Question 1

How do I calculate the number of days between two dates?

Accepted Answer

Subtract the start date from the end date: from 1 January to 31 December 2026 there are 364 days. One of the two days is not counted – this is also how German law counts a deadline that starts with an event (§ 187(1) BGB). If both the first and the last day count, e.g. for leave or a rental period, add one day: 365 days. The days calculator shows both values and handles leap years and month lengths automatically.

Question 2

Does the first day count when calculating a deadline?

Accepted Answer

Usually not. If a deadline starts with an event – receipt of a letter, service of a notice, a delivery – the day of the event is not counted (§ 187(1) BGB). A 14-day deadline after receipt on Monday, 2 November 2026, therefore ends when Monday, 16 November 2026, expires (§ 188(1) BGB). If the period starts at the beginning of a day, e.g. a tenancy from the 1st of a month or when calculating someone's age, the first day does count (§ 187(2) BGB).

Question 3

What if a deadline ends on a weekend or public holiday?

Accepted Answer

If a declaration of intent or a performance is due by the end of the deadline, a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday recognised at the place of declaration or performance is replaced by the next working day (§ 193 BGB). Example: receipt on Saturday, 7 November 2026, 14-day deadline – arithmetic end Saturday, 21 November, actual end Monday, 23 November 2026. According to the Federal Labour Court this does not apply to notice periods: the notice of termination must be received before.

Question 4

What is the difference between Werktage and working days?

Accepted Answer

Under § 3(2) of the German Federal Leave Act (BUrlG), Werktage are all calendar days that are not Sundays or public holidays – i.e. Monday to Saturday. Working days are the days actually worked; in the usual 5-day week, Monday to Friday excluding holidays. With the nationwide holidays, 2026 has 304 Werktage and 254 working days. Whether a deadline or a leave entitlement is stated in Werktage or working days therefore makes a clear difference.

Question 5

How many working days does 2026 have?

Accepted Answer

With a 5-day week, 2026 has 252 to 254 working days depending on the German state (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria: 252; Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt: 253; Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia: 254). The count is Monday to Friday excluding the state's statutory public holidays; holidays that only apply regionally are not deducted. The table "Working days 2026 and 2027 by German state" on this page also shows the Werktage, and the calculator gives the figures per month.

Question 6

How many working days does 2027 have?

Accepted Answer

Depending on the German state, 2027 has 253 to 256 working days (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria: 253; North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland: 254; Berlin, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia: 255; Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein: 256). That is 1 to 2 more than in 2026: 1 May and Christmas Day fall on a Saturday in 2027, whereas in 2026 they were Fridays. In states with All Saints' Day, International Women's Day or World Children's Day, however, that holiday falls on a Monday in 2027, so the gain there is smaller. With the nationwide holidays only, 2027 has 256 working days.

Question 7

How many days are in a year?

Accepted Answer

A common year has 365 days, a leap year 366. Every year divisible by 4 is a leap year – except full centuries that are not divisible by 400. That is why 2000 was a leap year and 2100 will not be one. The next leap year is 2028. On average a calendar year therefore has 365.2425 days, which is 52 weeks and a little over one day.

Question 8

How do I add months to a date?

Accepted Answer

Go to the day with the same number in the target month: 15 March + 1 month = 15 April. If that day does not exist in the target month, the last day of the month applies (§ 188(3) BGB): 31 January 2027 + 1 month = 28 February 2027. In the "Date ± days" mode choose the unit "Months"; calendar days, weeks and working days work the same way.

Question 9

How many days are left until Christmas?

Accepted Answer

That depends on today's date, so the "Days until …" mode calculates the countdown directly in your browser: one click on "Christmas Eve" shows the days until 24 December, plus weeks, hours and the remaining working days. For comparison: from 1 December it is 23 days until Christmas Eve. There are also quick picks for New Year's Eve, Easter (e.g. Sunday, 28 March 2027), the 1st Advent, St Nicholas' Day and Whitsun.

Question 10

Which public holidays does the calculator take into account?

Accepted Answer

All statutory public holidays of the chosen German state under the state holiday laws, including the movable holidays that depend on the date of Easter. Holidays that only apply in parts of a state – Corpus Christi in parts of Saxony and Thuringia, Assumption Day in Bavarian municipalities with a predominantly Catholic population, the Augsburg Peace Festival – are shown but not deducted. Holidays are calculated for 1991 to 2099; outside that range the calculator deducts weekends only.

Guide: Days Calculator

Counting the Days Between Two Dates: Calendar Days, Werktage and Working Days

Calculating Deadlines Under the German Civil Code (BGB): How to Count Correctly

Working Days 2027 by German State: All Figures per Year and Month

How Many Days Are in a Year? Leap Years Explained Simply

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