A fin cut last methodology for manufacturing a vertical FinFET includes forming a plurality of semiconductor fins over a substrate, forming shallow trench isolation between active fins and, following the formation of a functional gate of the active fins, using a selective etch to remove a sacrificial fin from within an isolation region. A further etching step can be used to remove a portion of the gate stack proximate to the sacrificial fin to create an isolation trench and a laterally-extending cavity within the isolation region that are back-filled with an isolation dielectric.