When a Payment Due Date Falls on a Weekend or Holiday

No single rule moves an invoice due date that lands on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday. What decides it is your contract and, where the contract says nothing, the law that governs it. This guide shows where one such rule is written for US federal contracts, how to put the rule in your own contract, and how to find both dates with this site's calculators.

Start with the contract

A payment clause can settle the question in one sentence, for example:

"If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or US federal holiday, payment is due on the next following business day."

A clause can just as well name the preceding business day. Whichever direction you choose, write it down: without a clause, the answer depends on the governing law, and the parties may read it differently.

US federal contracts

For contracts with the US federal government, the Prompt Payment clause in FAR 52.232-25 states that "when the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the designated payment office may make payment on the following working day without incurring a late payment interest penalty." The clause governs the government's own payments under those contracts. It does not set the rule for a contract between two private parties.

The banking calendar

Payments sent through the banking system also follow the banks' calendar. The Federal Reserve Banks publish the federal holidays on which they are closed, and stay open on the Friday before a holiday that falls on a Saturday. A payment that has to clear on the due date itself therefore needs a day on which the banks involved are open.

Calculating the actual due date

For Net 30, Net 60 or Net 90 terms counted in calendar days, the due date is the stated number of days after the invoice date. The Net calculators show that date as it falls, even on a weekend or holiday, and do not move it. The invoice due date calculator flags such a date and shows the next business day for the country you select. If your contract counts business days instead, switch the Net calculators to business-day mode, which skips weekends and the selected country's public holidays.

• Net 30 Calculator
• Net 60 Calculator
• Net 90 Calculator

If your clause names the preceding business day, subtract one business day from the weekend or holiday date with the business day calculator.

Late fees

Whether a payment made on the next business day is late, and whether a late fee applies, depends on the contract and the law that governs it. A clause that says what happens to a due date on a weekend or holiday leaves less to argue about.

FAQ

Does the due date automatically move if it falls on a weekend?

Not by any single rule. The contract decides, and where it is silent, the law that governs it. For US federal contracts, FAR 52.232-25 lets the paying office pay on the following working day without a late payment interest penalty.

Can a client refuse to pay a late fee if the due date fell on a weekend?

That depends on the contract and the governing law. A clause that says what happens to a due date on a weekend or holiday leaves less to argue about.

What if I want the due date to move backward to Friday instead of forward to Monday?

Write it into the contract: a clause can name the preceding business day as easily as the following one. To find that day, subtract one business day from the due date with the business day calculator.