When a Deadline Falls on a Weekend: The IRS, Court and Agency Rules

When the last day of a federal deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule in 26 United States Code (U.S.C.) 7503 and the federal court rules move it to the next day that is not one. The text below comes from reproductions by the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School; the statute or rule named in each row is the source. This is general information, not legal advice, and state courts and state tax agencies set their own rules.

The table compares the rules side by side. After it come the 2027 tax dates that matter and one date in January 2028 that does move.

Weekend deadline rules compared

Who	Rule	What the rule says	What counts as a holiday
IRS	26 U.S.C. 7503	The last day for an act falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday: the act is timely if done on the next day that is not one	A legal holiday in the District of Columbia (D.C.); for IRS offices outside D.C., also a statewide legal holiday in the state where the office is
Federal civil courts	Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 6(a)(1)(C)	The period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday	Rule 6(a)(6)(A) lists 11 days: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day
Federal appeals courts	Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) 26(a)(1)(C)	Same operative wording as FRCP 6	As that rule defines it
Federal criminal cases	Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 45(a)(1)(C)	Same operative wording as FRCP 6	As that rule defines it
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)	17 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 240.0-3	Papers may be filed on the first business day following	The text we cite says “holiday” without a list
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)	47 CFR 1.4(j)	If the filing date falls on a holiday after the computations, the document is filed on the next business day	The text we cite says “holiday” without a list

Source: the statute or rule in each row, as reproduced by LII. The FRAP and criminal rule rows say the wording matches FRCP 6; read each rule for its own holiday definition.

The wording differs a little. The IRS and court rules say “Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.” The SEC rule says “Saturday, Sunday or holiday,” and the FCC rule says “holiday” and then “next business day.” Read the rule that governs your filing instead of assuming the others apply.

How does the IRS weekend rule work?

Section 7503 says that when the last day “prescribed under authority of the internal revenue laws for performing any act” falls on Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday, the act “shall be considered timely if it is performed on the next succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday.” For this section, “legal holiday” means a legal holiday in D.C. and, for IRS offices outside D.C., also a statewide legal holiday in the state where the office is.

Mailing is a separate rule. Section 7502 treats timely mailing as timely filing, judged by “the date of the United States postmark stamped on the cover,” and 7502(f) extends “United States mail” to designated private delivery services. So a last day on a Saturday moves under 7503, and a mailed return is judged by its postmark date under 7502.

D.C. sets its own holidays. D.C. Code 1-612.02(a) lists “District of Columbia Emancipation Day, April 16th of each year,” and the code lists Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday in October where federal law says Columbus Day. Our tax calendar for 2027 covers how Emancipation Day can matter for Tax Day.

Which 2027 tax deadlines move?

Four of the five dates below stay put in 2027. The weekdays are our computation from the calendar, applied to the rule.

Deadline	Date	Weekday	Moves?
Individual return and first-quarter estimate	April 15, 2027	Thursday	No
Second-quarter estimate	June 15, 2027	Tuesday	No
Third-quarter estimate	Sept. 15, 2027	Wednesday	No
Extended individual return	Oct. 15, 2027	Friday	No
Fourth-quarter 2027 estimate	Jan. 15, 2028	Saturday	Yes, to Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2028

Emancipation Day, April 16, 2027, is a Friday. It is after the April 15 due date, so it moves nothing.

The January 2028 row is the one that moves. Jan. 15, 2028 is a Saturday, and Monday, Jan. 17, 2028 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Under 7503 the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday is Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2028. The IRS has not yet published its 2028 date; this is the rule applied. For every other 2027 due date, including W-2 and 1099 dates, use our full 2027 IRS deadline calendar.

What counts as a legal holiday when the date moves?

Federal law decides which day a holiday is observed. Under 5 U.S.C. 6103(b), “Instead of a holiday that occurs on a Saturday, the Friday immediately before is a legal public holiday for” employees whose basic workweek is Monday through Friday, and a holiday on a Sunday moves to the Monday. Applied to 2027, that gives these observed dates:

Holiday	Falls on	Observed
Juneteenth	Saturday, June 19, 2027	Friday, June 18
Independence Day	Sunday, July 4, 2027	Monday, July 5
Christmas	Saturday, Dec. 25, 2027	Friday, Dec. 24

The full list is in our story on 2027 federal holidays and observed dates. For court deadlines, the rules move a last day to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or a holiday listed in the rule; they do not say how an observed Friday is treated, so check the rule and the court’s own calendar. Our guide to counting court deadlines under Rule 6 walks through the counting steps.

Printable: weekend deadline rules reference card

The one-page card below has the four rules in their own words plus a blank table for your own deadlines, last days and weekdays. It is built from this story’s rules, and you can see all current US holidays on our holiday list.