How age is calculated
Your age is the number of full years that have passed since your date of birth, plus the full months and days since your last birthday. The calculator counts calendar months exactly, so it handles months of different lengths and leap years correctly. It also shows your age as a total number of months, weeks and days.
Leap-year birthdays
If you were born on February 29, your birthday only occurs every four years. In non-leap years, most U.S. states and Canadian provinces treat you as turning a year older on March 1 for legal purposes (such as getting a driver's license), although many people celebrate on February 28. This calculator counts your next birthday on February 28 in non-leap years.
Ages that matter in the U.S. and Canada
| Age | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 16 | Driver's license eligibility in most U.S. states (graduated licensing); Learner's permits often earlier |
| 18 | Legal adulthood and voting age in both countries; legal drinking age in Alberta, Manitoba and Québec |
| 19 | Legal drinking and cannabis age in most other Canadian provinces |
| 21 | Legal drinking age in all U.S. states |
| 50 | 401(k) and IRA catch-up contributions begin (see our 401(k) calculator) |
| 59½ | Penalty-free withdrawals from U.S. retirement accounts |
| 60–65 | Earliest CPP (60) and standard OAS start (65) in Canada |
| 62–70 | U.S. Social Security can be claimed from 62; full retirement age is 67 for people born in 1960 or later; delayed credits stop at 70 |
| 65 | Medicare eligibility (U.S.) |
| 71/73 | Last year to convert an RRSP (Canada, 71) and required minimum distributions begin (U.S., 73) |
Counting days between two dates
Set any start and end date to count the exact years, months and days between them — useful for anniversaries, project durations, or how long until a deadline. The count excludes the end date, the same way most date calculators and contracts count elapsed time.