diff --git a/src/lib/tz/__tests__/resolver.test.ts b/src/lib/tz/__tests__/resolver.test.ts
index 8291e19bb..2b133c7d8 100644
--- a/src/lib/tz/__tests__/resolver.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/tz/__tests__/resolver.test.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   formatInUserTz,
   invalidateServerDefaultTimezone,
   invalidateUserTimezone,
+  isNearUtc,
   isValidTimezone,
   resolveServerDefaultTimezone,
   resolveUserTimezone,
@@ -261,6 +262,51 @@ describe("userDayKey", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("isNearUtc", () => {
+  // Pin a summer-side instant so DST is on for Berlin (+2) and off for
+  // most southern-hemisphere zones — keeps the assertions readable.
+  const summer = new Date("2026-07-15T12:00:00.000Z");
+  // Winter-side instant so Berlin is on CET (+1).
+  const winter = new Date("2026-01-15T12:00:00.000Z");
+
+  it("returns true for UTC", () => {
+    expect(isNearUtc("UTC", summer)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns true for Europe/Berlin in both summer and winter", () => {
+    expect(isNearUtc("Europe/Berlin", summer)).toBe(true);
+    expect(isNearUtc("Europe/Berlin", winter)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns true for the ±3h boundary zones", () => {
+    // Europe/Moscow = +3 year-round.
+    expect(isNearUtc("Europe/Moscow", summer)).toBe(true);
+    // Atlantic/Azores = -1 in winter, 0 in summer.
+    expect(isNearUtc("Atlantic/Azores", summer)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false for zones more than 3 hours from UTC", () => {
+    // Pacific/Honolulu = -10 year-round.
+    expect(isNearUtc("Pacific/Honolulu", summer)).toBe(false);
+    // Asia/Tokyo = +9 year-round.
+    expect(isNearUtc("Asia/Tokyo", summer)).toBe(false);
+    // America/New_York = -4 in summer, -5 in winter.
+    expect(isNearUtc("America/New_York", summer)).toBe(false);
+    // Pacific/Auckland = +13 in southern summer (Jan), +12 in May.
+    expect(isNearUtc("Pacific/Auckland", winter)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("defaults to near-UTC when the zone string is invalid", () => {
+    // Invalid zones fall back to Europe/Berlin, which is near-UTC.
+    expect(isNearUtc("Mars/Olympus_Mons", summer)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("uses the current instant when `now` is omitted", () => {
+    // Pure smoke — exercises the default parameter branch.
+    expect(typeof isNearUtc("Europe/Berlin")).toBe("boolean");
+  });
+});
+
 describe("DEFAULT_TIMEZONE", () => {
   it("is Europe/Berlin", () => {
     expect(DEFAULT_TIMEZONE).toBe("Europe/Berlin");
diff --git a/src/lib/tz/format.ts b/src/lib/tz/format.ts
index b922cedb8..46d9cd65a 100644
--- a/src/lib/tz/format.ts
+++ b/src/lib/tz/format.ts
@@ -67,6 +67,38 @@ export function detectBrowserTimezone(): string {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * v1.4.38 W-A — cross-tz fast-path runtime guard.
+ *
+ * Returns `true` when the supplied IANA zone is within ±3 hours of UTC
+ * at the supplied instant. Used by the analytics fast-paths
+ * (`bp-in-target-fast-path`, `correlations-fast-path`) to gate the
+ * rollup read-swap: those helpers key rollup rows on UTC-midnight
+ * `bucketStart` and pair them with per-event streams keyed in the
+ * user's local timezone. For Berlin (+1/+2) the day-key on the rollup
+ * and the day-key on the per-event row line up; for Honolulu (-10)
+ * they slip by a calendar day. Three hours is a conservative pin —
+ * the worst-case slip inside the window is the wall-clock hour-of-day
+ * the user happens to log at, and three hours covers every European
+ * zone plus the western edge of Mid-Atlantic / eastern edge of the
+ * Americas.
+ *
+ * Falls back to "near-UTC" (i.e. returns `true`) when the zone string
+ * is invalid — the resolver layer is already defensive about junk
+ * values, and a `true` here means the caller takes the rollup
+ * fast-path which is the safer default for the canonical Berlin
+ * tenant.
+ *
+ * The `now` argument lets callers honour DST transitions; the offset
+ * of `Europe/Berlin` is +1 in January and +2 in July. Defaults to
+ * "now" so most callers can `isNearUtc(userTz)`.
+ */
+export function isNearUtc(tz: string, now: Date = new Date()): boolean {
+  const safeTz = isValidTimezone(tz) ? tz : DEFAULT_TIMEZONE;
+  const offsetMinutes = tzOffsetMinutes(now, safeTz);
+  return Math.abs(offsetMinutes) <= 3 * 60;
+}
+
 export type FormatInUserTzShape =
   | "iso-with-offset"
   | "wall-clock"
diff --git a/src/lib/tz/resolver.ts b/src/lib/tz/resolver.ts
index df45b6260..940321cf1 100644
--- a/src/lib/tz/resolver.ts
+++ b/src/lib/tz/resolver.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ import {
 export {
   DEFAULT_TIMEZONE,
   isValidTimezone,
+  isNearUtc,
   listSupportedTimezones,
   detectBrowserTimezone,
   formatInUserTz,