In 2026, daylight saving time in the US starts on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and ends on Sunday, November 1, 2026, a period of 238 days. Brasília does not change, so the gap to New York goes from 2h behind in winter to 1h behind in summer.
Start and end of daylight saving time in 2026, city by city
Each US zone changes at 2:00 a.m. local time, so the UTC instant and the Brasília time vary from zone to zone. The Brasília column shows when the change happens on the Brazilian clock.
| City | Start (local) | End (local) | Start in Brasília | End in Brasília |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (ET) | Mar 8 · 02:00 → 03:00 07:00 UTC |
Nov 1 · 02:00 → 01:00 06:00 UTC |
Mar 8 at 04:00 | Nov 1 at 03:00 |
| Chicago (CT) | Mar 8 · 02:00 → 03:00 08:00 UTC |
Nov 1 · 02:00 → 01:00 07:00 UTC |
Mar 8 at 05:00 | Nov 1 at 04:00 |
| Denver (MT) | Mar 8 · 02:00 → 03:00 09:00 UTC |
Nov 1 · 02:00 → 01:00 08:00 UTC |
Mar 8 at 06:00 | Nov 1 at 05:00 |
| Los Angeles (PT) | Mar 8 · 02:00 → 03:00 10:00 UTC |
Nov 1 · 02:00 → 01:00 09:00 UTC |
Mar 8 at 07:00 | Nov 1 at 06:00 |
| Anchorage (AKT, Alaska) | Mar 8 · 02:00 → 03:00 11:00 UTC |
Nov 1 · 02:00 → 01:00 10:00 UTC |
Mar 8 at 08:00 | Nov 1 at 07:00 |
| Phoenix (MST, Arizona) | No daylight saving time: the clock does not change | |||
| Honolulu (HST, Hawaii) | No daylight saving time: the clock does not change | |||
What changes in the difference to Brasília
Brasília stays on UTC−3, so every hour of change comes from the other side. The table compares mid-January (northern winter) with mid-July (northern summer) of 2026. A positive difference means the city is ahead of Brasília; a negative one means it is behind.
| City | Winter (Jan.) | Summer (Jul.) | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 2h behind | 1h behind | UTC-5 → UTC-4 |
| Chicago | 3h behind | 2h behind | UTC-6 → UTC-5 |
| Denver | 4h behind | 3h behind | UTC-7 → UTC-6 |
| Los Angeles | 5h behind | 4h behind | UTC-8 → UTC-7 |
| Anchorage | 6h behind | 5h behind | UTC-9 → UTC-8 |
| Phoenix | 4h behind | 4h behind | UTC-7 |
| Honolulu | 7h behind | 7h behind | UTC-10 |
A practical example: the New York Stock Exchange opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, which is 11:30 in Brasília in winter and 10:30 during US daylight saving time. See the market hours around the world for the full schedule.
The in-between weeks: when the US and Europe are out of step in 2026
The US and Europe do not switch on the same day, so twice a year the gap between them is one hour shorter than usual. For anyone scheduling meetings between Brazil, the US and Europe these are the dangerous weeks: a call that worked in February can land an hour off. The windows below are computed from the time zone database.
| Window | Period | Days | Brasília–New York | Brasília–Paris | Paris–New York |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March: US already on summer time, Europe not yet | Mar 8 → Mar 29 | 21 | 1h behind | 4h ahead | 5h |
| Oct.–Nov.: Europe already back, US still on summer time | Oct 25 → Nov 1 | 7 | 1h behind | 4h ahead | 5h |
For comparison, outside these windows Brasília is 2h ahead of New York in winter and 1h ahead in summer, and Paris is 4h ahead of Brasília in winter and 5h in summer. Paris is always 6h ahead of New York, except in the windows above. When a meeting involves all three places in late March or between late October and early November, check it against the meeting planner or the time zone converter.
How daylight saving time works in the US
Under current federal law (the Uniform Time Act, as amended in 2005), daylight saving time in the United States runs from 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March to 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November. The rule of thumb, “spring forward, fall back,” is the same in every observing zone, but because the change happens at 2:00 a.m. local time it reaches the Eastern zone first and Alaska last. The dates on this page are read from the time zone database and cross-checked against that rule; the rules are as of the page's generation and may change.
Who does not observe daylight saving time
Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year; the Navajo Nation, in northeastern Arizona, does observe daylight saving time, while the Hopi Reservation inside it does not. The US territories (Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) also keep the same clock all year. Mexico abolished daylight saving time for most of the country in 2022, and Saskatchewan in Canada does not change clocks either. The table shows the difference to Brasília right now for these places, with the change status read from the time zone database for 2026.
| Place | Changes clocks in 2026? | Difference to Brasília |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix (Arizona) | No | 4h behind |
| Honolulu (Hawaii) | No | 7h behind |
| Puerto Rico | No | 1h behind |
| Guam | No | 13h ahead |
| Regina (Saskatchewan, Canada) | No | 3h behind |
| Mexico City | No | 3h behind |
What if the US ends clock changes?
As of October 2026, the rule above is still the law. The House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139), which would make daylight saving time permanent, in July 2026, but as far as we could verify the Senate had not passed it, so it had not become law. Even if a version is enacted, it would likely include a transition date, and states can already choose permanent standard time but not permanent daylight saving time. This page is generated from the rules in force; check the official sources before planning around a change.
And Brazil?
Brazil has had no daylight saving time since 2019, so Brasília stays on UTC−3 all year and only the other side of the conversion moves. For the history and for the next clock changes in every country, see daylight saving time by country.