Leap Year Calculator
Check if any year is a leap year and find the nearest leap years.
This tool is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional financial, medical, legal, or engineering advice. See Terms of Service.
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Type any year and the calculator instantly tells you whether it is a leap year, explains why using the Gregorian calendar rule, and shows the four nearest leap years.
The Leap Year Rule
A year is a leap year if it meets the following conditions:
- Divisible by 4. The year must be evenly divisible by 4 (e.g., 2024, 2028).
- Exception for century years. If the year is divisible by 100, it is NOT a leap year (e.g., 1900 is not a leap year).
- Exception to the exception. If the year is divisible by 400, it IS a leap year despite rule 2 (e.g., 2000 and 1600 are leap years).
This three-rule system was introduced with the Gregorian calendar in 1582 to keep the calendar aligned with the solar year, which is approximately 365.2425 days long.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we have leap years?
The Earth takes approximately 365.2425 days to orbit the sun. A standard calendar year is 365 days, so without correction, the calendar would drift about 1 day every 4 years. Adding an extra day (February 29) every 4 years keeps the calendar roughly aligned with the seasons. The century and 400-year rules fine-tune this correction so the average year is 365.2425 days.
Was the year 1900 a leap year?
No. 1900 is divisible by 4 and by 100, but not by 400. Under the Gregorian calendar rule, century years are only leap years when divisible by 400. So 1900, 1800, and 1700 were not leap years, but 2000, 1600, and 2400 are (or will be) leap years.
When is the next leap year?
Leap years occur every 4 years except century years not divisible by 400. The sequence around the present includes 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032, and 2036. After 2096, the year 2100 will not be a leap year (divisible by 100 but not 400), and the next leap year after 2096 will be 2104.
What happens to people born on February 29?
People born on February 29 (leap day babies, sometimes called leaplings) officially celebrate their birthday on February 29 only in leap years. In non-leap years, most people and most legal systems recognize either February 28 or March 1 as the equivalent birthday, depending on the country. In the UK and Hong Kong, March 1 is typically used for legal purposes. In the US, February 28 is more common.