Holiday Pay Rules: Is Holiday Work Double Pay?
No federal law requires holiday pay or double pay for private-sector workers: the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for holidays, and extra pay for working one is a matter of agreement (DOL). Overtime rules still apply — time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek (29 U.S.C. §207). Federal employees who work on a holiday get their basic pay plus an equal premium (double pay) for up to 8 hours (5 U.S.C. §5546(b)).
Who gets holiday premium pay
| Worker | Paid day off on the holiday | Working on the holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Private-sector employee (FLSA) | Not required; employer policy or contract (DOL) | Regular rate; no premium required. Overtime only for hours over 40 in the workweek (29 U.S.C. §207(a)(1)) |
| Federal employee (Title 5) | Yes, the 11 federal holidays (OPM) | Basic pay plus holiday premium equal to basic pay, up to 8 non-overtime hours (5 U.S.C. §5546(b)); Sunday work: 25% premium (§5546(a)) |
| Union or contract employee | As the agreement says | As the agreement says; a premium of 1.5x or more is creditable toward FLSA overtime (§207(e)(6), (h)(2)) |
Holiday hours and overtime
- A paid holiday you do not work is not hours worked: it does not push the week over 40.
- Hours you work on the holiday count like any other hours.
- A holiday premium of at least time and a half is excluded from the regular rate and can be credited against the overtime due that week, so an employer that pays double time for holiday hours may not owe a second premium on them (29 U.S.C. §207(e)(6), (h)(2)).
Federal holidays 2026 and 2027
| Holiday | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thursday, January 1 | Friday, January 1 |
| Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. | Monday, January 19 | Monday, January 18 |
| Washington’s Birthday | Monday, February 16 | Monday, February 15 |
| Memorial Day | Monday, May 25 | Monday, May 31 |
| Juneteenth National Independence Day | Friday, June 19 | Friday, June 18 (observed) |
| Independence Day | Friday, July 3 (observed) | Monday, July 5 (observed) |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 7 | Monday, September 6 |
| Columbus Day | Monday, October 12 | Monday, October 11 |
| Veterans Day | Wednesday, November 11 | Thursday, November 11 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thursday, November 26 | Thursday, November 25 |
| Christmas Day | Friday, December 25 | Friday, December 24 (observed) |
Holiday overtime and the no-tax-on-overtime deduction
For 2025-2028, qualified overtime compensation is deductible on Schedule 1-A: the FLSA-required premium, the “half” in time and a half. When an employer pays more than the FLSA requires — double time for holiday hours, or a premium for hours that are not over 40 — only the amount minimally necessary to satisfy the FLSA qualifies (IRS FS-2026-13, Q16). A worker at $25 an hour who works 48 hours in a holiday week, 8 of them on the holiday at double time, earns $200 of holiday premium; the qualified part is the FLSA half-time on the 8 hours over 40, $100.
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Overtime deduction allowed (Schedule 1-A) | $3,000 |
| Federal income tax without the deduction | $5,023 |
| Federal income tax with it | $4,663 |
| Tax saved | $360 |
| Social Security and Medicare on the $60,000 (not reduced by the deduction) | $4,590 |
Try your own numbers in the no tax on overtime calculator.
An estimate from QuantCalc’s open tax engine (federal 2.6.0, state 1.26.0) for the 2026 tax year. Not tax advice: your return depends on facts this page does not ask about, so check a move with your tax preparer or custodian before acting. How the engine computes each line, with its official source: federal, state.
Overtime this year can become retirement savings. QuantCalc runs savings, withdrawals and taxes year by year, free.
Run the free tax-aware simulation →Common questions
- Is Labor Day double pay?
- Not by federal law for private-sector workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require pay for holidays, or extra pay for working on one: holiday pay is a matter of agreement between employer and employee (DOL). Federal employees are different: working on a holiday such as Labor Day (September 6, 2027) pays their basic rate plus premium pay equal to it, for up to 8 hours (5 U.S.C. §5546(b)).
- Do employers have to pay holiday pay?
- No federal law requires it. The FLSA requires only minimum wage for hours worked and time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek; paid holidays and holiday premiums come from the employer’s policy, an employment contract or a union agreement (DOL; 29 U.S.C. §207(a)). Some states and cities have their own rules.
- Do holiday hours count toward overtime?
- Hours not worked — a paid day off for the holiday — are not hours worked, so they do not count toward the 40. Hours actually worked on the holiday do. A holiday premium of at least 1.5 times the regular rate is left out of the regular rate and can be credited toward the overtime owed for that week (29 U.S.C. §207(e)(6), (h)(2)).
- Is holiday pay covered by no tax on overtime?
- Only the part the FLSA requires. The 2025-2028 overtime deduction covers the premium half of time and a half for hours over 40; a holiday or weekend premium paid on the employer’s own initiative or under a union contract counts only to the extent it satisfies the FLSA requirement (IRS FS-2026-13, Q16). In the example, $3,000 of qualified overtime saves $360 of federal income tax.
- What are the federal holidays in 2027?
- Eleven: January 1, January 18 (Martin Luther King Jr.), February 15, May 31, June 18 (Juneteenth observed), July 5 (Independence Day observed), September 6 (Labor Day), October 11, November 11, November 25 (Thanksgiving) and December 24 (Christmas observed) (OPM).