Handling Fiscal Years in Excel: When Your Year Doesn't Start in January
How to work with fiscal years that start in non-January months, including FY calculations and reporting.
Not every organization runs January-December. Fiscal years starting in July, October, or April are common—especially in accounting and finance. Excel's date functions assume calendar years, so you need workarounds for fiscal year reporting.
Determining Fiscal Year
If your fiscal year starts in July (FY starts July 1), determine FY from a date:
=IF(MONTH(A1)>=7, YEAR(A1)+1, YEAR(A1))
This returns 2026 for dates July 2025 through June 2026.
For October start:
=IF(MONTH(A1)>=10, YEAR(A1)+1, YEAR(A1))
Fiscal Quarter
For July-start fiscal year, Q1 = July-Sept, Q2 = Oct-Dec, etc:
=CHOOSE(MONTH(A1),3,3,3,4,4,4,1,1,1,2,2,2)
Or using a formula approach:
=CEILING(MOD(MONTH(A1)+5,12)/3,1)
Fiscal Month Number
Convert calendar month to fiscal month (July = Month 1 for July-start FY):
=MOD(MONTH(A1)+5,12)+1
Adjust the +5 based on your fiscal year start month. For October start, use +3.
FY Labels
Create formatted fiscal year labels:
="FY"&IF(MONTH(A1)>=7,YEAR(A1)+1,YEAR(A1))
Returns “FY2026” for dates in July 2025 onward.
SUMIFS with Fiscal Year
Sum values for a specific fiscal year:
=SUMIFS(amounts, fiscal_year_column, 2026)
Create a helper column with the fiscal year formula, then reference it in SUMIFS.
Enter Dates Faster with a Real Date Picker
Excel doesn't have a built-in date picker. XLNavigator adds a calendar popup that makes date entry fast and error-free.
Related Reading
- Date Calculations — DATEDIF, EDATE, and more
- Complete Guide to Dates — master Excel dates
- Date Validation — prevent date errors
Official Resources
- EOMONTH function — end of month calculations
- MONTH function — extract month from date
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