Why does the financial year start from April? Read the interesting story behind the date

Do you know why we start the new year on January 1 but the financial year kicks in around April? If not, Zerodha’s co-founder Nithin Kamath is out with an answer to your question in a quirky way.

Kamath is always up for sharing knowledgeable things related to finances. His latest post includes a learning from his six-year-old son’s book.

Taking inspiration from a children’s history factbook, Kamath shared a less-known fact on his Twitter account.

The fact stated in the book highlighted that the first day of the year used to be March 25. This day was known as the ‘Lady Day’, before the English Government, in 1751, announced January 1 as the beginning of the new year. Later in 1952, people began celebrating the new year on January 1.

Hmm.. so this is why our financial year starts in April and not Jan, from my 6-year-old son's history factbook. I don't know how I didn't know until now. pic.twitter.com/AJ5iUcoH9Y

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) February 18, 2022

You would be surprised to know that the year 1951 was three months shorter than the regular year.

It was also mentioned that accountants thought the change was unfair – so the financial year was not change in the UK and now starts on April 6.  

Kamath shared the picture on Twitter along with the caption, “Hmm…so this is why our financial year starts in April and not Jan. From my 6-year-old son’s history factbook. I don’t know how I did not know until now”.

The tweet has now gone viral with over 2,200 impressions as netizens are amazed to know about this fact.

Many netizens were surprised to know this fact about the financial year and added some more facts in the comments section. One user commented, “Brilliant!” while he wondered why he never though about this earlier. Another one said, “Interesting fact to know”.

Did you know about this fact earlier?