Leap Day 2028 Falls on Tuesday, Feb. 29: Next Leap Years and Leap Birthday Rules

The next leap day is Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2028, under the rule the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) publishes: years evenly divisible by 4 are leap years, “with the exception of centurial years that are not evenly divisible by 400.” The last Feb. 29 was Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. This page lists the weekday of every leap day to 2096, shows how many real birthdays a leap-day baby has had by 2028 and quotes the two state rules we found for Feb. 29 birthdates. For the rule itself and its history, see our explainer What Is a Leap Year?.

Which weekday is every leap day through 2096?

We computed these weekdays from the USNO rule (computed by Fresh Calendars). The weekday pattern repeats every 28 years in this range: Feb. 29 is a Tuesday in both 2028 and 2056. Our free one-page list below has the same table to print.

Leap day	Weekday
2028	Tuesday
2032	Sunday
2036	Friday
2040	Wednesday
2044	Monday
2048	Saturday
2052	Thursday
2056	Tuesday
2060	Sunday
2064	Friday
2068	Wednesday
2072	Monday
2076	Saturday
2080	Thursday
2084	Tuesday
2088	Sunday
2092	Friday
2096	Wednesday

The USNO says the years 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2100 are not leap years, so 2100 has no Feb. 29. The next leap day after 2096 is Feb. 29, 2104, a Friday (computed). Our yearly calendar and February calendars show how the month looks in a common year.

Why is a leap day needed?

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) says Earth takes about 365.2422 days to make one revolution around the Sun, and the USNO gives the tropical year as approximately 365.2422 days. NASA Glenn Research Center puts the average Gregorian year at 365.2425 days. The Gregorian average is close to the tropical year, which is why the rule adds a day in most fourth years and skips it in century years not divisible by 400.

How old is someone born on Feb. 29 in 2028?

On Feb. 29, 2028 a person born on Feb. 29 turns their age in years, but the number of actual Feb. 29 birthdays is about one quarter of that age. The table counts Feb. 29 birthdays reached by 2028, not counting the birth day itself (computed by Fresh Calendars).

Born on Feb. 29 of	Age on Feb. 29, 2028	Feb. 29 birthdays reached (2028 included)
1996	32	8
2000	28	7
2004	24	6
2008	20	5
2012	16	4
2016	12	3
2020	8	2
2024	4	1

A person born on Feb. 29, 2000 turns 28 on Feb. 29, 2028 and has then had 7 actual Feb. 29 birthdays: 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 and 2028. We found no official count of leap-day births, so we do not give one.

What do Nevada and Michigan do with a Feb. 29 birthdate?

Two state rules we checked differ, and each covers only its own law.

State	Rule	Applies to
Nevada	An applicant “whose date of birth was on February 29 in a leap year” is “deemed to have a birthdate of February 28” (Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) 483.043)	Driver’s license and identification card purposes in that chapter
Michigan	“all persons born on February 29 shall be deemed, for the purposes of this act, to have been born on March 1” (Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) 257.4a)	The Michigan Vehicle Code only

So a Feb. 29 birthdate counts as Feb. 28 for Nevada licensing and as March 1 under the Michigan Vehicle Code. Other states set their own rules, and we did not check them. Rules for other purposes, such as contracts or benefits, can differ; check the office that asks for the date.

Leap day printable for 2028 to 2096

The one-page list has the weekday of Feb. 29 in every leap year from 2028 to 2096, plus 2100 and 2104. Related stories: how many Mondays, Fridays and weekends 2027 has and which calendar year matches 2027.