Quarter Calculator

1. Pick a date with the date picker.
2. Choose when your fiscal year starts if you need the fiscal quarter.
3. Read the calendar quarter, Q1 to Q4.
4. See the fiscal quarter and the quarter's months.

Here is what each result means:

A quarter is a three-month period used to divide the year into four equal blocks for planning and reporting. Businesses, governments and investors all use quarters to track performance over manageable chunks of time, which is why you hear about quarterly results and quarterly targets.

Calendar quarters always start in January: Q1 is January to March, Q2 April to June, Q3 July to September and Q4 October to December. Finding the calendar quarter of a date is simple, since it depends only on the month. A date in August, the eighth month, sits in Q3.

A fiscal quarter works the same way but starts the year at a different month to match an organisation's financial year. Many governments and companies begin their fiscal year in April, July or October rather than January. Setting the fiscal-year start tells the calculator where to begin counting the quarters.

It works out the quarter from the month of the date.

1. The date's month is read; the day and year do not change the quarter.
2. The calendar quarter is the month divided by three, rounded up.
3. The fiscal quarter counts three-month blocks from your fiscal-year start.

For related tools, see the week number calculator and the date calculator.

Take 15 August.

Result: August is the eighth month, so the calendar quarter is Q3 (July to September). If the fiscal year starts in April, the same date is fiscal Q2, since April to June is fiscal Q1.

Calendar quarters always begin in January.

These are fixed and used worldwide for calendar-year reporting. The quarter of any date depends only on its month, so every date in the same month is in the same quarter.

Fiscal quarters shift the start of the year to match a financial calendar.

The same date can be a different quarter depending on the fiscal-year start. A July date is calendar Q3 but fiscal Q1 for an organisation whose year begins in July. Set the start to match yours for the right fiscal quarter.

The Month

The quarter depends only on the month of the date, not the day or year.

The Fiscal-year Start

Moving the start month shifts which quarter a date falls in for fiscal reporting.

The Definition Used

Calendar and fiscal quarters can differ, so be clear which one a figure refers to.

Business Reporting

Assign a date to the right quarter for accounts or targets.

Planning

Group activities and deadlines into quarters.

Finance

Match a date to a company's or government's fiscal quarter.

1. Mixing Calendar and Fiscal Quarters

They can differ. Always state which one a figure uses.

2. Guessing the Fiscal-year Start

Fiscal years vary by country and company. Set the correct start month.

3. Using the Day

The quarter depends on the month alone, not the day of the month.

4. Off-by-one in Q Numbering

Q1 is the first three months from the start, not month zero.

5. Assuming Everyone Uses January

Many organisations start their year in April, July or October.

The quarter follows the standard three-month blocks for both calendar and fiscal years.

It depends on the month. Calendar quarters are Q1 January to March, Q2 April to June, Q3 July to September and Q4 October to December. August is in Q3.

Divide the month number by three and round up. August is month 8, so 8 divided by 3 is 2.67, rounded up to Q3.

A calendar quarter starts in January. A fiscal quarter starts at a company or government fiscal-year start, such as April, July or October, which shifts the quarters.

It varies. Many companies use January, the UK and India use April, Australia July, and the US federal government October. Set the start to match yours.

Q1 is January to March, Q2 April to June, Q3 July to September and Q4 October to December, for the calendar year.

No. The quarter depends only on the month, so every date within a month is in the same quarter.

April, May and June. The fiscal year that begins in April counts those three months as its first quarter.

Quarters break the year into four equal blocks, making it easier to plan, report results and compare performance over time.

No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere, unless you choose Save, which keeps the result only on this device.

• Fiscal year (Wikipedia).
• Calendar year (Wikipedia).
• Magic of quarters (financial quarter) (Wikipedia).