GlossaryBeginner
Tax Year
The specific 12-month period a jurisdiction uses for tax reporting purposes, which doesn't always align with the calendar year.
A tax year is the specific 12-month period a jurisdiction uses for tax reporting and filing purposes — many countries use the calendar year (January to December), but a meaningful number use a different period (for example, a fiscal year running April to March).
A tax year's specific start and end dates directly determine which transactions fall into which filing period, a genuinely practical detail worth confirming for the relevant jurisdiction rather than assuming it matches the calendar year by default. See the relevant country-specific guide in Kaavon's crypto tax section for that jurisdiction's actual tax year.
Examples
- A transaction made in March could fall into different tax years depending on whether a jurisdiction's tax year follows the calendar year or a different period, like April to March.
- Confirming a jurisdiction's actual tax year dates is a practical first step before trying to determine which filing period a given transaction belongs to.