SOURCE: Vacation Tracker TITLE: Mississippi State Holidays 2026: Dates & Holiday Pay Rules URL: https://vacationtracker.io/holidays/united-states/mississippi/2026/ LANG: en PUBLISHED: 2026-10-31 UPDATED: 2026-11-01 SUMMARY: All 11 federal and 1 Mississippi state holiday for 2026, with observed dates, holiday pay rules and free calendar downloads. # Mississippi Holidays 2026 Mississippi has 11 federal holidays and 1 state holiday in 2026. Private employers don't have to give any of them. Last updated on Nov 1, 2026. ## All 2026 holidays in Mississippi | Holiday | Date | Day of week | Notes | Type | Paid by law? | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | New Year's Day | 2026-01-01 | Thursday | | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | 2026-01-19 | Monday | | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Washington's Birthday | 2026-02-16 | Monday | | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Easter Sunday | 2026-04-05 | Sunday | | Observance | Not a day off | | Confederate Memorial Day | 2026-04-27 | Monday | | State | Not required for private employers | | Memorial Day | 2026-05-25 | Monday | | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Juneteenth | 2026-06-19 | Friday | Not a Mississippi state holiday | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Independence Day | 2026-07-04 | Saturday | Falls on a Saturday. Observed Fri Jul 3 | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Labor Day | 2026-09-07 | Monday | | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Columbus Day | 2026-10-12 | Monday | Not a Mississippi state holiday | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Veterans Day | 2026-11-11 | Wednesday | | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Thanksgiving Day | 2026-11-26 | Thursday | | Federal | Not required for private employers | | Day after Thanksgiving | 2026-11-27 | Friday | | Commonly given | Not required | | Christmas Eve | 2026-12-24 | Thursday | | Commonly given | Not required | | Christmas Day | 2026-12-25 | Friday | | Federal | Not required for private employers | | New Year's Eve | 2026-12-31 | Thursday | | Commonly given | Not required | ## What employers need to know **Paid holidays.** Federal law (the FLSA) doesn't require Mississippi employers to pay for holidays that aren't worked. Holiday pay is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee. **Working on a holiday.** Federal law (the FLSA) doesn't require overtime pay just because someone works on a holiday. Overtime is owed for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. **Holidays and overtime.** Under federal law (the FLSA), paid time off for a holiday isn't hours worked. Mississippi employers don't have to count paid holiday hours toward the 40 hours that trigger overtime. **Holidays that fall on a weekend.** Federal offices observe Saturday holidays on Friday and Sunday holidays on Monday. Under Miss. Code 3-3-7, when a legal holiday falls on a Sunday, the next day is a legal holiday. The state employee handbook says a holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday is observed as declared by the Governor. **Unused vacation when someone leaves.** Mississippi doesn't require PTO payout at termination, so each employer decides its own policy. If a policy or contract stipulates payout, the employer must pay accrued vacation at separation. (https://vacationtracker.io/leave-laws/usa/mississippi/#payment-of-accrued-unused-vacation-on-termination) **Sick leave.** State law in Mississippi doesn't require private employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave. Eligible Mississippi employers still have to comply with federal FMLA. (https://vacationtracker.io/leave-laws/usa/mississippi/#sick-leave-in-mississippi) Full rules: Mississippi leave laws: https://vacationtracker.io/leave-laws/usa/mississippi/ ## Maximize your PTO in 2026 These are our suggestions for the best days to take off in Mississippi. They use the 11 federal holidays plus the days Mississippi state offices close for: Confederate Memorial Day. Take all 13 suggested PTO days and you get **49 days off across 12 breaks**, including 11 long weekends. Pick a break to see it on the calendar. - Take Friday, January 2 off to get a 4-day weekend from January 1 to 4 (New Year's Day). - Take Friday, January 16 off to get a 4-day weekend from January 16 to 19 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day). - Take Friday, February 13 off to get a 4-day weekend from February 13 to 16 (Washington's Birthday). - Take Friday, April 24 off to get a 4-day weekend from April 24 to 27 (Confederate Memorial Day). - Take Friday, May 22 off to get a 4-day weekend from May 22 to 25 (Memorial Day). - Take Thursday, June 18 off to get a 4-day weekend from June 18 to 21 (Juneteenth). - Take Thursday, July 2 off to get a 4-day weekend from July 2 to 5 (Independence Day). - Take Friday, September 4 off to get a 4-day weekend from September 4 to 7 (Labor Day). - Take Friday, October 9 off to get a 4-day weekend from October 9 to 12 (Columbus Day). - Take Friday, November 27 off to get a 4-day weekend from November 26 to 29 (Thanksgiving Day). - Take Thursday, December 24 off to get a 4-day weekend from December 24 to 27 (Christmas Day). - Take Monday, November 9 and Tuesday, November 10 off to get a 5-day break from November 7 to 11 (Veterans Day). ## When US teams take time off The national pattern from Vacation Tracker data. We don't have enough Mississippi data for a state view yet. - Dec 21 – 27 (Week 52): 2.5× a normal week - Jun 29 – Jul 5 (Week 27): 1.5× a normal week - Jul 6 – 12 (Week 28): 1.5× a normal week - Jul 27 – Aug 2 (Week 31): 1.5× a normal week - Aug 3 – 9 (Week 32): 1.5× a normal week ## How Mississippi holidays differ **State holidays.** Mississippi has 1 holiday of its own in 2026 on top of the federal ones. The median across the 50 states and DC is 2; 35 have more and 4 have fewer. **Shared with a few states.** Confederate Memorial Day is also a state holiday in Alabama and South Carolina. **Federal holidays.** Not a paid day off for Mississippi state employees: Juneteenth and Columbus Day. Neighboring states in 2026: - [Alabama](https://vacationtracker.io/holidays/united-states/alabama/2026/): 4 holidays of its own - [Arkansas](https://vacationtracker.io/holidays/united-states/arkansas/2026/): 1 holiday of its own - [Louisiana](https://vacationtracker.io/holidays/united-states/louisiana/2026/): 8 holidays of its own - [Tennessee](https://vacationtracker.io/holidays/united-states/tennessee/2026/): 4 holidays of its own Compare all 50 states and DC: https://vacationtracker.io/holidays/united-states/2026/#compare ## Frequently asked questions Q: Do private employers in Mississippi have to give paid holidays? Not under federal law: the FLSA doesn't require pay for holidays that aren't worked, so holiday pay is a matter of agreement between employer and employee. Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, according to the US Department of Labor. Q: What are the Mississippi state holidays in 2026? In 2026, Mississippi has the 11 federal holidays and 1 state holiday: Confederate Memorial Day (April 27). Juneteenth and Columbus Day are federal holidays, but not Mississippi state holidays. Q: Is Juneteenth a Mississippi state holiday? No. Juneteenth is a federal holiday, but it isn't a Mississippi state holiday. In 2026 it falls on Friday, June 19. Q: Is Columbus Day a Mississippi state holiday? No. Columbus Day is a federal holiday, but it isn't a Mississippi state holiday. In 2026 it falls on Monday, October 12. Q: Is the day after Thanksgiving a holiday in Mississippi? No. It isn't a Mississippi state holiday, so private employers don't have to give it. In 2026 it falls on Friday, November 27. Q: Do employers in Mississippi have to pay extra for working on a holiday? Not under federal law. The FLSA doesn't require overtime pay for holiday work as such; overtime is owed only for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Q: Do paid holidays count toward overtime in Mississippi? No, under federal law (the FLSA). Paid time off for a holiday isn't hours worked, so it doesn't have to be counted toward overtime. Q: What happens if a holiday falls on a weekend in Mississippi? Federal offices observe Saturday holidays on Friday and Sunday holidays on Monday. Under Miss. Code 3-3-7, when a legal holiday falls on a Sunday, the next day is a legal holiday. The state employee handbook says a holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday is observed as declared by the Governor. In 2026, Independence Day falls on a Saturday and is observed on Friday, July 3. ## Sources - State Holidays | MS SOS (Miss. Code Ann. § 3-3-7): https://www.sos.ms.gov/communications-publications/state-holidays - FY 2027 Mississippi State Employee Handbook §3.1 Holidays (MSPB, eff. 7/1/2026): https://www.mspb.ms.gov/sites/mspb/files/MSPB_File/Resources%20for%20HR/Policies/FY%202027%20Policies/FY%202027%20State%20Employee%20Handbook%20effective%207.1.26%20for%20web.pdf - U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Federal holidays: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/ - Holiday Pay | U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/holidays - Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA | U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/23-flsa-overtime-pay - FLSA Hours Worked Advisor: Holidays, Vacations and Sick Time | U.S. Department of Labor: https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/whd/flsa/hoursworked/screenEE14.asp Holiday calendar data includes date-holidays (CC BY-SA 3.0), checked against the official sources above. Holiday dates come from public sources. Check your employment contract and the official sources above before you rely on them. CSV: https://vacationtracker.io/static/data/holiday-pages/united-states/mississippi-holidays-2026.csv