Hong Kong General Holidays 2026: Complete List and Deadline Planning Guide
Two teams can start from the same date and reach different deadline results — not because someone miscounted, but because they treated holidays differently.
In Hong Kong, holiday handling for deadline calculations depends on which rule set applies, and the distinction between General Holidays and Statutory Holidays matters more than most people realise.
2026 General Holidays at a glance
Hong Kong has 17 General Holidays in 2026, as designated under the General Holidays Ordinance (Cap. 149). Two holidays required Sunday substitution this year.
| Date | Day | Holiday | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan | Thu | New Year's Day | Fixed |
| 17 Feb | Tue | Lunar New Year's Day | Lunar calendar |
| 18 Feb | Wed | Second day of Lunar New Year | Lunar calendar |
| 19 Feb | Thu | Third day of Lunar New Year | Lunar calendar |
| 3 Apr | Fri | Good Friday | Easter-based |
| 4 Apr | Sat | Day following Good Friday | Easter-based |
| 6 Apr | Mon | Easter Monday | Easter-based |
| 7 Apr | Tue | Ching Ming Festival (substitute) | Original date 5 Apr (Sun); 6 Apr already Easter Monday |
| 1 May | Fri | Labour Day | Fixed |
| 25 May | Mon | Birthday of the Buddha (substitute) | Original date 24 May (Sun) |
| 19 Jun | Fri | Tuen Ng Festival | Lunar calendar |
| 1 Jul | Wed | HKSAR Establishment Day | Fixed |
| 1 Oct | Thu | National Day | Fixed |
| 7 Oct | Wed | Day following Mid-Autumn Festival | Lunar calendar |
| 19 Oct | Mon | Chung Yeung Festival | Lunar calendar |
| 25 Dec | Fri | Christmas Day | Fixed |
| 26 Dec | Sat | First weekday after Christmas Day | Fixed |
The Sunday substitution rule
When a General Holiday falls on a Sunday, the next day that is not itself a General Holiday becomes the substitute holiday.
In 2026, this rule produces two substitutions worth noting:
Ching Ming Festival (5 April): Falls on Sunday. Normally the substitute would be Monday 6 April — but that is Easter Monday, already a General Holiday. So the substitute rolls forward to Tuesday 7 April. This creates a five-day block of consecutive non-working days from Good Friday (3 Apr) through to Tuesday (7 Apr).
Birthday of the Buddha (24 May): Falls on Sunday. The substitute is Monday 25 May.
General Holidays vs Statutory Holidays
This distinction catches people out regularly.
General Holidays (Cap. 149) are the 17 days that banks, schools, government offices, and government departments must observe. These have been capped at 17 since 1997.
Statutory Holidays (Cap. 57, Employment Ordinance) are the minimum paid holidays employers must grant to employees. Historically only 12–13 days, these are being expanded to 17 through a phased rollout under the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2021:
| Year | Holiday added | Statutory total |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Birthday of the Buddha | 13 |
| 2024 | First weekday after Christmas Day | 14 |
| 2026 | Easter Monday | 15 |
| 2028 | Good Friday | 16 |
| 2030 | Day following Good Friday | 17 |
In 2026, Easter Monday becomes a statutory holiday for the first time. By 2030, statutory and general holidays will fully align.
Why this matters for calculations: If you are counting working days for an employment-related deadline, confirm whether the governing rule references "general holidays" or "statutory holidays" — the answer determines which days you exclude.
How holidays affect different deadline types
Not all deadlines treat holidays the same way:
- Employment notice periods (Cap. 57): Counted in calendar days. Holidays and weekends are included in the count, not excluded.
- Stamp duty (Cap. 117): The 30-day stamping deadline runs in calendar days, including holidays.
- Court filings: Court registries close on General Holidays. Documents filed electronically during closure are deemed received when the registry reopens.
- Conveyancing: Working-day deadlines in property transactions exclude General Holidays, Saturdays, and typhoon/rainstorm warning days.
- MPF contributions (Cap. 485): The 10th-of-month deadline shifts to the next business day if it falls on a General Holiday.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using the wrong year's holiday list. Lunar calendar holidays shift each year. Ching Ming was on 4 April in 2025 but 5 April in 2026.
- Ignoring substitution-day effects. The Ching Ming → Tuesday 7 April substitution in 2026 is easy to miss if you only check the original date.
- Assuming "public holiday" means the same thing everywhere. In Hong Kong, "public holidays" is the colloquial term for General Holidays under Cap. 149 — it does not mean the same as Statutory Holidays under Cap. 57.
- Mixing "business day" and "working day" definitions. Some contracts define these differently. Check the source rule.
Where the calculator helps
The HK calculator uses the 2026 gazetted holiday list and lets you:
- Count working days forward or backward from any date
- See exactly which days were excluded and why
- Compare results with and without the CNY Extended Shutdown applied
- Verify your manual calculations against a consistent rule set
For scenario-based examples, see the Use Cases. For details on the calculator's assumptions, see the Info Guide.