Taxable period, Tax & Fiscal year

 

Taxable period

A jurisdiction adopts the term "taxable period" if its fiscal year or tax year does not coincide with the calendar year.

 

Hong Kong

Hong Kong adopts term of "year of assessment", which is the same as the fiscal period that runs from 1st April to 31st March.

The financial year is the accounting reference period as defined under the Companies Ordinance. In tax terms, the financial year is known as the "basis period". The basis period is a 12-month period, the last day of which ends in the year of assessment.

For example, if the financial year of a company is ended on 31 December 2018 (the basis period), the financial year comes under the year of assessment 2018/19. If the financial year is ended on 30 April 2019, it falls under the year of assessment 2019/20.

 

Japan

For individuals, the tax year runs from 1st January to 31st December.

For corporations, the tax year is the same as the business year in respect of which the financial reports are prepared. (i.e. for Toyota, its taxable period is a 12-month period ended on 31st March that is the same as its financial accounting period).

 

Singapore

Basis Period and Year of Assessment in Singapore

A company is taxed on the income earned in the preceding financial year. This means that income earned in the financial year 2018 will be taxed in 2019. In tax terms, using the same example as above, 2019 is the Year of Assessment (YA). In other words, the YA is the year in which your income is assessed to tax.

To assess the amount of tax, the IRAS looks at the income, expenses, etc. during the financial year. This financial year is known as the "basis period".

The basis period is generally a 12-month period preceding the YA.

 

Examples Based on Different Financial Year Ends

Financial Year End	Basis Period	YA
31 Mar of each year	1 Apr 2017 - 31 Mar 2018	2019
30 Jun of each year	1 Jul 2017 to 30 Jun 2018	2019
31 Dec of each year	1 Jan 2018 - 31 Dec 2018	2019

The same rule applies to new companies.

https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Businesses/Companies/Learning-the-basics-of-Corporate-Income-Tax/Overview-of-Corporate-Income-Tax/