Countdowns
Fourth of July 2026: how many days left?
Independence Day counted down to midnight in your time zone. Pick 2027 or 2028 for the next ones.
Fourth of July 2027
249 days
| Date | Sunday, July 4, 2027 |
| Weeks | 35 weeks, 4 days |
| Weekends before it | 35 |
| Business days (federal holidays off) | 169 |
| Fourth of July 2026 | Saturday, July 4, 2026 |
| Fourth of July 2027 | Sunday, July 4, 2027 |
| Fourth of July 2028 | Tuesday, July 4, 2028 |
Independence Day is July 4, one of the eleven legal public holidays of 5 U.S.C. 6103, and in 2026 it marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. It falls on Saturday, July 4, 2026, and a Saturday holiday is handled differently by each institution. Federal offices close on Friday, July 3, 2026, the day before, under the weekend rule. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq also close that Friday. The Federal Reserve Banks, however, do not shift a Saturday holiday, so banks process payments normally on the Friday. The Postal Service keeps the holiday on the Saturday itself: its operations memo for 2026 closes post offices and suspends regular delivery and collection on July 4, while the Friday is a normal day. In 2027 the Fourth is Sunday, July 4, 2027, so everyone moves it to Monday, July 5, and in 2028 it is a Tuesday, with an early market close on the Monday before.
Observed day of a federal holiday
Day off
Monday, July 5, 2027
| Legal date | Sunday, July 4, 2027 |
| Shift | Sunday, so the Monday after |
| Banks (Federal Reserve) | closed |
Dates computed and checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Who closes on which day
| 2026 (Saturday) | 2027 (Sunday) | 2028 (Tuesday) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal offices | Fri, Jul 3 | Mon, Jul 5 | Tue, Jul 4 |
| Banks (Federal Reserve) | open Friday | Mon, Jul 5 | Tue, Jul 4 |
| Stock market | Fri, Jul 3 | Mon, Jul 5 | Tue, Jul 4; 1 p.m. close on Mon |
| Post offices | Sat, Jul 4 | Mon, Jul 5 | Tue, Jul 4 |
The year 2026 shows how far apart the rules can be. Federal staff and traders get Friday off. Bank customers see no change on Friday, as the Federal Reserve schedule notes that its Banks stay open when a holiday falls on a Saturday. The Postal Service memo for the holiday closes retail units on Saturday, July 4, with no regular delivery and no collection, and treats Friday as a normal workday. The NYSE calendar lists Friday, July 3, 2026 as the market holiday.
Banks (Federal Reserve calendar), Friday, July 3, 2026
Open
open: the holiday falls on Saturday
| Post offices (retail counters)normal day | Open |
| Mail deliveryRegular delivery | Yes |
| Blue collection boxesNormal collection times | Collected |
| Stock market (NYSE, Nasdaq)Independence Day | Closed |
| Federal officesIndependence Day (observed) | Closed |
The 250th anniversary
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the final text of the Declaration of Independence, two days after voting for the break with Britain. The engrossed parchment, signed by most delegates on August 2, is kept at the National Archives in Washington. The year 2026 is therefore the semiquincentennial, and a federal commission has been preparing commemorations across the country. Two of the signers who later became president, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary.
Congress first made the Fourth a holiday for federal employees in the District of Columbia in 1870, together with New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Today it is listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103 and kept by every state.
Long weekends and fireworks
Because the date is fixed, the Fourth makes a long weekend only when it falls on a Friday, a Saturday, a Sunday or a Monday. In 2026 the long weekend runs Friday to Sunday for federal staff; in 2027 Saturday to Monday. A Tuesday or Thursday Fourth, as in 2028, tempts many people to take the day between as leave. Public fireworks are usually held on the evening of July 4 itself, whatever the weekday, but some cities move them to the nearest weekend: check your city's announcement.
The mini-tool under the summary shows the observed day of any federal holiday for 2026 to 2030, with the reason for the shift, and the federal holidays of 2026 and 2027 list all eleven.
Mail, payments and deadlines around the Fourth
A payment due on a day banks close is usually processed on the next business day. In 2026 the Friday is a normal banking day, so direct deposits scheduled for July 3 arrive on time, but brokerage accounts see no trading that day. In 2027 the closure moves to Monday, July 5, for banks, markets, federal offices and post offices alike, so anything due that Monday slides to Tuesday. For a delivery that must arrive before the holiday weekend, the business days line in the countdown above already leaves out the observed federal holiday; for any other range of dates, the business days counter does the same calculation.