How Many Days Until Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving follows one rule. Fourth Thursday of November. This page counts down to the next one. It also lists the exact dates for the next five years and the business days left.

Updated: October 2, 2026 · Sources and methodology

Thanksgiving dates for the next five years

How the date of Thanksgiving is set

Rule: Fourth Thursday of November. The rule depends on the calendar, so the date moves from year to year. Over the coming decades it runs from November 22 to November 28. The gap between Thanksgiving 2026 and 2027 is 364 days, not 365. That's the moving date at work.

Federal holidays follow OPM's rule. A holiday on Saturday is observed on Friday. A holiday on Sunday is observed on Monday. None of the next five Thanksgiving dates land on a weekend. So the day off stays on the day itself.

How the countdown is calculated

We subtract today's date from the date of Thanksgiving. We count midnight to midnight. Here is the same math by hand, from Saturday, October 3, 2026 to Thursday, November 26, 2026.

1. Rest of October after the 3rd: 28 days
2. November 1 through 26: 26 days
3. Total: 28 + 26 = 54 days (7 weeks and 5 days), of which 36 are business days.

Business days leave out Saturdays, Sundays and observed U.S. federal holidays. So 18 of those 54 days are not business days. Your bank or employer may close on other days too.

History and traditions

President Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving in 1863, on the last Thursday of November. In 1941 Congress set the date as the fourth Thursday of November. That is still the rule.

Thanksgiving is tied to a weekday, so the date moves. It can fall as early as November 22. It can fall as late as November 28.

Related countdowns

Sources

• U.S. Office of Personnel Management — Federal Holidays
• National Archives — Congress Establishes Thanksgiving