Fiscal Year: Meaning, Period, Accounting, start & Ending

Fiscal Year

As we know that a period is required for getting a financial report of a company or organization. So a period was chosen as a fiscal year.

It is a 12-month period used by companies and organizations to track their financial performance. In the United States, a fiscal year does not necessarily coexist with the calendar year (January 1st to December 31st). Instead, companies can choose to use any 12-month period as their fiscal year, as long as it is consistent from year to year.

What is the meaning of Fiscal Year?

A fiscal year means a period of 12 months for generating and tracking financial reports of a company or organization. This fiscal year helps to calculate taxes on the basis of fiscal year income or performance. After calculation, that tax is paid to the US government.

What is the exact period of a fiscal year?

A fiscal year has a 12 months period. In the US, most companies and organizations use one of two fiscal year periods: the calendar year (1st January to 31st December) or the fiscal year (1st October to 30th September). The federal government uses the fiscal year period, which means that the federal budget and other financial reports are prepared using a fiscal year timeline.

What is the current fiscal year?

For the US government, the fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 30th of the following year.

So, for example, the current fiscal year for the US government is October 1st, 2022 to September 30th, 2023.

Example for fiscal year

Fiscal Year	Period of 12 months
Current Fiscal Year	October 1st, 2022 to September 30th, 2023.
Next Fiscal Year	October 1st, 2023 to September 30th, 2024.
Previous Fiscal Year	October 1st, 2021 to September 30th, 2022.

For corporations and businesses, the fiscal year may vary and is not necessarily tied to the government’s fiscal year. Each company can choose its fiscal year period based on its needs and operations. Companies often report their fiscal year-end dates in their financial statements, which can be found in their annual reports or filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

What is the purpose of using fiscal year?

A fiscal year is most commonly used for accounting purposes to prepare financial statements.

Why Do Companies Use Fiscal Years?

The primary reason that companies use fiscal years is to align their financial reporting with their business operations. For example, a company that experiences seasonal fluctuations in revenue may choose to use a fiscal year that ends in a slower month, so that it can more accurately track its financial performance from one year to the next.

In addition, a company that operates in multiple countries may choose to use a fiscal year that aligns with the business cycle in those countries.

Another advantage of using a fiscal year is that it allows companies to spread out their accounting workload throughout the year, rather than having to complete all of their financial reporting at the end of the calendar year.

How Are Fiscal Years Used in the US?

In the US, most companies and organizations use one of two fiscal year periods: the calendar year (January 1st to December 31st) or the fiscal year (October 1st to September 30th). The federal government uses the fiscal year period, which means that the federal budget and other financial reports are prepared using a fiscal year timeline.

Some companies may choose to use a different fiscal year period to better align with their business operations. For example, a retailer that experiences a surge in sales during the holiday season may choose to use a fiscal year that ends in January, so that they can more accurately track their holiday sales.

It’s important to note that regardless of the fiscal year period chosen, companies must still adhere to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and other accounting standards set forth by regulatory bodies.

Is Fiscal Year the same for every country?

No, The fiscal year can be variable or different according to the government of the country. Because every country has different income tax rules. So that countries can have different financial years or fiscal years.

The fiscal year and a financial year are synonyms for each other. These both are a period of 12 months for accounting, budgeting, or financial reporting. The USA uses the term fiscal year for its financial reporting and on the other hand, other countries use the term fiscal year or financial year for their financial reporting.

So, the fiscal year is a period of 12 months for reporting financial statements of accounts and budgets. And it can be different for different countries. It can be seen in the given table below-

COUNTRIES	FISCAL YEAR/ FINANCIAL YEAR
Afghanistan	21 December – 20 December
Albania	calendar year
Algeria	calendar year
American Samoa	1 October – 30 September
Andorra	calendar year
Angola	calendar year
Anguilla	1 April – 31 March
Antigua and Barbuda	1 April – 31 March
Argentina	calendar year
Armenia	calendar year
Aruba	calendar year
Australia	1 July – 30 June
Austria	calendar year
Azerbaijan	calendar year
Bahamas, The	1 July – 30 June
Bahrain	calendar year
Bangladesh	1 July – 30 June
Barbados	1 April – 31 March
Belarus	calendar year
Belgium	calendar year
Belize	1 April – 31 March
Benin	calendar year
Bermuda	1 April – 31 March
Bhutan	1 July – 30 June
Bolivia	calendar year
Bosnia and Herzegovina	calendar year
Botswana	1 April – 31 March
Brazil	calendar year
The British Virgin Islands	1 April – 31 March
Brunei	1 April – 31 March
Bulgaria	calendar year
Burkina Faso	calendar year
Burma	1 April – 31 March
Burundi	calendar year
Cabo Verde	calendar year
Cambodia	calendar year
Cameroon	1 July – 30 June
Canada	1 April – 31 March
Cayman Islands	1 April – 31 March
The central African Republic	calendar year
Chad	calendar year
Chile	calendar year
China	calendar year
Christmas Island	1 July – 30 June
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	1 July – 30 June
Colombia	calendar year
Comoros	calendar year
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	calendar year
Congo, Republic of the	calendar year
Cook Islands	1 April – 31 March
Costa Rica	calendar year
Cote d’Ivoire	calendar year
Croatia	calendar year
Cuba	calendar year
Cyprus	calendar year
Czechia	calendar year
Denmark	calendar year
Djibouti	calendar year
Dominica	1 July – 30 June
Dominican Republic	calendar year
Ecuador	calendar year
Egypt	1 July – 30 June
El Salvador	calendar year
Equatorial Guinea	calendar year
Eritrea	calendar year
Estonia	calendar year
Eswatini	1 April – 31 March
Ethiopia	8 July – 7 July
European Union	NA
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)	1 April – 31 March
Faroe Islands	calendar year
Fiji	calendar year
Finland	calendar year
France	calendar year
French Polynesia	calendar year
Gabon	calendar year
Gambia, The	calendar year
Gaza Strip	calendar year
Georgia	calendar year
Germany	calendar year
Ghana	calendar year
Gibraltar	1 July – 30 June
Greece	calendar year
Greenland	calendar year
Grenada	calendar year
Guam	1 October – 30 September
Guatemala	calendar year
Guernsey	calendar year
Guinea	calendar year
Guinea-Bissau	calendar year
Guyana	calendar year
Haiti	1 October – 30 September
Holy See (Vatican City)	calendar year
Honduras	calendar year
Hong Kong	1 April – 31 March
Hungary	calendar year
Iceland	calendar year
India	1 April – 31 March
Indonesia	calendar year
Iran	21 March – 20 March
Iraq	calendar year
Ireland	calendar year
Isle of Man	1 April – 31 March
Israel	calendar year
Italy	calendar year
Jamaica	1 April – 31 March
Japan	1 April – 31 March
Jersey	1 April – 31 March
Jordan	calendar year
Kazakhstan	calendar year
Kenya	1 July – 30 June
Kiribati	NA
Korea, North	calendar year
Korea, South	calendar year
Kuwait	1 April – 31 March
Kyrgyzstan	calendar year
Laos	1 October – 30 September
Latvia	calendar year
Lebanon	calendar year
Lesotho	1 April – 31 March
Liberia	calendar year
Libya	calendar year
Liechtenstein	calendar year
Lithuania	calendar year
Luxembourg	calendar year
Macau	calendar year
Madagascar	calendar year
Malawi	1 July – 30 June
Malaysia	calendar year
Maldives	calendar year
Mali	calendar year
Malta	calendar year
Marshall Islands	1 October – 30 September
Mauritania	calendar year
Mauritius	1 July – 30 June
Mexico	calendar year
Micronesia, Federated States of	1 October – 30 September
Moldova	calendar year
Monaco	calendar year
Mongolia	calendar year
Montenegro	calendar year
Montserrat	1 April – 31 March
Morocco	calendar year
Mozambique	calendar year
Namibia	1 April – 31 March
Nauru	1 July – 30 June
Nepal	16 July – 15 July
Netherlands	calendar year
New Caledonia	calendar year
New Zealand	1 April – 31 March note: this is the fiscal year for tax purposes
Nicaragua	calendar year
Niger	calendar year
Nigeria	calendar year
Niue	1 April – 31 March
Norfolk Island	1 July – 30 June
North Macedonia	calendar year
Northern Mariana Islands	1 October – 30 September
Norway	calendar year
Oman	calendar year
Pakistan	1 July – 30 June
Palau	1 October – 30 September
Panama	calendar year
Papua New Guinea	calendar year
Paraguay	calendar year
Peru	calendar year
Philippines	calendar year
Pitcairn Islands	1 April – 31 March
Poland	calendar year
Portugal	calendar year
Puerto Rico	1 July – 30 June
Qatar	1 April – 31 March
Romania	calendar year
Russia	calendar year
Rwanda	calendar year
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha	1 April – 31 March
Saint Kitts and Nevis	calendar year
Saint Lucia	1 April – 31 March
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	calendar year
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	calendar year
Samoa	June 1 – May 31
San Marino	calendar year
Sao Tome and Principe	calendar year
Saudi Arabia	calendar year
Senegal	calendar year
Seychelles	calendar year
Sierra Leone	calendar year
Singapore	1 April – 31 March
Slovakia	calendar year
Slovenia	calendar year
Solomon Islands	calendar year
Somalia	NA
South Africa	1 April – 31 March
Spain	calendar year
Sri Lanka	calendar year
Sudan	calendar year
Suriname	calendar year
Sweden	calendar year
Switzerland	calendar year
Syria	calendar year
Taiwan	calendar year
Tajikistan	calendar year
Tanzania	1 July – 30 June
Thailand	1 October – 30 September
Timor-Leste	calendar year
Togo	calendar year
Tokelau	1 April – 31 March
Tonga	1 July – 30 June
Trinidad and Tobago	1 October – 30 September
Tunisia	calendar year
Turkey	calendar year
Turkmenistan	calendar year
Turks and Caicos Islands	calendar year
Tuvalu	calendar year
Uganda	1 July – 30 June
Ukraine	calendar year
United Arab Emirates	calendar year
United Kingdom	6 April – 5 April
United States	1 October – 30 September
Uruguay	calendar year
Uzbekistan	calendar year
Vanuatu	calendar year
Venezuela	calendar year
Vietnam	calendar year
Virgin Islands	1 October – 30 September
Wallis and Futuna	calendar year
West Bank	calendar year
Western Sahara	calendar year
Yemen	calendar year
Zambia	calendar year
Zimbabwe	calendar year

Faqs on Fiscal Year