March 30, 2026 · 6 min read

Business Days Calculator: How to Count Working Days

Everything you need to know about business days — what counts, how to calculate them, and common deadlines explained.

What Is a Business Day?

A business day (also called a working day or weekday) is any day from Monday through Friday that is not a public holiday. In the US, there are 11 federal holidays per year that are not considered business days.

Common Business Day Deadlines

Many legal and financial deadlines are counted in business days:

ContextTypical Deadline
Bank transfers (ACH)1-3 business days
Credit card disputes60 business days
Home inspection period10 business days
SEC filing deadlines4 business days
Insurance claim response15 business days
Tax refund processing21 business days
Passport processing6-8 weeks (30-40 bd)
Shipping (standard)5-7 business days

US Federal Holidays (2026)

These 11 days are not counted as business days:

New Year's Day (Jan 1) · MLK Day (Jan 19) · Presidents' Day (Feb 16)

Memorial Day (May 25) · Juneteenth (Jun 19) · Independence Day (Jul 4)

Labor Day (Sep 7) · Columbus Day (Oct 12) · Veterans Day (Nov 11)

Thanksgiving (Nov 26) · Christmas Day (Dec 25)

How to Calculate Business Days

Method 1 — Online calculator: Use our business days calculator for instant results.

Method 2 — Excel: Use =WORKDAY(start, days) to add business days, or =NETWORKDAYS(start, end) to count them.

Method 3 — Quick mental math: Multiply business days by 1.4 to get approximate calendar days. Example: 10 business days ≈ 14 calendar days (2 weeks).

Quick Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as a business day?
Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Saturday and Sunday are not business days.
How many business days in a week?
A standard week has 5 business days (Monday through Friday).
Do holidays count as business days?
No. Federal holidays that fall on weekdays are not counted as business days in most business contexts.