Leap year finder.
Is it a leap year? Check any year in the guide, see whether February has 29 days, and open a clear answer page for every year from 2026 through 2035.
Is each year a
leap year?
Choose a year to see the answer, day count, February length, and the next leap year.
A small calendar
correction.
A leap year has 366 days rather than the usual 365, with the extra day added to February. The adjustment keeps the civil calendar close to the length of the solar year, so seasons do not slowly move to a different calendar date.
Under the Gregorian calendar rule, a year is a leap year when it is divisible by 4. Century years are the exception: they are not leap years unless they are also divisible by 400. This makes 2028 and 2032 leap years in this guide, while 2030 and 2035 are common years.
Use the year links above for a quick answer, or open a year page when you need a shareable explanation for a school project, travel plan, payroll schedule, recurring event, or date calculation. For historical or far-future dates, confirm which calendar system applies because older calendar systems used different rules.
Leap-year checks are useful beyond February birthdays. They can help when you calculate an employee’s annual schedule, estimate a project duration, set a recurring reminder, compare school terms, plan an event several years ahead, or explain why a date difference is one day longer than expected. When a deadline crosses February, checking the year first prevents small calendar assumptions from becoming scheduling errors.
The rule on this page follows the Gregorian calendar explanation from the U.S. Naval Observatory. NASA also explains why the extra day is needed to keep the calendar aligned with Earth’s orbit in its Leap Day guide.
Leap year
questions.
What is a leap year?
A leap year is a calendar year with 366 days instead of 365. The extra day is February 29, which helps the Gregorian calendar stay aligned with Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
Is every fourth year a leap year?
Usually, but not always. A year divisible by 4 is a leap year unless it is a century year that is not divisible by 400. That is why 2000 was a leap year, while 1900 was not.
Which years are leap years from 2026 to 2035?
The leap years in this range are 2028 and 2032. The other years, including 2026, 2027, 2029, 2030, 2031, 2033, 2034, and 2035, have 365 days.
Why does February have 29 days?
The extra February day is the calendar adjustment used by the Gregorian system. Without occasional leap days, the calendar would slowly drift away from the seasons.