Pick a date to see its quarter, the quarter's start and end dates, and how many days are left. Set the month your fiscal year starts.
Pick a date to see its quarter.
Calendar quarters and fiscal quarters
A quarter is a three-month block of the year, labeled Q1 to Q4. In a calendar year, Q1 starts on January 1. A company or agency with a fiscal year that starts in another month numbers its quarters from that month instead, so the same date can sit in a different quarter depending on whose calendar you use.
Pick a date and the month your fiscal year starts. The tool shows the quarter, its first and last day, the day of the quarter, and the days left, along with all four quarters of that fiscal year.
When you need the quarter for a date
Reading earnings and reports
A company's Q1 is not always January to March. Enter the fiscal year start month to see which dates its Q1 to Q4 actually cover.
Planning around a quarter end
Check the last day of the quarter and the days left for sales targets, budget deadlines, and campaign planning.
Federal and state fiscal years
Look up federal quarters with an October start, or a July start for fiscal years that begin on July 1.
Checking a spreadsheet formula
Compare the result with your Excel or Google Sheets quarter formula to catch an off-by-one-quarter error.
How to find the quarter of a date in 3 steps
- Set Fiscal year starts in. Leave it on January for calendar quarters, or choose the month your fiscal year begins.
- Enter a date, or press Today. The arrow buttons jump to the previous or next quarter.
- Read the quarter, its start and end dates, the day of the quarter, and the days left.
Note: The result updates as soon as you change the date or the fiscal year month.
How the quarter is calculated
- Quarter number: the months since the fiscal year started, divided by 3 and rounded down, plus 1. A date in the start month is always Q1.
- Whole months only: each quarter is three calendar months, from the 1st of the first month to the last day of the third. 52/53-week and 4-4-5 calendars are not supported.
- Fiscal year label: by default FY is the year the fiscal year ends in, so October 1, 2026 falls in FY2027 for an October start. Use Start year if your organization labels it the other way. With a January start the label is the calendar year.
- Days left: days from the selected date to the last day of the quarter. It is 0 on the last day.
- Today's date: the date box starts as today's date on your device, and the This quarter badge appears when today is inside the quarter you are viewing.
Quarter months by fiscal year start
Which months make up Q1 to Q4 for four common fiscal year start months.
| Quarter | Jan start (calendar) | Apr start | Jul start | Oct start (U.S. federal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Jan – Mar | Apr – Jun | Jul – Sep | Oct – Dec |
| Q2 | Apr – Jun | Jul – Sep | Oct – Dec | Jan – Mar |
| Q3 | Jul – Sep | Oct – Dec | Jan – Mar | Apr – Jun |
| Q4 | Oct – Dec | Jan – Mar | Apr – Jun | Jul – Sep |
Same date, different quarter. November 15 is Q4 on a calendar year, Q1 for an October start, Q2 for a July start, and Q3 for an April start.
Who uses which start. The U.S. federal government starts its fiscal year on October 1 and Australia starts on July 1. Most U.S. states start on July 1, though a few, including New York and Texas, use other dates.
Quarter formulas for Excel and Google Sheets
Formulas that return the same quarter number as this tool, and a check for mixed-up quarters.
Calendar quarter from a date
With the date in A1, use =ROUNDUP(MONTH(A1)/3,0) for the quarter number. To show it as text, use ="Q"&ROUNDUP(MONTH(A1)/3,0). Both work in Excel and Google Sheets.
Fiscal quarter from a date
If the fiscal year starts in month S, use =INT(MOD(MONTH(A1)-S,12)/3)+1. For an October start, S is 10, so October, November, and December return 1 and July to September return 4.
Test a few dates in this tool to confirm your sheet agrees, especially months right around the start month.
Check which calendar a report uses
When you compare companies or read government data, confirm which fiscal year start each one uses before you line up Q1 to Q4. Two reports can both say Q1 and cover different months.
Common quarter mistakes
Assuming Q1 is January to March
You read a company's Q3 results as covering July to September, but its fiscal year starts in a different month, so its Q3 covers other months.
💡 See the solution▼
Using the wrong year in the FY label
A fiscal year that begins on October 1, 2026 is called FY2027 under the end-year convention and FY2026 under the start-year convention. Mixing the two puts data in the wrong year.
💡 See the solution▼
Off by one day at the end of a quarter
You count the days to a deadline from the Days left number, but on the last day it shows 0 and you expected 1.
💡 See the solution▼
Using this tool for a 4-4-5 or 52/53-week calendar
Some retail and manufacturing calendars end quarters on a set weekday, so a quarter can start or end a few days away from the month boundary.
💡 See the solution▼
Quarter calculator FAQ
Q.What quarter is it right now?
A. Open the page and the date box is already set to today's date on your device. The result shows the quarter, its start and end dates, and how many days are left. The default is the calendar year, where Q1 is January to March. If your company or agency uses a different fiscal year, change Fiscal year starts in.
Q.What are the calendar quarters?
A. On a calendar-year basis, Q1 is January 1 to March 31, Q2 is April 1 to June 30, Q3 is July 1 to September 30, and Q4 is October 1 to December 31.
Q.What are the U.S. federal fiscal quarters?
A. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Q1 is October to December, Q2 is January to March, Q3 is April to June, and Q4 is July to September. Choose October in Fiscal year starts in to use this schedule.
Q.How is the fiscal year (FY) number chosen?
A. By default the fiscal year is named for the calendar year in which it ends, so a year that runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 is FY2027. That is how the U.S. federal government names its fiscal years. Some organizations, including in India, name the year by the year it starts. Switch Name the fiscal year by to Start year to get that label. When the fiscal year starts in January, the label is just the calendar year.
Q.Can I use a fiscal year that starts in any month?
A. Yes. Pick any of the 12 months in Fiscal year starts in. Every quarter is three whole calendar months. The tool does not support 52/53-week calendars or 4-4-5 retail calendars, whose quarters start and end on set weekdays.
Q.What do Day of quarter and Days left mean?
A. Day of quarter counts the selected date as one day, so the first day of a quarter is day 1. Days left is the number of days from the selected date to the last day of the quarter, so it is 0 on the last day. Add 1 if you want to count the selected date as well.
Q.How do I find the first and last day of a quarter?
A. Enter any date in that quarter. The result card shows the start and end dates, and the table below it lists all four quarters of that fiscal year. The arrow buttons jump to the first day of the previous or next quarter.
Q.How do I get the quarter of a date in Excel or Google Sheets?
A. For calendar quarters, use =ROUNDUP(MONTH(A1)/3,0), where A1 holds the date. For a fiscal year that starts in month S, use =INT(MOD(MONTH(A1)-S,12)/3)+1. For an October start, replace S with 10.
Q.Does it handle leap years?
A. Yes. The dates come from the browser's built-in date handling, so a quarter that includes February 29 shows the correct end date and day count. Q1 of a calendar year has 91 days in a leap year and 90 days otherwise.
Q.Is the date I enter sent anywhere?
A. No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
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