diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatterTest.java b/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatterTest.java
index 76687d15a..fb76ec4e5 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatterTest.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatterTest.java
@@ -128,7 +128,14 @@ public void testFormatYearsMonths() {
 		assertFormat(380, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "1 year, 1 month ago");
 		assertFormat(410, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "1 year, 2 months ago");
 		assertFormat(2, YEAR_IN_MILLIS, "2 years ago");
-		assertFormat(1824, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "4 years, 12 months ago");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testFullYearMissingSomeDays() {
+		// avoid "x year(s), 12 months", as humans would always round this up to
+		// "x+1 years"
+		assertFormat(5 * 365 + 1, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "5 years ago");
+		assertFormat(2 * 365 - 10, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "2 years ago");
 	}
 
 	@Test
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatter.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatter.java
index 21a55a602..a5df66e99 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatter.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatter.java
@@ -114,10 +114,11 @@ public static String format(Date when) {
 
 		// up to 5 years use "year, months" rounded to months
 		if (ageMillis < 5 * YEAR_IN_MILLIS) {
-			long years = ageMillis / YEAR_IN_MILLIS;
+			long years = round(ageMillis, MONTH_IN_MILLIS) / 12;
 			String yearLabel = (years > 1) ? JGitText.get().years : //
 					JGitText.get().year;
-			long months = round(ageMillis % YEAR_IN_MILLIS, MONTH_IN_MILLIS);
+			long months = round(ageMillis - years * YEAR_IN_MILLIS,
+					MONTH_IN_MILLIS);
 			String monthLabel = (months > 1) ? JGitText.get().months : //
 					(months == 1 ? JGitText.get().month : ""); //$NON-NLS-1$
 			return MessageFormat.format(