# Fiscal Year The federal government's budget year runs **October 1 through September 30**, and is named for the calendar year in which it *ends*: FY2025 ran Oct 1, 2024 – Sep 30, 2025. This simple mechanic shapes the whole budget calendar and is a recurring source of confusion. ## Why it's set up this way - Congress moved the start to October 1 (from July 1) in the 1974 Budget Act to give itself more time after the [[President's Budget Request]] to write [[Appropriations Process]] before money runs out. - The **Oct 1 deadline** is why [[Government Shutdown]]s and [[Continuing Resolution]]s cluster at the end of September — that's when funding lapses if the bills aren't done. - A fiscal year spans **two presidents in a transition year**: FY2025 (Oct 2024–Sep 2025) covered Biden's last months and Trump's first eight, which complicates assigning spending to an administration. ## Why it matters for reading data - Headline figures ("the FY2025 deficit was $1.78T") always refer to the Oct–Sep year, not the calendar year — mixing the two is a common error. - The fiscal-year boundary is also what makes **timing shifts** possible: moving a payment across Sep 30 / Oct 1 lands it in a different year's score (see [[Budget Gimmicks]]). - A **pocket rescission** weaponizes the boundary — running the [[Impoundment Control Act]] clock out so funds lapse at year-end (see [[Rescission and Impoundment]]). ## Related - [[Federal Budget Process]] · [[Government Shutdown]] · [[Continuing Resolution]] - [[Budget Gimmicks]] · [[Budget Hub]]