2021 federal holidays for U.S. payroll
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management observes 11 federal holidays in 2021. Each one closes the Federal Reserve and most U.S. banks, which means any pay date that lands on the observed date cannot be funded that day.
| Holiday | Calendar date | Observed date | Day of week (observed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1, 2021 | January 1, 2021 | Friday |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | January 18, 2021 | January 18, 2021 | Monday |
| Presidents' Day | February 15, 2021 | February 15, 2021 | Monday |
| Memorial Day | May 31, 2021 | May 31, 2021 | Monday |
| Juneteenth National Independence Day | June 19, 2021 | June 18, 2021 shifted | Friday |
| Independence Day | July 4, 2021 | July 5, 2021 shifted | Monday |
| Labor Day | September 6, 2021 | September 6, 2021 | Monday |
| Columbus Day | October 11, 2021 | October 11, 2021 | Monday |
| Veterans Day | November 11, 2021 | November 11, 2021 | Thursday |
| Thanksgiving Day | November 25, 2021 | November 25, 2021 | Thursday |
| Christmas Day | December 25, 2021 | December 24, 2021 shifted | Friday |
How 2021 federal holidays affect your payroll
The pay-date impact of a federal holiday depends almost entirely on what day of the week the holiday lands on and whether your payday is anchored to a calendar date or a weekday. Biweekly employers paying on Fridays will see pay-date shifts whenever a federal holiday lands on a Friday — Christmas, Independence Day, and Juneteenth are the most common offenders depending on the year. Semi-monthly employers paying on the 15th and last day of the month will see shifts whenever those dates fall on a weekend or one of the holidays above.
The shift direction matters too. Standard small-business practice — and the convention used in every schedule on this site — is to pull pay dates earlier (to the prior business day) when there is a conflict. The reasoning is straightforward: shifting earlier never violates a state wage payment statute, while shifting later can. A handful of large employers shift later instead to preserve a fixed payday weekday; if your business does, override the published date by one or two business days as needed.
The eleven federal holidays explained
The 11 federal holidays codified at 5 U.S.C. §6103 are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day (officially "Washington's Birthday"), Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Juneteenth is the most recent addition, designated by Public Law 117-17 on June 17, 2021. Any year before 2021 on this site does not include Juneteenth in the calendar.
The fixed-date holidays — New Year's Day (January 1), Juneteenth (June 19), Independence Day (July 4), Veterans Day (November 11), and Christmas (December 25) — are the ones that require observance shifts when they fall on weekends. The four "Monday holidays" (MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day) and Thanksgiving (a Thursday holiday) are anchored to weekdays by statute and never shift.
Want to compare years?
Browse the federal holiday schedules for nearby years: