Will the US permanently end DST in 2026?

As of publication, no federal law has passed. The Sunshine Protection Act has been reintroduced multiple times but has not become law. Plan for the existing schedule.

Why is there a two- or three-week mismatch between US and EU clocks?

The US switches on the second Sunday of March and first Sunday of November. The EU and UK switch on the last Sundays of March and October. The dates simply don't line up.

Which major economies don't observe DST?

Japan, China, India, most of Africa, most of the Middle East, and large parts of Australia stay on a single offset year-round.

DSTReference

Daylight Saving Time Changes in 2026: Dates, Regions, Gotchas

By Daniel Reyes · Engineering contributorJanuary 8, 20265 min read

Every 2026 DST transition that matters for international teams — when clocks change in the US, EU, UK, Australia and elsewhere, plus the regions that no longer switch.

DST transitions are the single biggest source of "wait, when is the meeting again?" in distributed teams. Here are the 2026 dates and the regions that have quietly opted out.

United States & Canada

Spring forward: Sunday 8 March 2026 at 02:00 local time.
Fall back: Sunday 1 November 2026 at 02:00 local time.
Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe DST.

European Union & United Kingdom

Spring forward: Sunday 29 March 2026 at 01:00 UTC.
Fall back: Sunday 25 October 2026 at 01:00 UTC.
Türkiye, Russia, Belarus and Iceland do not switch.

Australia & New Zealand

Australia DST ends: Sunday 5 April 2026 (NSW, VIC, TAS, SA, ACT).
Australia DST starts: Sunday 4 October 2026.
New Zealand DST ends: Sunday 5 April 2026; starts Sunday 27 September 2026.
Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not observe DST.

Two weeks of mismatch

The US shifts three weeks before Europe in spring, and one week before Europe in autumn. During those windows, the offset between New York and London is one hour different than usual — the single most common DST scheduling bug.

Official sources

NIST: Daylight Saving Time — official US transition schedule.
EU Directive 2000/84/EC — the rule that fixes EU summer-time dates.
gov.uk: When the clocks change — official UK dates.
timeanddate.com DST 2026 — country-by-country reference.

Frequently asked

Will the US permanently end DST in 2026?: As of publication, no federal law has passed. The Sunshine Protection Act has been reintroduced multiple times but has not become law. Plan for the existing schedule.
Why is there a two- or three-week mismatch between US and EU clocks?: The US switches on the second Sunday of March and first Sunday of November. The EU and UK switch on the last Sundays of March and October. The dates simply don't line up.
Which major economies don't observe DST?: Japan, China, India, most of Africa, most of the Middle East, and large parts of Australia stay on a single offset year-round.