2026 Rural Carrier Christmas Pay & Timekeeping Guide

December 5–25, 2026

Read the official USPS Christmas pay instructions — Postal Bulletin 22713, October 15, 2026.

Weekly evaluation and assistance

For FLSA B regular carriers, Christmas overtime uses weekly—not daily—evaluation. Leave and routes below 40 hours require special calculations. FLSA overtime remains applicable.

Working the entire route on a relief day is relief-day work. Helping a replacement on that day is Christmas assistance.

X days: October 3–December 25

For eligible FLSA B regular carriers, codes 038/064 require a same-pay-period X day (087). Previously earned X days cannot be used during this window. Use 037 when no same-period X day is taken or the eligible carrier selects 150% compensation; no X day accrues. Above 56 actual weekly hours, use 037. Other carrier classifications differ.

Auxiliary routes and reporting

Auxiliary-route carriers receive actual-hours pay; overtime follows 40 weekly hours. Record Christmas assistance separately in the Xmas Assist block: 1314 for regulars; 1314-A for replacements. Exclude those hours from Actual Weekly Hours. Separate certificates apply per regular route; see auxiliary-route exceptions.

Source date discrepancy

Section C retains 2025/2026 pay-period references, unlike the earlier 2026 auxiliary paragraph—an apparent carryover error, not a confirmed USPS correction.

For individual pay questions, contact NSS. This association reference does not provide grievance advice.