Short answer
EST (Eastern Standard Time, UTC−5) is New York's winter time and EDT (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC−4) its summer time. Right now New York is on EST (UTC−5). The next switch is on Sunday 14 March 2027. Writing ET, for Eastern Time, covers both and is never wrong.
They are not two time zones side by side. They are the winter and summer settings of one clock, and the label you pick tells people which offset from UTC you mean, so the wrong one moves a meeting by an hour on paper.
What EST and EDT stand for
EST is Eastern Standard Time. EDT is Eastern Daylight Time. Both belong to the zone used by New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto and Montréal. When you mean "whatever the East Coast is on that day", the neutral name is Eastern Time, written ET.
| EST | EDT | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eastern Standard Time | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Offset from UTC | UTC−5 | UTC−4 |
| ISO 8601 suffix | −05:00 | −04:00 |
| In use in the US and Canada | First Sunday in November to second Sunday in March | Second Sunday in March to first Sunday in November |
| Glossary | EST | EDT |
EDT is one hour ahead of EST. At 12:00 EST it is 17:00 UTC; at 12:00 EDT it is 16:00 UTC.
Which one applies today
Right now New York is on EST, UTC−5. The US rule has been the same since 2007, under the Energy Policy Act of 2005: clocks go forward one hour at 02:00 local time on the second Sunday in March, and back one hour at 02:00 on the first Sunday in November. EDT therefore covers spring, summer and most of autumn, a little under eight months, and EST the rest.
The next change is Sunday 14 March 2027 at 02:00, when clocks go forward one hour. In 2027 the clocks go forward on Sunday 14 March 2027 and back on Sunday 7 November 2027. Every date for the coming years is on the US daylight saving page.
Two details catch people out. On the spring night the clock jumps from 01:59 to 03:00, so 02:30 does not exist that day. On the autumn night it goes from 01:59 back to 01:00, so every minute between 01:00 and 01:59 happens twice, first in EDT and then in EST. Anything booked in that hour needs the abbreviation or the offset to be clear.
Why "EST" in July is a small mistake
Many people write EST all year out of habit. Strictly, "15:00 EST" in July means 15:00 at UTC−5, which is 16:00 on New York clocks. Most readers will guess what you meant. Software, and anyone converting by hand from a table, takes the label at its word, and an event parsed as a fixed EST offset lands an hour off for most of the year.
The fix is to write ET, or simply "New York time". ET never goes out of date: it means EST in winter and EDT in summer, whichever applies on the day of the event. If you need to be exact, for a contract, a launch or a log file, add the offset as well: "15:00 ET (UTC−4)".
Where Eastern Time is used
In the United States, Eastern Time covers the East Coast from Maine to most of Florida, plus Ohio, most of Michigan and Indiana, and the eastern parts of Kentucky and Tennessee. All of it observes daylight saving time, so all of it switches between EST and EDT on the same nights.
In Canada, most of Ontario and Québec use Eastern Time, including Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal, and they switch on the same dates as the US.
A few places sit at UTC−5 all year and never use EDT. Panama, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands stay on EST permanently, and so does the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancún, which moved to UTC−5 in 2015. In winter they share New York's clock; in summer they are an hour behind it. Right now Cancún is the same time as New York.
How the switch moves your meetings abroad
Countries that do not change their clocks feel the US switch as a moving gap. India is 10 hours 30 minutes ahead of New York today. Because India never changes its clocks, the gap is 9 hours 30 minutes while New York is on EDT and 10 hours 30 minutes while it is on EST. A 09:00 ET call is 19:30 in India today. The EST to IST converter does the sum for any time.
Europe changes its clocks too, but on different dates. The UK and the EU go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October, so for a few weeks in March and about a week around the end of October the gap between New York and London is 4 hours instead of the usual 5. Right now it is 5 hours, and a 09:00 meeting in London is 04:00 in New York. The UK and US time difference page shows the whole year.
For three or more places, the meeting planner lines up each city's working hours and handles the switch for you.
Writing times so nobody gets it wrong
- In invites and emails, write ET: "Tuesday 10:00 ET". Calendar apps show each guest their own local time anyway; the label is for people reading the text.
- For a global audience, add UTC, which never changes: "10:00 ET (14:00 UTC)" during EDT, or "10:00 ET (15:00 UTC)" during EST.
- In software, store times in UTC and convert with the zone name America/New_York from the IANA time zone database, never with a fixed "EST" offset. The zone name carries the switch dates for every year, including the older rule: from 1987 to 2006 the US changed on the first Sunday in April and the last Sunday in October.
- Use EST or EDT only when you mean that exact offset, for example when quoting a timestamp recorded at a known moment.
Frequently asked questions
Is New York on EST or EDT right now?
New York is on EST (UTC−5). The next switch is on Sunday 14 March 2027.
Is EDT ahead of EST?
Yes, by one hour. EDT is UTC−4 and EST is UTC−5, so EDT clocks read one hour later.
Should I write EST or ET in a meeting invite?
Write ET. It is correct all year, while EST is only correct between November and March.
Does EST change for daylight saving time?
No. EST always means UTC−5. During daylight saving time the eastern US moves to EDT instead, while Panama, Jamaica and Cancún stay on EST.
Is daylight saving time ending in the US?
Not as of October 2026. Proposals to keep one time all year have been put to Congress, but the clocks still change twice a year. The next change is on Sunday 14 March 2027.