diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/RevertYearOnlyChanges.kt b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/RevertYearOnlyChanges.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0db4a6b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/RevertYearOnlyChanges.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. and the Pkl project authors. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+import com.diffplug.spotless.FormatterFunc
+import com.diffplug.spotless.FormatterStep
+import java.io.File
+import java.io.Serial
+import java.io.Serializable
+
+/**
+ * A Spotless [FormatterStep] that suppresses formatting changes where the only difference between
+ * the formatted output and the file's content in the upstream base ref is the license header year.
+ *
+ * Avoids an issue where, in the process of working on the codebase:
+ * 1. A file is modified.
+ * 2. Spotless formats the file, and also updates the copyright year.
+ * 3. The original modification is reverted.
+ * 4. Spotless formats the file again, but now the copyright year is the updated year.
+ */
+class RevertYearOnlyChangesStep(private val repoRoot: File, private val ratchetFrom: String) :
+  Serializable {
+  companion object {
+    @Serial private const val serialVersionUID: Long = 1L
+  }
+
+  fun create(): FormatterStep =
+    FormatterStep.createLazy(
+      "revertYearOnlyChanges",
+      { this },
+      { RevertYearOnlyChangesFunc(repoRoot, ratchetFrom) },
+    )
+}
+
+class RevertYearOnlyChangesFunc(private val repoRoot: File, private val ratchetFrom: String) :
+  FormatterFunc.NeedsFile, Serializable {
+  companion object {
+    @Serial private const val serialVersionUID: Long = 1L
+
+    // Matches "Copyright © 2024" or "Copyright © 2024-2025"
+    private val YEAR_REGEX = Regex("""(Copyright © )\d{4}(-\d{4})?""")
+  }
+
+  override fun applyWithFile(unix: String, file: File): String {
+    val relativePath = repoRoot.toPath().relativize(file.toPath()).toString()
+    val upstreamContent = gitShow(ratchetFrom, relativePath) ?: return unix
+    val normalizedRaw = YEAR_REGEX.replace(unix, "\$1YEAR")
+    val normalizedUpstream = YEAR_REGEX.replace(upstreamContent, "\$1YEAR")
+    return if (normalizedRaw == normalizedUpstream) {
+      // Only the year changed — return the upstream content
+      upstreamContent
+    } else {
+      unix
+    }
+  }
+
+  private fun gitShow(ref: String, path: String): String? {
+    val process =
+      ProcessBuilder("git", "show", "$ref:$path")
+        .directory(repoRoot)
+        .redirectErrorStream(true)
+        .start()
+    val output = process.inputStream.readBytes().toString(Charsets.UTF_8)
+    return if (process.waitFor() == 0) output.replace("\r\n", "\n") else null
+  }
+}
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/pklAllProjects.gradle.kts b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/pklAllProjects.gradle.kts
index a4b107a2..e0f392c1 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/pklAllProjects.gradle.kts
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/pklAllProjects.gradle.kts
@@ -152,22 +152,28 @@ val ratchetBranchName =
 spotless {
   ratchetFrom = "$originalRemoteName/$ratchetBranchName"
 
+  val revertYearOnlyChangesStep =
+    RevertYearOnlyChangesStep(rootProject.rootDir, ratchetFrom!!).create()
+
   // When building root project, format buildSrc files too.
   // We need this because buildSrc is not a subproject of the root project, so a top-level
   // `spotlessApply` will not trigger `buildSrc:spotlessApply`.
   if (project === rootProject) {
     kotlinGradle {
       configureFormatter()
+      addStep(revertYearOnlyChangesStep)
       target("*.kts", "buildSrc/*.kts", "buildSrc/src/*/kotlin/**/*.kts")
     }
     kotlin {
       ktfmt(libs.versions.ktfmt.get()).googleStyle()
       target("buildSrc/src/*/kotlin/**/*.kt")
       licenseHeaderFile(licenseHeaderFile)
+      addStep(revertYearOnlyChangesStep)
     }
   } else {
     kotlinGradle {
       configureFormatter()
+      addStep(revertYearOnlyChangesStep)
       target("*.kts")
     }
   }
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/pklJavaLibrary.gradle.kts b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/pklJavaLibrary.gradle.kts
index 8540d361..cbc0c3cd 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/pklJavaLibrary.gradle.kts
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/pklJavaLibrary.gradle.kts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright © 2024-2025 Apple Inc. and the Pkl project authors. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright © 2024-2026 Apple Inc. and the Pkl project authors. All rights reserved.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -50,12 +50,17 @@ artifacts {
 }
 
 spotless {
+  val revertYearOnlyChanges = RevertYearOnlyChangesStep(rootProject.rootDir, ratchetFrom!!).create()
+
   java {
+    addStep(revertYearOnlyChanges)
     googleJavaFormat(libs.versions.googleJavaFormat.get())
     target("src/*/java/**/*.java")
     licenseHeaderFile(rootProject.file("buildSrc/src/main/resources/license-header.star-block.txt"))
   }
+
   kotlin {
+    addStep(revertYearOnlyChanges)
     ktfmt(libs.versions.ktfmt.get()).googleStyle()
     target("src/*/kotlin/**/*.kt")
     licenseHeaderFile(rootProject.file("buildSrc/src/main/resources/license-header.star-block.txt"))