Countdown to
Leap Day
February 29 — the extra day that keeps the calendar honest.
Today is Leap Day.
484 days until Leap Day, on Tuesday, February 29, 2028.
Leap Day is Tuesday, February 29, 2028. Happens on February 29 in leap years.
Leap Day is February 29, the extra date that appears only in leap years, roughly every four years, to keep the calendar in step with the Sun. Without it, our 365-day year would slowly slip against the seasons, drifting by about a day every four years until, centuries on, the summer solstice landed in what the calendar called spring. The next leap day is Tuesday, February 29, 2028.
How we get this date. The page looks forward for the next leap year and returns its February 29. A year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4, except for century years, which must also be divisible by 400. So 2028 and 2032 qualify, and 2000 did, but 1900 and 2100 do not. Because 2027 is an ordinary year, the next leap day is not until 2028, and the one after that is 2032.
Why the arithmetic. A solar year is about 365.2422 days, not a tidy 365.25. Julius Caesar’s calendar of 45 BC added a leap day every four years, which slightly over-corrects and pushed the calendar out of alignment over the centuries. Pope Gregory XIII’s 1582 reform fixed it with the century rule, trimming three leap days every 400 years and leaving an average calendar year of 365.2425 days, accurate enough to keep the seasons steady for thousands of years.
People born on February 29 are sometimes called “leaplings,” and depending on how you count, they celebrate a true calendar birthday only once every four years. For everyone else, a leap day is simply a rare bonus square on the calendar, a February that refuses, just this once, to end at 28.
📆 Fun facts about Leap Day
- The rule is divisible by 4, except century years, which must also be divisible by 400, so 2000 was a leap year but 1900 and 2100 are not.
- Leap days keep the calendar in step with the roughly 365.2422-day solar year; without them the seasons would drift by about a day every four years.
- Julius Caesar added a leap day every four years in 45 BC; Pope Gregory XIII added the century exception in 1582 to correct the slow drift the older rule left behind.
- People born on February 29 are called "leaplings," and, strictly counted, get a calendar birthday only once every four years.
- Because 2027 is a common year, the next leap day is 2028, and the one after that is 2032.
Upcoming Leap Day dates
| Date | Days away |
|---|---|
| 484 days | |
| 1,945 days | |
| 3,406 days | |
| 4,867 days | |
| 6,328 days |
Frequently asked
When is the next leap day?
The next leap day is Tuesday, February 29, 2028. Because 2027 is an ordinary year, there is no February 29 until then; the one after is in 2032.
How is a leap year determined?
A year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4, except century years, which must also be divisible by 400. So 2000 was a leap year, but 1900 and 2100 are not.
Why do we have leap days?
To keep the calendar aligned with the solar year, which is about 365.2422 days. Adding a day every four years, with the century correction, stops the seasons from drifting.
Is 2100 a leap year?
No. It is divisible by 100 but not by 400, so the leap day is skipped and 2100 has an ordinary 28-day February.