas Day | December 25 | Friday |
Three-day weekends in 2026
| Weekend | Holiday |
|---|---|
| January 17 – January 19 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
| February 14 – February 16 | Presidents’ Day (Washington’s Birthday) |
| May 23 – May 25 | Memorial Day |
| June 19 – June 21 | Juneteenth |
| July 3 – July 5 | Independence Day |
| September 5 – September 7 | Labor Day |
| October 10 – October 12 | Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples’ Day |
| December 25 – December 27 | Christmas Day |
New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving Day fall on a Thursday, so taking the Friday off after each makes a four-day weekend.
Working days in 2026, month by month
| Month | Days | Weekdays | Federal holidays | Business days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 22 | 2 | 20 |
| February | 28 | 20 | 1 | 19 |
| March | 31 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| April | 30 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| May | 31 | 21 | 1 | 20 |
| June | 30 | 22 | 1 | 21 |
| July | 31 | 23 | 1 | 22 |
| August | 31 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| September | 30 | 22 | 1 | 21 |
| October | 31 | 22 | 1 | 21 |
| November | 30 | 21 | 2 | 19 |
| December | 31 | 23 | 1 | 22 |
| Total | 365 | 261 | 11 | 250 |
Quarters in 2026
| Quarter | Dates | Days | Business days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | January 1 – March 31 | 90 | 61 |
| Q2 | April 1 – June 30 | 91 | 63 |
| Q3 | July 1 – September 30 | 92 | 64 |
| Q4 | October 1 – December 31 | 92 | 62 |
2026 has 53 ISO weeks. Week 1 begins on Monday, December 29, 2025.
Related tools
For the following year, see the 2027 calendar. To track positions within the year, use what week of the year it is and what day of the year. The months of the year reference covers the day counts.