Enter any year to instantly determine if it is a leap year and see when the next leap years will occur.
2026 is NOT a leap year.
February has 28 days in 2026, giving the year a total of 365 days.
Previous Leap Years
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Next Leap Years
2028
2032
2036
2040
2044
Last updated: August 2026
How the Leap Year Calculator Works
Determining whether a year is a leap year is mathematically more complex than simply dividing by four. Our calculator instantly applies the exact Gregorian calendar rules to any year you enter, telling you immediately if February will have 28 or 29 days.
The Leap Year Formula
A year is a leap year if it satisfies this rule, checked in order:
If the year is divisible by 400, it is a leap year.
Otherwise, if the year is divisible by 100, it is not a leap year.
Otherwise, if the year is divisible by 4, it is a leap year.
Otherwise, it is not a leap year.
Worked Examples
2024: divisible by 4 (2024 ÷ 4 = 506), not divisible by 100 → leap year.
2026: not divisible by 4 (2026 ÷ 4 = 506.5) → not a leap year.
1900: divisible by 4 and by 100, but not by 400 (1900 ÷ 400 = 4.75) → not a leap year.
2000: divisible by 4, by 100, and by 400 (2000 ÷ 400 = 5) → leap year.
Why do we need Leap Years?
The Earth takes approximately 365.2422 days to complete one orbit around the Sun. Because our standard calendar has exactly 365 days, we would lose almost six hours every year if we didn't correct it. By adding an extra day roughly every four years, we keep our seasons from slowly drifting out of sync with the calendar. The century exception (skipping leap years in most "00" years) fine-tunes this further, since adding a leap day every 4 years alone very slightly overcorrects.
Frequently Asked Questions
A leap year is a year that contains an additional day (February 29th) to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year.
Generally, leap years occur every four years. However, there are exceptions for century years to keep the math precise.
A year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4. But, if it is divisible by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless it is also divisible by 400.
A normal year has 365 days, but a leap year has exactly 366 days.
Yes. 2000 is divisible by 4 and by 100, but it's also divisible by 400, so the exception-to-the-exception rule applies and it was a leap year.
No. 2026 is not divisible by 4 (2026 ÷ 4 = 506.5), so it is a common year with 365 days. The next leap year is 2028.
Earth's orbit takes about 365.2422 days, slightly less than 365.25. Adding a leap day every single 4 years (365.25 average) overcorrects slightly, so the calendar skips 3 leap days every 400 years by excluding century years not divisible by 400 (like 1700, 1800, 1900) to stay accurate.
There are 97 leap years in every 400-year period under the Gregorian calendar, rather than the 100 you'd get from a simple every-4-years rule.
