Most people only have to keep up one with tax deadline. It’s common knowledge that April 15th is Tax Day (though that date actually changes based on holidays, weekends, etc). But for business owners like us, that isn’t accurate. We actually have many tax deadlines to worry about through the year, and if your business is a partnership or S-corporation, your return is due in March, not April.
Let’s take a look at our deadlines for 2018:
W-2 and 1099 Reporting
I covered this topic briefly last month, so if you are reading this now and haven’t sent out those W-2s and 1099s, you’re late! They should be sent out by January 31 each year. This date is earlier than previous years, as the IRS and many states are hoping to cut down on fraud and identity theft by making these documents available to taxpayers as early as possible.
If you missed that deadline, stop what you are doing right now and take care of these forms. The IRS has increased penalties for failing to file these forms and failing to provide W-2s to your employees, so it is crucial that you get these done. And you might want to consider outsourcing this in 2019 so you don’t miss it again!
Payroll Tax Reports
These reports were also due by January 31st, so I hope you filed because the penalties for not doing so are steep. What reports am I talking about? The annual wage and tax reports, unemployment tax reports, and the quarterly payroll tax reports.
You do not want to mess around with payroll tax. Because of these steep penalties, I recommend you outsource this task. Even if you don’t outsource any other tasks, outsource this one. Payroll tax can get complicated and expensive if you do it wrong. So please, stay on top of it.
Estimated Taxes
As I mentioned on the blog last month, most business owners are subject to estimated taxes. In addition to the regular tax deadline, we have four other deadlines to worry about. Those are April 15th, June 15th, September 15th and January 15th. Obviously, the January date has come and gone, but if you missed it you can always make up that amount in April. That’s because these payments are simply estimates. The goal is to approximate one quarter of your annual tax liability, so you are paying throughout the year instead of one giant lump sum annually.
2017 Tax Filing Deadlines
Partnerships (Form 1065) and S-Corporations (Form 1120S) are required to file their tax returns or file for an extension by March 15, 2018. If you choose to file an extension, you have until September 17 to finish and file your return.
Individuals (Form 1040) and C-Corporations have until April 17 to file or extend their returns. If an extension is filed, the due date is extended to October 15.
Remember that filing an extension is NOT an extension to pay any tax due. If you choose to file an extension and not pay what you owe, you will be charged penalties and interest.
Of course, this isn’t an end-all be-all list of tax deadlines. There are other tax issues (like sales tax) to consider. But this is a great place to start. If you handle all your own tax accounting, I suggest writing down every single deadline on your calendar to make sure you don’t miss one. But if your business is continuing to grow, I highly suggest making 2018 the year you decide to hire someone to help you manage all the deadlines. Contact us today to hand-off all those deadlines to a professional, virtual bookkeeper!
Deb Howard Greenleaf, EA, CEO and Principal, of Greenleaf Accounting Services provides virtual accounting and bookkeeping services and specializes in financial management to consultants, coaches, solo professionals, and other small business owners across the US. Deb is an Enrolled Agent (EA)—an IRS-licensed tax professional—and specializes in small businesses and entrepreneurs filing Schedule C or as an LLC. As an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Deb spends her day in QuickBooks Online and specializes in providing QBO support.
