How to calculate the fiscal quarter from a date in Excel

Q: How do I get the fiscal year too?

For a fiscal year named by the year it ends in: =YEAR(A2)+(MONTH(A2)>=$E$1).

Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)

="Q"&INT(MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)/3)+1

Count the months since the fiscal year started, then divide by 3: ="Q"&INT(MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)/3)+1, with the start month in E1.

Result on the example: one result per row in B2, filled down to B8
Works in: Every current version
Google Sheets: Same formula

See it work

The formula is already in B2, filled down to B8. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12) counts the months since the fiscal year began: 0 for July, 6 for January, 11 for June. Dividing by 3 and adding 1 turns months 0 to 2 into Q1, 3 to 5 into Q2, and so on. Change E1 for other fiscal years, like 10 for an October start.

="Q"&INT(MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)/3)+1

Result"Q1"

A27/1/2026
The value in A2.
MONTH(A2)7
MONTH: Month of a date, 1–12.
- serial_numberA27/1/2026
$E$17
The value in E1.
MONTH(A2)-$E$10
The - operator subtracts.
MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)0
MOD: Remainder after division.
- numberMONTH(A2)-$E$10
- divisor12
MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)/30
The / operator divides.
INT(MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)/3)0
INT: Rounds down to the nearest integer.
- numberMOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)/30
INT(MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)/3)+11
The + operator adds.
"Q"&INT(MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)/3)+1"Q1"
The & operator joins as text.

In Google Sheets

The same formula works in Google Sheets: ="Q"&INT(MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)/3)+1. We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

Formula	Result	When to use it
="Q"&ROUNDUP((MOD(MONTH(A2)-$E$1,12)+1)/3,0)	Q1, Q1, Q2…	The same with ROUNDUP on the fiscal month number.
="Q"&CHOOSE(MONTH(A2),3,3,3,4,4,4,1,1,1,2,2,2)	Q1, Q1, Q2…	A lookup by calendar month. Easy to read, but fixed to a July start.

Common mistakes

MONTH(A2)-7 is negative from January to June. MOD wraps it to 6 to 11; without MOD the quarter comes out as 0 or less.
The quarter alone doesn't say which fiscal year it is. Show the fiscal year next to it.

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Calculate the fiscal quarter from a date

In B2, show the fiscal quarter of each date for a fiscal year that starts in the month in E1, and fill down to B8.

Questions

How do I get the fiscal year too?

For a fiscal year named by the year it ends in: =YEAR(A2)+(MONTH(A2)>=$E$1).

What about the US federal fiscal year?

It starts in October, so put 10 in E1. October 15, 2026 is then Q1 of fiscal 2027.

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.