Understanding the result
The result names the quarter and year and gives its first and last dates. It also shows the position of your date within the quarter and how many days remain until the quarter ends. On the last day of the quarter, zero days remain.
What is a calendar quarter?
A calendar quarter is one of four three-month periods of the year: Q1 is January to March, Q2 April to June, Q3 July to September and Q4 October to December. Quarters are used for reporting, planning, tax deadlines and targets.
Many organisations use a fiscal year that starts in a different month, so their "Q1" is not always January to March.
How it works
The quarter is found from the month: months 1-3 are Q1, 4-6 are Q2, 7-9 are Q3 and 10-12 are Q4. The start is the first day of the first month and the end is the last day of the third month, which handles February's length in leap years.
Days remaining is the number of days from the chosen date to the last day of the quarter.
Examples
15 May 2024
Q2 2024, from 1 April to 30 June. It is day 45 of the quarter's 91 days, with 46 days remaining.
1 October 2026
The first day of Q4 2026, which runs from 1 October to 31 December. It is day 1 of 92, with 91 days remaining. The day before, 30 September, was the last day of Q3, with 0 days remaining.
Q1 in a leap year and a common year
Q1 2024 has 91 days because February has 29 days; Q1 2023 has 90.
Things to keep in mind
- This tool uses calendar quarters. If your organisation has a fiscal year starting in another month, its quarters will differ.
- Quarters vary in length between 90 and 92 days.
- Today is taken from the date on your device, in your time zone. Around midnight at the end of a quarter, people in different time zones can be in different quarters: at 09:00 on 1 October in Sydney it is still 30 September in New York.
- To find the start and end of a week, month or year, use Start and End of Period. Days in each month lists the length of every quarter in common and leap years.