What this calculator does
How many working days in a year is a question that only has a fixed answer once the year is over; asked partway through, it depends entirely on which date you are counting from. This calculator works out how many weekdays are left between that date and 31 December, and separately shows how many working days the whole year contains once it is complete.
It counts Monday to Friday as working days and treats Saturday and Sunday as non-working, which covers the standard working week. Public holidays are not assumed, since they vary by country, state and industry; enter how many weekday holidays remain if you want them subtracted from the count.
The formula
Every calendar day from the count date to 31 December of that year is checked, and the ones falling on Saturday or Sunday are excluded, leaving the weekday total. Any public holidays entered are then subtracted from that figure. The same weekday count run from 1 January to 31 December gives the year's working-day total for comparison.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Working day | Any weekday, Monday to Friday, not adjusted for public holidays unless entered. |
| Weekdays remaining before holidays | The raw Monday-to-Friday count between the date entered and the end of the year. |
| Total working days across the year | The same weekday count run across the full year, from 1 January to 31 December. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Count from | The date to count from. Leave it on today to see how many working days are left in year right now, or pick another date to check from. |
| Public holidays still to come this year (weekdays only) | Any public holidays still to come this year that fall on a weekday. Leave it on zero to see the plain weekday count. |
When to use it
Checking how many working days are left in year
Near the start of a year this is close to the full annual total; by December it is a small number, since the count simply shrinks day by day as 31 December approaches.
Planning a project against the calendar
A deadline stated in working days, such as "six weeks", converts more reliably against the actual remaining weekday count than against a flat multiple of seven, especially once a public holiday or two falls inside the window.
Working out how many work days in a year in total
Entering today's date on 1 January and leaving the holiday field on zero gives the full year's weekday total on its own, useful for annual leave planning or setting a yearly target that is meant to track working days rather than calendar days.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
How working days left in year falls as the year goes on
The same calculation run from today and from several dates further into the year.
| Counting from | Working days left | Calendar days remaining |
|---|---|---|
| today | 93 | 130 |
| today+7 | 88 | 123 |
| today+30 | 72 | 100 |
| today+60 | 50 | 70 |
| today+90 | 28 | 40 |
| today+120 | 8 | 10 |
Questions
How many working days in a year are there in total?
For an ordinary year with no public holidays subtracted, it comes to somewhere around 260 to 262 weekdays, depending on which days of the week 1 January and 31 December fall on. Enter today's date as 1 January with the holiday field on zero to see the exact figure for a given year.
Does this account for public holidays automatically?
No, because public holidays differ by country, state and industry, so there is no single list that would be correct for everyone. Enter the number of weekday holidays still to come and they are subtracted from the working days left figure.
How many days left of this year does the calculator show?
The calendar days remaining figure gives the plain day count to 31 December, alongside the working days left figure that excludes weekends. They are shown side by side since a project plan often needs both.
Why does the total working days figure stay the same as I change the count date?
It is always calculated across the full year, from 1 January to 31 December, regardless of the date entered in the main field, since it is there for comparison against whatever partial-year figure the count date produces.
To count weekdays between any two dates you choose, not just to year end, use the working days calculator. For every day-count breakdown between two dates, including years and months, see the time between dates calculator.