Skip to main content What is the fiscal year?
Definition of the fiscal year
The fiscal year in the UK runs from 6th April one year to 5th April the following year. It’s also known as the ‘tax year’ or the ‘financial year’.
A particular fiscal year is often referred to by the numbers of the calendar years it covers, for example, the fiscal year that started on 6th April 2025 and runs to 5th April 2026 would be called the fiscal or tax year ‘2025/26’.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the fiscal year start on 6th April?
The British calendar year used to start on 25th March, the date of the Annunciation of the birth of Jesus. When Great Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, we were 11 days behind the rest of Europe, so 11 days had to be cut out of our calendar. The start date of the calendar year was changed to 1st January - but the tax year dates were not changed. That’s why the tax year starts on 6th April; it’s 11 days after 25th March!