What the fraternal year actually is
Fellow FS here. If this is your first year in council leadership, you're about to bump into a small but real piece of confusion: the Knights of Columbus doesn't run on a calendar year.
The KoC fraternal year runs July 1 through June 30. So when your Grand Knight says "we need this done by the end of the year," they might mean December 31, or they might mean June 30, and those are two very different conversations.
This page lays out every major date across the fraternal year — what's due when, who owns it, where the calendar year sneaks back in — so nothing surprises you.
Why July 1 through June 30?
Supreme hasn't published the "why" in any single definitive source I've found, but in practice the fraternal year works for two reasons:
- It lines up with parish life. Catholic parishes run programs that follow the liturgical year and the school year more than the calendar year. A fraternal year that starts after school lets out and ends before school starts back up matches the rhythm your Chaplain and your parish are already working with.
- It leaves room for real breaks. July and August are lighter months in most jurisdictions (summer, families traveling, no school programs). The new officer slate is installed, the Program Director appoints their team, and the real work starts in September when parishes come back to life.
The full fraternal year, month by month
July — Year start, installations, setup
- July 1: Fraternal year begins. New officer slate takes office (elected in May/June, installed typically in June).
- Bank signature cards updated. Outgoing Treasurer's authority ends; incoming Treasurer's begins. Do this week one, not week three.
- Officer handoff. Outgoing FS hands over binder, logins, roster state-of-play to incoming FS. Same for GK, Treasurer, Recorder, Advocate.
- Supreme assessments — 2nd levy. Levied July 1 based on the current roster; pay by October 10. Per Capita Tax + Catholic Advertising + Culture of Life bundle, $3.25/member combined.
- State Per Capita. Month and amount vary by state. Mid-July is common in many jurisdictions but not universal — check your state council's schedule. Either way, this is one of the two biggest compliance dates of the year.
August — Program team locked in
- Program team already on file. #365 was due July 1; you should be through Supreme's records entry (2–3 week turnaround) by early August. Verify with your District Deputy.
- State convention delegate credentials — if your state convention is in August, begin delegate selection.
September — Full swing begins
- Parish cycle resumes. Most councils hold their first "back to business" meeting of the year.
- Membership drive kickoff. Early fall is historically the highest-yield recruiting window.
- October Faith in Action planning — first program events of the real calendar.
October – December — Program execution
- Columbus Day activities (early October) — traditionally a membership and community event window.
- All Souls / All Saints programs — Faith pillar credits for SP-7.
- Advent season — Family and Faith pillar programs peak here.
- December 31: Close of calendar year — this is the cutoff for Form #1728 data. Every activity from January 1 through December 31 of this prior calendar year is what you'll report in January.
January — The calendar-year paperwork month
- January 1: Supreme assessments — 1st levy. Levied on the current roster (Per Capita Tax $1.75 + Catholic Advertising $0.50 + Culture of Life $1.00 = $3.25/member). Pay by April 10. The other half of your year's two biggest compliance dates.
- January 31: Form #1728 (Annual Survey of Fraternal Activity) due. Covers the prior calendar year — January 1 through December 31. This is the only major form that isn't on the fraternal year.
February — Audit prep begins
- Mid-year financial check-in. Not a Supreme deadline, but a good time for Trustees to review books informally so the August audit isn't a surprise. Reconcile Per Capita remittances, verify voucher trails, flag anything that needs cleanup before year-end.
March – April — Lenten programs + planning
- Lenten Faith programs — typically the biggest Faith pillar programs of the year.
- Officer nomination process begins. Nominating committee formed by March or April, nominees announced before May election.
- Columbian Award planning — review your pillar credit count. If you're short in any pillar, this is when you schedule catch-up events.
May — Elections, end-of-year programs
- Officer elections. Per Order L&R §128, all elected officers (every slot except Chaplain, Lecturer, and Financial Secretary) must be elected by ballot at a monthly council meeting held between May 1 and June 15. New officers take office July 1. College councils have a wider March 1 – June 1 window.
- SP-7 (Columbian Award application) preparation — your Program Director compiles credits across the four pillars.
- State convention in many jurisdictions (spring or summer, state-dependent).
June — Close-out
- June 30: Fraternal year ends.
- Form #365 (Service Program Personnel Report) due July 1 for the incoming fraternal year. Gates your Star Council clock — file early so you're not scrambling alongside everything else closing out on June 30.
- SP-7 due June 30. The Columbian Award application for the year you just finished.
- Form #185 (Report of Officers Chosen for the Term) due June 30. Names your new elected officers.
- Audit prep begins for August 15 year-end audit.
- Final Per Capita reconciliation. Make sure you're square with Supreme and state before year-end close.
Rolling over — July 1 begins again
Where the calendar year sneaks back in
The fraternal year is the main clock, but four things run on the calendar year:
- Form #1728 — calendar year activity, due January 31.
- IRS / 501(c)(8) reporting — Supreme's master filing is on the calendar year because the IRS is on the calendar year. Your #1728 data feeds this.
- Supreme Per Capita roster cutoff — based on December 31 roster for the January remittance.
- Some council bylaws — councils that run on calendar-year dues cycles (uncommon, but not impossible). Check your own bylaws.
Everything else — officer terms, Star Council, Good Standing, audits, program credits — runs on July 1 through June 30.
State council variations
Your state council can layer its own dates on top of the Supreme calendar. Common examples:
- State Per Capita — usually twice a year, not always in the same months as Supreme.
- State convention — varies by state, typically spring or summer.
- State-specific charitable or tax reporting — varies widely by state and by how your council holds assets. Your State Deputy or state council can point you at the specific filings that apply in your jurisdiction.
- District deputy meetings — state-by-state schedule.
Action item for every new FS/GK: within your first month in office, ask your District Deputy for the full state-specific calendar. Don't assume the Supreme calendar is the whole picture.
The two dates I'd pin to the wall
If you can only remember two dates on this whole page:
- July 1 — Form #365 due. Missing this kills your Star Council clock for the incoming year.
- January 31 — Form #1728 due. Missing this is a Good Standing violation.
Everything else flows from those two. Per Capita, #185, SP-7, audits — they matter, but they're rarely the thing councils forget. The July 1 and January 31 dates are.
A visual rhythm chart
| Month | Supreme | Council | State (varies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| July | 2nd Supreme assessment levied (Jul 1) | Officer install, bank cards | State Per Capita (some states) |
| August | Form #1295 annual audit due Aug 15 | Trustees audit; GK signs | — |
| Sept – Dec | — | Programs, recruiting, Advent | — |
| January | 1st Supreme assessment levied (Jan 1); #1728 due Jan 31 | #1728 prep + data pull | — |
| February | — | Mid-year financial check-in | — |
| March – April | — | Lenten programs; Supreme assessments due Apr 10 | — |
| May | — | Officer elections; SP-7 prep | State convention (some) |
| June | SP-7 due; #185 due; FY ends | Handoff prep | State Per Capita (some) |
One more thing
The fraternal year rewards councils that plan quarterly, not monthly. If your officer meetings are running month-by-month with no visibility past 60 days, you will miss something. Put the full calendar on the wall — literally print this page and tape it up. Review it at the July officer meeting, the January officer meeting, and the May officer meeting. Three times a year, fifteen minutes each time, and you'll never be surprised by a due date again.
That's the whole trick.
Source notes. Draws on Charter, Constitution and Laws (Order L&R), Supreme's Good Standing and Star Council documentation, the Grand Knight Handbook (#915), and state council practice. State-specific dates vary widely; check your own state council's calendar. Send feedback if any date is off — this page will be referenced widely and accuracy matters.
Last reviewed: April 18, 2026. Fraternal year 2025–26.
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