What's open and closed on New Year's Day?
January 1 is the most completely closed day on the American calendar. Banks, the post office, the stock and bond markets, UPS, FedEx, federal offices, and schools are all shut, and most cities skip or slide trash collection. The exceptions are small and worth knowing: ATMs, banking apps, and card payments run all day, Priority Mail Express is delivered 365 days a year for an added fee, and the two emergency freight services — UPS Express Critical and FedEx Custom Critical — keep moving for anyone who has arranged them. All fifty state DMVs close as well, and each state's own list is on its page here.
Because January 1 is a fixed date, the day of the week it lands on decides the rest. When it falls on a Sunday, banks, the markets, the mail, and federal offices all take the Monday after. When it falls on a Saturday, the calendars split: federal employees get the Friday before, December 31, while the Federal Reserve leaves the holiday on the Saturday, so banks are open that Friday and mail runs — and the stock market keeps December 31 as a full session, because the exchanges skip the Friday-before shift when that Friday is the last business day of the month. Either way, money moved on the holiday itself posts on the next business day.
| Year | Falls on | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday, January 1, 2026 | Same day |
| 2027 | Friday, January 1, 2027 | Same day |
| 2028 | Saturday, January 1, 2028 | Friday, December 31, 2027 |
| Who | Status |
|---|---|
| Banks | Closed — virtually every branch takes the day; ATMs, apps, and card payments keep working, and anything deposited on the holiday posts on the next business day. |
| Mail & the Post Office | Closed — no delivery, no retail windows, and no collection pickups; only Priority Mail Express arrives, which USPS delivers every day of the year for an added fee. |
| The Stock Market | Closed — NYSE and Nasdaq are both dark, and trading resumes at 9:30am ET on the next business day. |
| The Bond Market | Closed — SIFMA's recommended schedule closes it too, so neither side of the market trades. |
| UPS | Closed — no pickup, no delivery, and no drop-box collection; UPS Express Critical is the only service running. |
| FedEx | Closed — no pickup or delivery, and drop boxes aren't emptied; FedEx Custom Critical is the only service running. |
| Federal Offices | Closed — Social Security field offices, IRS assistance centers, passport agencies, VA regional offices, and federal courts all take the day. |
| Trash Pickup | Varies by city — most haulers skip January 1 and run the rest of that week a day late, but collection is set locally, so your city or hauler's notice is the word that counts. |
| Schools | Closed — January 1 sits inside winter break in nearly every district; the date that actually differs is the day classes resume. |
Questions people ask
Will my direct deposit arrive on New Year's Day?
Not on the holiday itself. The Federal Reserve's payment systems don't settle on bank holidays, so a deposit due January 1 typically posts on the next business day — though depending on how your employer runs payroll it may land the business day before instead.
Does trash pickup slide the whole week after New Year's Day?
In most cities that observe the holiday, yes — nothing runs on January 1 and every collection day after it moves one day later through the end of that week. Other cities skip the week's collection instead and return on your normal day. Your city or hauler's holiday notice says which.
Is the DMV open on New Year's Day?
No — state licensing offices close in all fifty states. States set their own holiday lists beyond that, so the state DMV pages here are where the rest of the year's closings live.