Photo by Andy Quezada for Unsplash+
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Happy Independence Day!
Yes, I can read a calendar, so I know it is July 3, not July 4. But since the Fourth of July this year is on Saturday, federal (and some other) workers got Friday off.
July 4 remains the day to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago. It’s one of a handful of official holidays always commemorated on their actual dates.
Most federal holidays have been moved to Monday holidays. And sometimes, whatever day or date they fall on, official holidays do affect our federal taxes.
Special date differences: I hear many of y’all asking, why wasn’t July 4th officially shifted to Monday? That’s a long-familiar practice.
The short answer is because Independence Day is not a holiday subject to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
That law, enacted in 1968 but not taking actual effect until 1971, permanently shifted several national holidays to Mondays. Its goal was to prevent midweek work disruptions, especially for federal employees, and give workers guaranteed three-day weekends. It’s succeeded.
But some holidays — notably July 4th, Veterans Day on Nov. 11, and Juneteenth on June 19 — are observed on their special days because of the dates’ historical significance.
Still, workers are used to days off on holidays. So, some (mostly federal employees and those in the financial sector) get a weekday off for July 4th and those other commemorations when they fall on weekends. But the exact day is flexible.
This year, with America’s most patriotic celebration falling on a Saturday, the weekday off is today, Friday, July 3. But when Sunday, July 4, 2027, arrives, the day off will be Monday, July 5, 2027.
The shift is determined by the federal U.S. Code Sec. 5, 6103(b) and a 1971 Executive Order 11582. Taken together, these declarations mean that, for most federal employees, when a holiday falls on a Saturday, they get the preceding Friday as a day off for pay and leave purposes.
And when a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be treated as a holiday for pay and leave purposes.
When holidays and tax dates collide: The United States’ birthday genesis was, in part, prompted by the anger of nascent Americans who didn’t like being taxed by Great Britain without corresponding representation.
Nowadays, July 4 doesn’t have any practical effect on our taxes. However, some holidays do shift tax due dates, including the annual federal filing deadline.
The interesting thing here is that in these cases, the holidays are in a couple of New England states and the nation’s capital.
Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C., is celebrated each April 16 to mark the signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act by President Abraham Lincoln on that day in 1862. This act effectively freed more than 3,000 enslaved persons in the District of Columbia. That was nearly nine months before Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves across the rest of the country (and belated notification in Texas on June 19, 1865).
When D.C. Emancipation Day coincides with the regular federal Tax Day — for example when April 15 is on a Sunday and moves to Monday, April 16 — Uncle Sam adjusts his annual tax deadline.
Why? Federal law calls for holidays observed in the District of Columbia to also be observed by federal agencies.
The federal filing due date shift also happens some years for federal filers in Maine and Massachusetts thanks to a special holiday in just those two jurisdictions. It gets federal attention because it has a connection to America’s birthday.
Patriots Day in those two New England states commemorates the first battles of the Revolutionary War in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.
No tax worries this weekend: But, as noted, July isn’t prime tax time. So, we’re not focusing on taxes and deadlines now.
We’re just getting ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
But for your planning purposes, be it for possible tax-related deadlines or just to know when there is a long weekend, the table below lists all of 2026’s federal holidays as set by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), including those we’ve already celebrated.
| Date | Holiday |
| Thursday, January 1 | New Year’s Day |
| Monday, January 19 | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| Monday, February 16 | Washington’s Birthday |
| Monday, May 25 | Memorial Day |
| Friday, June 19 | Juneteenth National Independence Day |
| Friday, July 03 | Independence Day |
| Monday, September 7 | Labor Day |
| Monday, October 12 | Columbus Day |
| Wednesday, November 11 | Veterans Day |
| Thursday, November 26 | Thanksgiving Day |
| Friday, December 25 | Christmas Day |
Mark the holidays that are important to you. Then off to you July 4th (or July 3rd!) party or parties. Celebrate safely!
