Leap Year Calculator
Enter any year to check whether it is a leap year and find the nearest leap years.
The Gregorian Leap Year Rule
The Gregorian calendar was designed to keep the calendar aligned with Earth's orbit around the Sun. The rules are:
This three-part rule was introduced because the simple “every 4 years” rule (Julian calendar) overcorrects slightly. Adding 97 leap days per 400 years gives an average year of 365.2425 days — very close to the actual solar year of 365.2422 days. The remaining error is just 26 seconds per year; it will take about 3,300 years for the calendar to drift by even one day.
Upcoming Leap Years
| Year | Leap Year? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | No | Not divisible by 4 |
| 2025 | No | Not divisible by 4 |
| 2028 | Yes | Divisible by 4 |
| 2032 | Yes | Divisible by 4 |
| 2100 | No | Divisible by 100, not 400 |
| 2400 | Yes | Divisible by 400 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the rules for a leap year?
Under the Gregorian calendar, a year is a leap year if: (1) it is divisible by 4, AND (2) if it is divisible by 100, it must also be divisible by 400. So 2000 was a leap year (divisible by 400), but 1900 was not (divisible by 100 but not 400). Most years divisible by 4 — like 2028 — are simply leap years.
Why do we need leap years?
A solar year (the time Earth takes to orbit the Sun) is approximately 365.2422 days. Without leap years, our calendar would drift about 6 hours per year — after 100 years, the calendar would be 24 days off from the seasons. Leap years correct for this drift by adding an extra day roughly every 4 years.
What is special about being born on February 29?
People born on February 29 ("leaplings") technically have a birthday only once every four years. In non-leap years, they typically celebrate on either February 28 or March 1. Legally, different countries handle this differently — most treat Feb 28 or Mar 1 as the official birthday in non-leap years.
How many leap years are there per century?
There are 97 leap years in every 400-year cycle. A typical century has 24 leap years (years divisible by 4, excluding the century year unless divisible by 400). The century years 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years, while 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, and 2300 are not.
When is the next leap year?
The next leap years after 2024 are 2028, 2032, 2036, and so on. Enter any year in the calculator above to check whether it is a leap year and to see the nearest leap years around it.