Half-Year Abbreviations: H1 and H2
H1 and H2 can label the first and second halves of a year or fiscal year in business reporting. Microsoft documents H1 and H2 as two six-month fiscal periods and combines them with fiscal-year labels such as FY23 H1.
Use H1 for the first half and H2 for the second half when your organization uses that convention; identify the calendar or fiscal-year basis when it could be ambiguous.
Key details
Important caveats
Context Boundary
Half-year boundaries are organization/calendar dependent, so a label should make the fiscal or calendar context clear when needed.
Further guidance
Meaning
Microsoft explicitly defines H1 and H2 as the two six-month periods in its fiscal program context.
Practical Application
Use H1 and H2 only when the audience understands which year basis applies. Pair the abbreviation with the year and, when needed, state whether the organization uses calendar or fiscal halves.
Reader Check
Could a reader tell exactly which six-month period “H1” or “H2” refers to without knowing the organization’s internal calendar?
Worked Example
“Revenue grew 8% in H1 FY2027 (April–September 2026).” The parenthetical resolves the fiscal-calendar ambiguity.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Incentives Co-op and Claims Overview (opens in a new tab)Microsoft Learn · Documented H1/H2 notation for the first and second six-month periods of a fiscal year