When Are My Tax Deadlines?

When do I need to file my taxes?

I sense a sigh, or a heavy exhale, after reading this title or anything to do with taxes. More than likely because filing taxes isn’t the most fun activity, but it’s essential as an American citizen and a business owner. If you have a spectacular accounting team and tax professional, hopefully, Waterford Business Solutions, then you’re already off to a good start for filing taxes successfully.

However, it’s still imperative that you know your deadline and the penalties you could face. It’s not always so cut and dried as saying the last day to file is April 15th, and failure to do so results in a hefty penalty.

Personal Tax Filing

      There are essentially 2 dates that matter for personal tax filing, depending on the entity’s structure and type. March 15th and April 15th are the 2 dates you need to memorize. Everyone must be familiar with April 15th because that’s when personal taxes are due. These dates may vary from year to year depending on whether they fall on a weekend.

In that case, it will be pushed to the following Monday. However, you, as a business owner, must file your business taxes before your personal taxes. If you’re a business with multiple partners, such as an informal/formal partnership, a multi-member LLC, or even an S-Corp, all those business types are required to file a final tax return or file an extension by March 15th with the IRS.

We’ll come back to get into full detail on filing taxes for your business because once that is filed, if you fall into the entity type already listed, you should have a K-1 form to claim on your personal tax return due April 15th.

Let’s say you don’t have all the documents and forms you need to file your business tax return. There are extensions you can file, each with a deadline, but keep in mind this extension is to file, not to pay any taxes owed.

Taxes owed are still due by the original March 15th date to avoid penalties. The extended deadline for Sole Proprietors/LLC/C-Corp is October 15th. The extended deadline for Partnerships/S-Corps September 15th.

A recommendation is to bookmark IRS Publication 509 and the tax calendars. This website provides an annual guide with key deadlines for filing tax returns, paying taxes, and taking other federal tax actions. It details separate calendars for general taxpayers (individuals/businesses), for payroll and employment tax deadlines.

Business Tax Filing

Circling back to filing taxes as a business: if classified as a corporation or S-Corporation, the business is required to file Form 1120-S (or Form 7004, used to request an automatic 6-month extension of time). These entity types will issue K-1s to their owners, shareholders, supporters, members, partners, or equivalents. Form 1120-S or Form 7004 is due on March 15th, or the following Monday if it falls on a weekend.

From an IRS standpoint, these entities do not owe any taxes; the owners do. Hence, the K-1s are required to be issued to their owners, and then this form is later used to claim their share of income on personal tax returns or an extension filed due April 15th. As a sole proprietorship, single-member LLC, or an unofficial business filing a 1099, you will be filing a

Schedule C on the 1040 tax return, which is due April 15th. If your entity is classified as a C-Corp that doesn’t have an S-Corp election, it will file Form 1120, due on April 15th.

Reminder, filing an extension does not change when the tax liability is owed for federal government filing. Some states have different deadlines for when you owe taxes and must file for state income tax, such as taxpayers in storm or weather-disaster-affected areas. It’s important to check your state’s protocol to ensure you meet the deadlines for State Income Tax returns.

Moreover, if you do not file a tax return or an extension by April 15th, you can no longer file for an extension. Without an extension filed on either March 15th or April 15th (again, depending on entity type), you will face penalties every month that the return is not filed.

For C-Corps and 1040 filers, penalties will be lower and less severe than for S-Corps or partnerships. These entities (S-Corps and partnerships) will face monthly penalties per shareholder for each period in which they are not filed.

Take a moment to view the charts provided by the IRS on the failure-to-file penalty. This page will provide better insight into the penalties you can avoid.

Any more dates to remember, or is this the end of the blog?

Another round of sighs, please. Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer for every U.S. citizen and business that submits tax returns and pays tax owed in full on April 15th. Keep your business entity type in mind to help determine whether you fall under the March 15th or April 15th deadline.

Asking and communicating with your tax professional will help you avoid penalties for not filing an extension or the tax return. Also, it’s important to communicate with your tax professional on your estimated tax payments because it’s best to overpay and not underpay.

If at any point you need more help understanding or preparing, reach out to our team at Waterford Business. Furthermore, explore our YouTube channel for more informational videos, or listen to James explain accounting or tax concepts. Our website also features informational blogs our team put together for your use.