Fiscal Years: A Brief Explanation

Download the PDF here.
Definition
A fiscal year is a one year period that organizations use to provide budgets and financial reports. Some government entities, such as counties and some special service districts, use a calendar year (January 1–December 31) as their fiscal year. Other entities, such as municipalities, use the period of July 1 through June 30 as their fiscal year (colloquially referred to as a “fiscal year”). Entities with a fiscal year that begins neither on January 1 nor July 1 are uncommon, but do exist.
Fiscal Year Purpose & Report Creation
The purpose of a fiscal year is to standardize the time frame for which financial reports and budgets are created. Note that Approved Budgets need to be adopted before the budget year begins (and uploaded within thirty days of adoption) and Financial Reports cannot be created until after the fiscal year for which the report covers has ended (and uploaded within 180 days of the fiscal year end).
Uploading Reports to the Correct Year in the State Reporting System
Calendar Year (Jan. 1–Dec. 31) Entity Report Upload Location Guide
Report Type | State Reporting System Upload Location | Time Period the Report Covers | When to Upload |
---|---|---|---|
2020 Approved Budget | 2020 Approved Budget | January 1, 2020–December 31, 2020 | December 2019 or January 2020 |
2020 Financial Report | 2020 Financial Report | January 1, 2020–December 31, 2020 | January 2021 and after |
2021 Approved Budget | 2021 Approved Budget | January 1, 2021–December 31, 2021 | December 2020 or January 2021 |
2021 Financial Report | 2021 Financial Report | January 1, 2021–December 31, 2021 | January 2022 and after |
2022 Approved Budget | 2022 Approved Budget | January 1, 2022–December 31, 2022 | December 2021 or January 2022 |
2022 Financial Report | 2022 Financial Report | January 1, 2022–December 31, 2022 | January 2023 and after |
Fiscal Year (July 1–June 30) Entity Report Upload Location Guide
Report Type | State Reporting System Upload Location | Time Period the Report Covers | When to Upload |
---|---|---|---|
2020 Approved Budget | 2020 Approved Budget | July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020 | June 2019 or July 2019 |
2020 Financial Report | 2020 Financial Report | July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020 | July 2020 and after |
2021 Approved Budget | 2021 Approved Budget | July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021 | June 2020 or July 2020 |
2021 Financial Report | 2021 Financial Report | July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021 | July 2021 and after |
2022 Approved Budget | 2022 Approved Budget | July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022 | June 2021 or July 2021 |
2022 Financial Report | 2022 Financial Report | July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022 | July 2022 and after |
Download the PDF here.