The default rule: rollover applies
Earnest money is governed by Paragraph 5A of the TREC contract, which sets a deadline as a number of days after the Effective Date — the default is 3 days. That deadline is subject to Paragraph 5A(2)'s rollover rule: if the calculated date lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or Legal Holiday (as defined by Texas Government Code §662.003(a), (b)(4), and (b)(6)), the deadline automatically moves forward to the next day that isn't one of those.
Practically, that means a buyer whose 3-day earnest money deadline would otherwise fall on a Saturday actually has until the following Monday (or Tuesday, if Monday is itself a Legal Holiday) to get the funds to the escrow agent.
Why this trips people up: rollover is the narrow exception, not the rule
Most agents assume the rollover rule applies broadly across TREC deadlines. It doesn't. Paragraph 5A(2) is scoped to just three things: earnest money, the option fee, and additional earnest money. Title commitment review, survey delivery, financing notices, and the closing date are all fixed calendar dates with no rollover — same as the option period under Paragraph 5B. Agents who assume every TREC deadline behaves the same way risk either granting a party an extension that doesn't exist (applying rollover to a title, survey, financing, or closing deadline) or missing a deadline that actually did roll (treating earnest money or the option fee like everything else).
What counts as a rollover-triggering holiday
Paragraph 5A(2) doesn't actually say "federal holiday" — it references "Legal Holiday," defined by Texas Government Code §662.003(a), (b)(4), and (b)(6). That list tracks the standard federal holidays but isn't identical to it: it also adds Juneteenth and the Friday after Thanksgiving, neither of which is a federal holiday, and both of which DO trigger rollover under ¶ 5A(2). Other Texas-specific state observances — like Confederate Heroes Day or Texas Independence Day — fall outside §662.003(a)/(b)(4)/(b)(6), so title companies generally don't treat those as rollover days.
Calendar days, not business days, in the count itself
Before rollover even comes into play, remember the underlying day-count for earnest money is calendar days, not business days — weekends are included in getting to the deadline date in the first place. Rollover only kicks in at the end, if the resulting date itself happens to land on a non-business day.
Confirm receipt, not just delivery
Whatever the deadline turns out to be after rollover, what matters operationally is the escrow agent's confirmed receipt of the funds — not the buyer's claim that they sent them. "I wired it Friday" isn't the same as the title company confirming they received and applied the funds. Confirm escrow receipt in writing within the deadline window.