Leap Year Birthday Calculator (Born on February 29)

How it works

Leap year: divisible by 4, except century years not divisible by 400 (2000 yes, 2100 no) · real birthdays = leap years after the birth year up to the date · age counts a common-year birthday on March 1 · next birthday = next leap year whose February 29 is after the date

About 1 person in 1,461 is born on February 29, a "leapling". Their birthday exists only in leap years — normally every four years, but the Gregorian rule skips century years not divisible by 400, so someone born in 2096 will wait eight years, until 2104, for their first real birthday. In the years between, most leaplings celebrate on February 28 or March 1. For legal purposes, many countries, including the UK, New Zealand and most US states, treat March 1 as the date you turn a year older in a common year, while a few (such as Taiwan) use February 28.

Worked example

Born on February 29, 2000 and counting to October 8, 2026: the leap years since then are 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024, so you have had 6 real February 29 birthdays and are 26 years old. The next one is Tuesday, February 29, 2028, when you turn 28 — 509 days away. You have been alive 9,718 days.

Sources: US Naval Observatory — Leap years · Encyclopaedia Britannica — Leap year

Frequently asked questions