Year to Date (YTD)

What Is Year to Date (YTD)?

Year to date (YTD) refers to the period of time beginning the first day of the current calendar year or fiscal year up to the current date. YTD information is useful for analyzing business trends over time or comparing performance data to competitors or peers in the same industry. The acronym often modifies concepts such as investment returns, earnings, and net pay.

How Year to Date (YTD) Is Used

If someone uses YTD for a calendar year reference, they mean the period of time between January 1 of the current year and the current date. If they use YTD for a fiscal year reference, they mean the period of time between the first day of the fiscal year in question and the current date.

A fiscal year is a period of time lasting one year but not necessarily beginning on January 1. It is used by governments, corporations, and other organizations for accounting and external audit purposes.

For example, the federal government observes its fiscal year from October 1 to September 30, and Microsoft's fiscal year is from July 1 to June 30. It is common for nonprofit organizations to have a fiscal year of July 1 to June 30.

YTD financial information is useful for management, as it is a good way to check in on the financial health of a company on an interim basis rather than waiting until the end of the fiscal year.

YTD financial statements are routinely analyzed against historical YTD financial statements through the equivalent time period. For example, if a company's fiscal year begins on July 1, a three-month YTD financial statement would run through September 30.

The September YTD financial statement for the current year may be compared to the September YTD financial statement from the prior year or years, to identify seasonal trends or abnormalities.

Examples of Year to Date (YTD)

Year-to-Date Returns

YTD return refers to the amount of profit made by an investment since the first day of the current year. Investors and analysts use YTD return information to assess the performance of investments and portfolios.

To calculate a YTD return on investment, subtract its value on the first day of the current year from its current value. Then, divide the difference by the value on the first day, and multiply the product by 100 to convert it to a percentage. For example, if a portfolio was worth $100,000 on Jan 1, and it is worth $150,000 today, its YTD return is 50%.

Year-to-Date Earnings

YTD earnings refer to the amount of money an individual has earned from Jan 1 to the current date. This amount typically appears on an employee's pay stub, along with information about Medicare and Social Security withholdings and income tax payments.

YTD earnings may also describe the amount of money an independent contractor or business has earned since the beginning of the year. This amount consists of revenue minus expenses. Small-business owners use YTD earnings to track financial goals and estimate quarterly tax payments.

Year-to-Date Net Pay

Net pay is the difference between employee earnings and the withholdings from those earnings. To calculate net pay, employees subtract the tax and other withholdings from their gross pay. YTD net pay appears on many paycheck stubs, and this figure includes all of the money earned since Jan 1 of the current year minus all of the tax and other benefit amounts withheld.

Month to Date vs. Year to Date

Month to date (MTD) refers to the period of time between the 1st of the current month and the last finalized business day before the current date. Typically, MTD does not include the current date because business has not yet ended for that day.

For example, if today's date is Aug. 21, 2021, MTD refers to the period of time from Aug. 1, 2021, to Aug. 20, 2021. This metric is used in similar ways as YTD metrics. Namely, business owners, investors, and individuals use MTD data to analyze their income, business earnings, and investment returns for the month so far.

What is meant by year to date?

Year to date (YTD) is a term that covers the period between the beginning of the year and the current (present) date. YTD covers the first day of the year in question up to the day of calculation. It can apply to fiscal or calendar years, where the fiscal year might not begin on Jan. 1 — thus, YTD is the start of the fiscal year to the current date.

How do you calculate year to date returns?

Consider an investor who bought shares in a company on January 1 at $200 per share. In March, they are worth $220. To calculate the year-to-date return on these shares, take ($220- $200)/ $200 then multiply this by 100 to arrive at 10%. The same process applies to an entire portfolio, where the prices of each share would be cumulatively added together, and then compared to their prices at the beginning of the year. For instance, consider an investor allocated $10,000 in five investments at the beginning of the year. In March, their value is now $15,000. In turn, the year-to-date dollar return of the five investments would equal $5,000.

What is the difference between month to date and year to date?

Month to date includes an important caveat when used in business. Here, month to date refers to the first of the month to the last business day before the given current date. For instance, if today were Aug. 21, the month-to-date would equal Aug. 1 to Aug. 20. This is because business has not been finalized for the current day. Month to date is used for similar metrics as the year to date, such as measuring earnings, return, and income.