What is the fiscal year end for UK individuals?
Answered 17 March 2026
The answer is clearly established in primary legislation. Here is the authoritative answer:
What the law says
The fiscal (tax) year end for UK individuals is 5 April. The tax year begins on 6 April and ends on the following 5 April.
This is set out in the Income Tax Act 2007, s.4:
"A tax year begins on 6 April and ends on the following 5 April."
For example, "the tax year 2007-08" means the tax year beginning on 6 April 2007. The same definition applies for Capital Gains Tax purposes under TCGA 1992.
Every assessment to income tax must be made for a tax year.
Citation sources
section 163 of CTA 2009 ; “the tribunal” means the First-tier Tribunal or, where determined by or under Tribunal Procedure Rules, the Upper Tribunal; “ UK property business ” means— a UK property business within the meaning of the Income Tax Acts (see section 989 of ITA 2007), or a UK property business within the meaning of the Corporation Tax Acts (see section 1119 of CTA 2010) ; “venture capital trust” has the same meaning as in Part 6 of ITA 2007 ; “ wasting asset ” has the meaning given by s
Part 2 Basic provisions Chapter 1 Charges to income tax Income tax an annual tax 4 1 Income tax is charged for a year only if an Act so provides. 2 A year for which income tax is charged is called a “tax year”. 3 A tax year begins on 6 April and ends on the following 5 April. 4 “ The tax year 2007-08 ” means the tax year beginning on 6 April 2007 (and any corresponding expression in which two years are similarly mentioned is to be read in the same way). 5 Every assessment to income tax must be m