T+1 / T+2 Trade Settlement
Equity, bond and FX settlement dates with NYSE/NASDAQ market-holiday handling.
Written and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Rules last verified · Sources · Changes & corrections
These calculators are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.
How the T+1 / T+2 Trade Settlement works
The T+1 / T+2 Trade Settlement calculator returns the date a trade settles, counting forward from the trade date in <strong>settlement days: days the exchange is open and the banks are too</strong>. US equities moved to a T+1 cycle in May 2024; many bond and international markets still run T+2, so the cycle is an input rather than a constant.
The exchange calendar is the point, and it is not the federal holiday list. The NYSE and NASDAQ close on Good Friday, which is not a federal holiday at all. They stay open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day, which are — but those two days are still not settlement days, because the banks are closed and nothing settles. So the tool uses both calendars: the NYSE calendar decides which days you can trade, and a settlement day has to be a day the market is open <em>and</em> the Federal Reserve banks are open. A Friday 9 October 2026 trade therefore settles T+1 on Tuesday 13 October, not on Columbus Day. A trade made on Columbus Day itself is a valid trade and, as in FINRA’s holiday settlement schedules, settles together with the previous day’s trades on the Tuesday. The result names any closure the settlement period crossed, so a surprising date explains itself.
Two limits worth stating. The calendar modelled is the US equity market; other asset classes and venues keep their own schedules, and a cross-border trade settles against two calendars at once, so a date that is valid at one end can be a holiday at the other. And settlement is the date of exchange of cash for securities, not the date funds become withdrawable from your broker, which depends on the broker’s own funds-availability policy and can be later.
Worked example
A US equity trade on Wednesday, 1 April 2026 settles T+1 on Thursday, 2 April — one calendar day later, nothing in the way. Trade one day later, on Thursday 2 April, and settlement is not Friday: Good Friday falls on 3 April and the market is shut, so settlement lands on Monday, 6 April, four calendar days after the trade. The calculator names Good Friday as the closure crossed. On a federal holiday calendar — which does not contain Good Friday — the same trade would have been reported as settling on the 3rd, a day the market was closed.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the market calendar different from the federal holiday list?
They are set by different bodies for different reasons. The exchanges close on Good Friday by long convention even though it is not a federal holiday, and they trade normally on Columbus Day and Veterans Day even though banks are closed. That is why the calculator uses both: trade dates follow the NYSE calendar, and settlement skips any day that is either a market holiday or a bank holiday. FINRA’s holiday schedules say it directly: Columbus Day and Veterans Day are business days for trading but not settlement dates, because banking institutions are closed.
Is US equity settlement T+1 or T+2?
US equities, corporate bonds and municipal securities moved to T+1 in May 2024. Many international markets, and some instrument types, remain on T+2. Because the cycle varies by market and by instrument, the calculator takes it as an input rather than assuming one — set it to the cycle that governs the trade you are settling.
Does settlement mean I can withdraw the cash?
Not necessarily. Settlement is when securities and cash change hands between the counterparties. When the proceeds become withdrawable from your brokerage account is a matter of that broker’s funds-availability policy, and firms differ. Treat the settlement date as the market event and check your broker for the cash-availability date.
Why does this use a different calendar from the other business-day tools?
Because settlement needs two things open at once: the exchange and the banks. Good Friday closes the NYSE but is not a US federal holiday; Columbus Day and Veterans Day are federal holidays on which the equity market trades but nothing settles, because banks are closed. Neither calendar alone is right, so this tool takes trade dates from the NYSE calendar and skips both market and bank holidays when counting to settlement.
Did T+1 change ex-dividend dates?
Yes. Under T+1 the ex-dividend date is the record date itself rather than the business day before it. If you are counting to establish entitlement to a dividend, that shift matters more than the settlement date.
What this calculator does not do
A limitation you know about costs far less than one you find after the deadline. These are the specific things this tool cannot work out for you.
- Trade dates follow the NYSE calendar: Good Friday is a market holiday but not a federal one, and the market is open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day. Settlement days must also be bank business days, so Columbus Day and Veterans Day are skipped for settlement — trades made on them settle with the previous day’s trades.
- Some instruments settle on their own cycles. Treasury bills, options and certain funds do not follow the equity cycle.
Where these rules come from
The periods this calculator applies are taken from the primary sources below rather than from secondary summaries. Verify against them before relying on a date that matters.
- SEC Rule 15c6-1
The standard settlement cycle, shortened to T+1 effective 28 May 2024.
- FINRA — margin extension holiday schedule
Columbus Day and Veterans Day are business days for trading but not settlement dates, because banks are closed.
- SEC — shortening the securities transaction settlement cycle