Texas state holidays 2026: paid, skeleton crew and optional
Texas state offices close for ten days in 2026, but Texas Government Code Chapter 662 divides holidays into three tiers rather than one list: nine national holidays, eight state holidays — five of them Texas-specific, four of which are skeleton-crew days when state offices stay open — and optional days under § 662.003(c) and § 662.013. Two 2026 dates fall on a Saturday, July 4 and December 26, and Texas does not move a weekend holiday to a nearby weekday, so neither produces a day off.
Texas sorts holidays into three tiers
Almost every wrong Texas holiday date comes from treating the state as if it kept a single calendar. Texas Government Code Chapter 662 splits days into three groups, and only one of them closes anything.
§ 662.003(a) — national holidays. Nine days, and these are the ones that shut state agencies: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
§ 662.003(b) — state holidays. Eight days. Five are Texas-specific: Confederate Heroes Day (January 19), Texas Independence Day (March 2), San Jacinto Day (April 21), Emancipation Day in Texas (June 19) and Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (August 27). The other three close out the year: the Friday after Thanksgiving, December 24 and December 26.
§ 662.003(c) and § 662.013 — optional holidays. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Good Friday are optional holidays under § 662.003(c). Cesar Chavez Day, March 31, is a fourth optional day, but it sits in a section of its own rather than in that list.
The split has a legal edge. Under § 662.021 a legal holiday is a national holiday plus only the first six state holidays, so December 24 and December 26 are holidays for pay but not legal holidays. Under § 662.004 an agency must keep enough staff on duty to conduct public business on a state holiday — except one on a weekend, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and December 24 or 26.
Tier 1 — the days Texas state offices close
Ten days in 2026, listed below — the table that answers whether a state office is shut.
Two absences matter as much as the entries. July 4 and December 26 are both named in Texas law, both fall on a Saturday in 2026, and neither produces a day off — Texas does not shift a weekend holiday.
December 24 rewards a second look. It is a state holiday and agencies do close, yet § 662.021 does not count it as a legal holiday and § 662.006(c) forbids trading it away for an optional day.
| Date | Holiday | Day | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | New Year's Day | Thursday | § 662.003(a)(1) |
| Jan 19 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | Monday | § 662.003(a)(2) — third Monday in January; same date as Confederate Heroes Day |
| Feb 16 | Presidents' Day | Monday | § 662.003(a)(3) — third Monday in February |
| May 25 | Memorial Day | Monday | § 662.003(a)(4) — last Monday in May |
| Sep 7 | Labor Day | Monday | § 662.003(a)(6) — first Monday in September |
| Nov 11 | Veterans Day | Wednesday | § 662.003(a)(7) |
| Nov 26 | Thanksgiving Day | Thursday | § 662.003(a)(8) — fourth Thursday in November |
| Nov 27 | Friday after Thanksgiving | Friday | § 662.003(b)(6) — a Texas state holiday, not a federal one |
| Dec 24 | December 24 (Christmas Eve) | Thursday | § 662.003(b)(7) — a state holiday but not a legal holiday |
| Dec 25 | Christmas Day | Friday | § 662.003(a)(9) |
Tier 2 — skeleton-crew days, when state offices stay open
This is the part of the Texas calendar with no equivalent in most states. On a state holiday outside the three exceptions in § 662.004, an agency must still conduct its public business: employees get a paid holiday, but the doors stay open on minimum staffing. Anyone who works the day earns compensatory time off within twelve months under § 662.007.
A fifth day, Confederate Heroes Day on January 19, normally belongs here. In 2026 it lands on the same date as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so the merged-holiday rule takes over and only one holiday is observed.
June 19 is the date to mark if you deal with both state and federal offices. Emancipation Day is a Texas state holiday but not a national one, so state agencies stay open while federal offices and most banks close for Juneteenth the same day.
Four Texas state holidays require a skeleton crew in 2026:
- Texas Independence Day — Monday, March 2 (§ 662.003(b)(2))
- San Jacinto Day — Tuesday, April 21 (§ 662.003(b)(3))
- Emancipation Day in Texas — Friday, June 19 (§ 662.003(b)(4))
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Day — Thursday, August 27 (§ 662.003(b)(5))
Confederate Heroes Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2026
January 19 is named in Texas law as Confederate Heroes Day under § 662.003(b)(1), a state holiday. In 2026 that date is also the third Monday in January, which is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day under § 662.003(a)(2), a national holiday. Two names, one date.
The Comptroller's schedule resolves the overlap: when two holidays fall on the same day, only one is observed, and for 2026 the schedule states that agencies will be closed on January 19 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — a full closure rather than a skeleton-crew day.
The collision is an accident of the 2026 calendar, not a permanent arrangement. In 2027 the dates separate: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day moves to January 18 and Confederate Heroes Day stays on January 19, which the state's fiscal 2027 schedule marks as a skeleton-crew day.
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission's legislative notes record that the date was enacted in 1931 as Robert E. Lee's Birthday, and that a 1973 statute renamed it Confederate Heroes Day and merged it with the June 3 date marking Jefferson Davis' birthday.
Tier 3 — optional holidays and how they actually work
The optional tier is a trade rather than an extra day off. Under § 662.006 an employee may take an optional holiday only by giving up a state holiday the agency is able to observe in the same fiscal year. Rosh Hashanah shows why the statute says "each day": it runs two days, so an equivalent number of days must be surrendered under § 662.006(b).
Three days are optional under § 662.003(c) — Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Good Friday. A fourth, Cesar Chavez Day on March 31, comes from § 662.013, which keeps the agency open at minimum operations and allows the day in lieu of another state holiday occurring on a weekday.
One protection is written in: § 662.006(c) bars giving up the Friday after Thanksgiving, December 24 or December 26.
The optional dates in 2026 are:
- Cesar Chavez Day — Tuesday, March 31 (§ 662.013)
- Good Friday — Friday, April 3 (§ 662.003(c))
- Yom Kippur — Monday, September 21 (§ 662.003(c))
- Rosh Hashanah — Saturday and Sunday, September 12–13 (§ 662.003(c)), which yields no paid day in 2026, because an optional holiday must not fall on a weekend
Weekend holidays are not moved in Texas
Texas is the outlier here: a holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday is not observed on another day. The Comptroller's schedule puts it as "offices will not be closed on another day … Such holidays will not be observed." The basis is § 662.005(a)(1), which grants a paid day off only where the holiday is not on a weekend, read with § 662.004(b).
Two dates are affected in 2026: Independence Day, Saturday, July 4, and the Day after Christmas, Saturday, December 26.
This is the sharpest divergence from the federal rule. Federal offices observe a Saturday holiday on the preceding Friday, so in 2026 they close on Friday, July 3 for Independence Day. Texas state offices do not — a working Friday for state employees, a closed one for federal employees.
Compensatory time is the limited consolation. § 662.005(b) allows an hour of comp time per hour worked on a weekend holiday, but only to an enumerated group — peace officers, certain public safety dispatchers and state juvenile justice staff among them.
What Texas names but does not close for
Columbus Day. The second Monday in October appears on no Texas tier. Texas names it only as a recognition day under § 662.044, which adds that public offices of the state shall remain open that day. State offices are open on Monday, October 12, 2026.
Juneteenth as a paid closure. June 19 is on the Texas list as Emancipation Day in Texas, a skeleton-crew holiday rather than a closure, so state offices are open on Friday, June 19, 2026 while federal offices close that day.
Washington's Birthday by that name. Texas calls the third Monday in February Presidents' Day in § 662.003(a)(3), matching the federal statute. Monday, February 16, 2026 is a closure either way.
If you are not a state employee
None of this binds a private employer. The Texas Workforce Commission states that most state laws, Texas included, do not require an employer to observe any holiday or to pay employees when time off is granted, and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires no paid holidays either. Once an employer writes a holiday policy down, the Texas Payday Law treats the promised holiday pay as wages.
Banks follow the Federal Reserve rather than the Texas schedule, which produces a year of near-misses: branches close on Juneteenth (June 19) and Columbus Day (October 12) when Texas state offices are open, and stay open on the Friday after Thanksgiving (November 27) when they are closed.
Cities, counties and school districts are not covered by Chapter 662 and publish their own schedules, and § 662.011 lets public colleges and universities set their own so long as the day count does not exceed a state agency employee's. For a courthouse filing or an agency appointment, that agency's own published schedule is the only safe check.
Frequently asked questions
How many state holidays does Texas have in 2026?
Texas law names nine national holidays and eight state holidays in § 662.003, plus optional days under § 662.003(c) and § 662.013. In practice state offices close for ten days in calendar 2026, and four further days are skeleton-crew holidays when agencies stay open.
What is a skeleton-crew holiday in Texas?
A state holiday under § 662.003(b) on which a state agency must still conduct its public business. Employees get a paid holiday and those who work the day earn compensatory time off under § 662.007, but offices remain open at minimum staffing. In 2026 the skeleton-crew days are March 2, April 21, June 19 and August 27.
Is Juneteenth a Texas state holiday in 2026?
June 19 is a state holiday as Emancipation Day in Texas, but it is a skeleton-crew day rather than a closure, so state offices are open on Friday, June 19, 2026. It is also a federal holiday, so federal offices and most banks close that day.
Does Texas observe Columbus Day?
No. Columbus Day is a recognition day under § 662.044, not a holiday on any of the three tiers. State offices are open on Monday, October 12, 2026.
Is Confederate Heroes Day a Texas state holiday?
Yes — January 19 is named Confederate Heroes Day under § 662.003(b)(1) and is a state holiday, normally a skeleton-crew day. In 2026 it falls on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is a national holiday, and Texas observes only the national holiday on that date, so agencies are closed.
What happens when a Texas state holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday?
Nothing. Under § 662.005(a)(1) a paid day off applies only when the holiday does not fall on a Saturday or Sunday, and the Comptroller's schedule says offices will not be closed on another day. In 2026, Independence Day on Saturday, July 4 and the Day after Christmas on Saturday, December 26 pass without a substitute day.
What is an optional holiday in Texas?
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Good Friday under § 662.003(c), plus Cesar Chavez Day under § 662.013. An employee takes one only by giving up another state holiday in the same fiscal year under § 662.006, and may not give up the Friday after Thanksgiving, December 24 or December 26.
Do private employers in Texas have to give these days off?
No. The Texas Workforce Commission states that most state laws, including Texas's, do not require employers to observe any holiday or pay for one. Once a holiday policy is written down, the Texas Payday Law treats the promised holiday pay as wages and enforces it.
Official sources
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — State Holiday Schedule, Fiscal Year 2026 — the closure and skeleton-crew schedule covering January–August 2026
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — State Holiday Schedule, Fiscal Year 2027 — the schedule covering September–December 2026, plus the weekend, skeleton-crew and optional holiday notes
- Texas State Auditor's Office — Holiday Schedule — publisher of the official schedule; notes that the SAO has no interpretation authority and that the Comptroller makes the rules under § 662.012
- Texas Government Code Chapter 662 — Holidays and Recognition Days — the statute: §§ 662.003, 662.004, 662.005, 662.006, 662.007, 662.013, 662.021, 662.022, 662.044
- Texas State Library and Archives Commission — Official Texas State Holidays — the "partial staffing holiday" category and the legislative history of each date
- Texas Legislative Reference Library — Texas state holidays and recognition days — which days are holidays and which are recognition days, with the Government Code section for each
- Texas Comptroller — Fiscal Management, Holidays — the rule for two holidays falling on the same day, and the weekend-holiday rule
- Texas Workforce Commission — Holiday Policies — no Texas law requires private employers to observe or pay for holidays
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management — Federal Holidays — the federal list and the Saturday and Sunday observation rule Texas does not follow
Last verified against official sources on September 30, 2026.