June 30. That is the short answer. If you are looking at a standard calendar, the second quarter of the year—Q2—ends exactly at midnight when June turns into July. Most people just need to know this for their taxes or maybe to see when that summer bonus is hitting their bank account. But honestly, it's rarely that simple in the professional world.
Timing is everything.
While the Gregorian calendar is fixed, the "business year" is a shape-shifter. If you work in retail, government, or for a massive tech firm like Apple, your Q2 might have ended months ago, or it might not end until the leaves start falling off the trees. Understanding when is Q2 over requires looking past the wall calendar and into the weird, often confusing world of fiscal cycles.
The Standard Calendar: June 30 is the Deadline
For the vast majority of us, Q2 is the three-month stretch consisting of April, May, and June. It represents 25% of the year. It's the bridge between the "new year resolution" energy of Q1 and the "out of office" vibes of the summer.
On June 30, the books close.
Public companies that follow the standard calendar start scrambling. They have to tally up every cent earned and every dollar spent during those 91 or 92 days. This is when the "earnings season" whispers start. If a company's stock starts fluctuating wildly in early July, it’s usually because analysts are guessing how that Q2 performance looked.
Why the 30th Matters for Your Wallet
If you're an employee, June 30 is often the cutoff for performance metrics. Sales quotas? They usually reset the next day. If you’re a freelancer, getting your invoices in before this date can be the difference between getting paid in July or waiting until the end of August because of how corporate accounting cycles work.
When the "Real" Q2 Isn't in June
Here is where things get wonky.
A "fiscal year" is just a 12-month period that a company uses for accounting. It doesn't have to start on January 1. Why? Because some businesses are seasonal. Imagine being a massive toy retailer; your busiest time is December. If your year ended on December 31, your accountants would be having a nervous breakdown trying to close the books while the stores are still packed with last-minute shoppers.
Take Apple Inc. as a prime example. Their fiscal year typically starts in late September. This means their "Q2" actually ends in late March. When you read a headline in April saying Apple had a record-breaking second quarter, they aren't talking about the spring. They are talking about the winter.
Then you have the U.S. Federal Government.
Their fiscal year starts on October 1.
- Q1: Oct, Nov, Dec
- Q2: Jan, Feb, March
- Q3: April, May, June
- Q4: July, Aug, Sept
So, for a government contractor, asking "when is Q2 over?" gets you a very different answer: March 31. If you are waiting on a federal grant or a budget approval, that March deadline is the one that actually dictates your life.
Retailers and the "4-5-4" Calendar
Retail is its own beast. Many retailers use what is called a 4-5-4 calendar. This isn't just some boring math trick; it’s a way to make sure that the number of weekends in a month stays comparable year-over-year. Since Saturdays are the biggest sales days, a "standard" month with five Saturdays would look much better than one with four, even if the store didn't actually perform better.
In this world, months are broken down into weeks. A quarter is exactly 13 weeks.
This means Q2 might end on a random Saturday in July.
Walmart, for instance, starts its fiscal year in February. Their Q2 usually wraps up around the end of July. It’s a mess for outsiders to track, but for the people running the warehouses, it's the only way to keep the data "clean."
Why Does Everyone Care So Much About the End of Q2?
It’s the halftime show.
By the time Q2 is over, the year is half gone. It is the moment of truth. If a company had a bad Q1, they spent Q2 trying to "catch up." If they miss their targets by June 30, the pressure for the rest of the year becomes almost unbearable. This is why you see so many "End of June" sales. Car dealerships, software companies, and even furniture stores are desperate to "pull forward" revenue to make their Q2 numbers look better for investors.
📖 Related: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon: What Most People Get Wrong
There is a psychological weight to it, too.
You’ve probably felt it. That June 30 deadline marks the start of the "slow" months in many industries. It’s the last push before the summer slump. In the tech world, specifically in Silicon Valley, Q2 is often the last window to secure a round of funding before VCs head to Lake Tahoe or the Hamptons for July and August. If the deal isn't signed when Q2 is over, it probably isn't happening until September.
Real-World Examples: The High Stakes of June 30
Let's look at Tesla. Elon Musk is famous for his "end of quarter delivery pushes." Since Tesla reports its numbers based on the standard calendar, the final weeks of June are usually chaotic. Employees from all departments—sometimes even the engineers—have been known to show up at delivery centers to help get cars to customers before the clock strikes midnight on June 30.
Why? Because a car delivered on July 1 doesn't count for Q2. It goes into Q3. To a casual observer, one day doesn't matter. To Wall Street, a difference of 5,000 deliveries in Q2 can swing the stock price by billions of dollars.
Tax deadlines also lurk here. For many small business owners in the United States, June 15 (just before Q2 ends) is a massive date for estimated tax payments. If you miss that, the "end of Q2" feels a lot more painful when the IRS penalties start rolling in.
Common Misconceptions About the Quarter System
People often think "quarterly" means every three months regardless of the start date. That’s sort of true, but not really. A quarter is specifically a three-month block within a defined 12-month cycle. You can't just pick any random three months and call it Q2.
Another big mistake? Assuming everyone's Q2 is the same length. While most are 91 or 92 days, those using the 4-5-4 retail calendar always have exactly 91 days (13 weeks). This makes it much easier for them to compare "Same Store Sales" without the calendar getting in the way.
Actionable Steps: How to Handle the End of Q2
Whether you are a business owner or just someone trying to stay organized, the end of the second quarter is a pivot point. Don't just let the date pass you by.
Review your mid-year budget. Honestly, most people set a budget in January and forget it by March. June 30 is your "halftime." Open your bank statements. If you've overspent in the first six months, you have exactly six months left to fix it. It's much easier to pivot in July than it is to realize you're broke in December.
Check your tax withholdings. If you had a great Q1 and Q2, you might owe more than you think. Adjusting your withholdings in July gives you six months to spread out the cost. If you wait until Q4, the "hit" to your paycheck will be much more aggressive.
Clean up your project management board. In the corporate world, "Q3 projects" are where things go to die if they aren't started properly. Use the last week of June to close out the small, nagging tasks that accumulated over the spring. Start July 1 with a clean slate.
Audit your subscriptions. Since many SaaS companies and services bill quarterly, June 30 is a common renewal date. Check your credit card statement for those "ghost" subscriptions you forgot to cancel after the free trial you started in April.
Confirm your fiscal identity. If you are starting a new job or taking on a new client, ask them: "When does your fiscal year end?" It sounds like a nerdy accounting question, but it tells you exactly when their "stress seasons" will be. If their Q2 ends in March, don't ask for a raise in late March. Wait until the new quarter starts in April when the budget is fresh.
The clock is ticking. June 30 will be here before you know it. Whether you're chasing a sales target like a Tesla delivery lead or just trying to figure out when your next quarterly review is, knowing exactly when Q2 is over gives you the lead time you need to actually prepare instead of just reacting.