The Ultimate Guide To The IRS Filing Deadlines For 2024
If you’re not prepared, tax filing deadlines can catch you off guard. Missing important tax dates can be frustrating and even lead to late penalties. The easiest way to avoid this is to take some time and save each relevant tax filing deadline to your calendar.
We’ve put this article together to make it easier for you to find and remember the right filing dates for common IRS forms. It also contains a few helpful tips to ensure a successful tax season—whether you’re an individual taxpayer or business.
Important Things to Remember for Tax Season
In addition to remembering to file your tax returns on the right dates, there are a few other things to consider when the tax season rolls around. Taking note of the key points below will help you to avoid unnecessary mistakes and admin.
Date Extensions
Every American has the right to apply for filing date extensions if they have missed the submission deadline. For 2024, your application for the extension must be submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by April 15, 2024. If your filing extension is granted, you will have to submit your tax returns by October 15, 2024.
Late Penalties
There are different penalties for paying your taxes late and for filing them after the submission date without an approved extension. The penalty for making late tax payments is 0.5% of the taxes owed to the IRS each month. Filing for taxes after the deadline and without an approved extension can result in fines of 5% of the amount you owe the IRS for each month that a tax return is late but will not exceed 25% of your unpaid taxes.
If you mail physical copies of your tax documents to the IRS on the paper filing deadline, they may not receive them on the same day. However, as long as they are postmarked on or before the submission date, the IRS still considers your taxes as filed on time.
You could also receive a penalty if the information on your tax documents is inaccurate. The penalty may be up to 20% more than the amount you still owe to the IRS. For further information on tax-related penalties, you can visit the IRS website.
‘Tax Day’
While January to April is typically known as ‘tax season,’ the big ‘tax day’ falls on April 15. This is the last day of the fiscal tax year for individual taxpayers, sole proprietors, and C corporations to file all of their tax documents.
Deadlines for Different IRS Forms
1099 Forms
1099 forms are a series of documents used to report various types of income other than wages, salaries, and tips. These forms are provided by the payer to the recipient and the IRS. Common types include the 1099-MISC for miscellaneous income, the 1099-INT for interest income, and the 1099-DIV for dividends and distributions. They are crucial for ensuring that all income is accurately reported and taxed appropriately. Recipients must report the income detailed in these forms on their federal tax returns.
Form 1099-NEC
The 1099-NEC form is used to report non-employee compensation over $600. This amount includes any fees, commissions, or other sources of income. This form is also used to track how much an independent contractor has earned from each company they have provided services to. Independent contractors can attach Form 1099-NEC to their 1040 income tax return to replace the W-2.
A contractor should also be sure to send their W-9 tax forms to the people they provided services to before the 1099 deadline so that the contractor can receive their 1099 forms on time. If this isn’t done, the relevant parties may face late filing fines.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: January 31st, 2024
- E-filing: January 31st, 2024
Form 1099-MISC
Form 1099-MISC is used to report payments for miscellaneous services not subject to self-employment tax that the 1099-NEC doesn’t cover. These payments may include:
- Monetary prizes or awards.
- Rent
- Legal settlements
- Reimbursements.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: February 28th, 2024
- E-filing: March 3rd, 2024
Form 1099-INT
The Form 1099-INT form is used to report any interest that a taxpayer receives of more than $10. Taxpayers generally receive this interest from banks or other financial institutions. This form will be sent to them by January 31. To be eligible to receive this income, the taxpayer must file a Form 1099-INT with their other tax documents on the correct filing due date.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: February 28th, 2024
- E-filing: March 31st, 2024
Form 1099-DIV
The Form 1099-DIV reports any income non-employees earned from dividends during the tax year. Brokerages that pay the dividends to the independent contractor will send this form by January 31. To receive the dividends, the non-employee must file the 1099-DIV form with their other tax documents on the correct date.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: February 28th, 2024
- E-filing: March 31st, 2024
Form 1099-B, 1099-S, and 1099-R
Nonemployees use these 1099 forms to report any additional forms of income they have earned outside of their full-time jobs. Let’s take a closer look at some examples of this below.
Form 1099-B is used to report brokerage transactions, like selling stocks.
Form 1099-S is used to track income from real estate transactions, such as selling property.
Form 1099-R reports income received from retirement plans or pension funds.
The relevant institutions will send the necessary 1099 form to the independent contractor by January 31. For independent contractors to receive this income in time, they must submit these forms with their other tax returns on the correct date.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: February 28th, 2024
- E-filing: March 31st, 2024
W-2 Forms
Full-time employees use W-2 forms to track and report the income they earn from their employer. Employees also use a W-2 form to report their taxable deductions and other benefits to the IRS when filing their federal and state taxes. They must also submit a W-4 to their employers before the deadline so that employers can issue their W-2.
W-2 SSA Copy A
This is a copy of the W-2 form that is sent to the Social Security Administration (SSA) every year. Employers usually send this copy to the SSA on behalf of the employee. The SSA uses this copy to track employees’ Social Security earnings and Medicare benefits. Copy A is for informational purposes only; it cannot be printed and mailed to the SSA since the paper alignment varies between printers and mailed copies must be formatted to fit the scanning machines. Users can also fill out Copy A on the SSA website in order to securely send the information to them directly.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: January 31st, 2024
- E-filing: January 31st, 2024
W-2 Copies B, C, and 2
These copies of the W-2 form are mainly used for record-keeping and filing individual taxes.
- Copy B is used by employees to file their federal income tax returns.
- Copy C is for the employee’s record-keeping purposes.
- Copy 2 is used by employees when they file their state or local income tax returns.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: January 31st, 2024
- E-filing: January 31st, 2024
Form 940
Form 940 is what businesses use to report their contributions to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA). FUTA tax provides unemployment compensation for employees who lose their jobs. This amount is covered by employers and won’t be deducted from an employee’s wages.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: January 31st 2024
- E-filing: January 31st, 2024
Form 941
Employers use Form 941 to report how much their business spends on employee wages and payroll taxes. Unlike other forms that can either be filed monthly or annually, this form must be filed every three months or every quarter. Employers also can’t choose to pay the full amount they owe the IRS once a year like with other tax forms. Instead, the Form 941 tax amount must be paid every three months when it’s filed. Form 941 can also be used to report or calculate:
- Social Security and Medicare taxes.
- Tips.
- Income taxes withheld.
- Additional withheld taxes.
- Refundable or nonrefundable portions of sick and family leave.
Deadlines:
- Quarter 1 (January, February, March): May 1, 2024.
- Quarter 2 (April, May, June): August 1, 2024.
- Quarter 3 (July, August, September): October 31, 2024.
- Quarter 4 (October, November, December): January 31, 2025.
Form 1095-B
Form 1095-B is typically filed by small businesses with less than 50 employees who provide sponsored health care plans. Self-employed individuals also use this form to report their basic health care contributions. Basic health care plans can include:
- Government-sponsored health insurance programs.
- Selected employee-sponsored insurance plans.
- Individual market plans.
- Other designated minimum coverage that has been approved by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: March 2nd 2024
- E-filing: March 2nd, 2024
Form 1095-C
Similar to Form 1095-B, this document reports basic health care insurance offered to employees. However, Form 1095-C is used by larger businesses with more than 50 employees. Form 1095-C can also be used to:
- Determine the employer’s liability for carrying the cost of additional health care benefits.
- See if an employee qualifies for a premium tax credit.
- Create self-insured health plans that offer more coverage.
Employees must receive this form from their employers by March 2.
Deadlines:
- Mail Filing: February 28th, 2024
- E-filing: March 31st, 2024
Deadlines for Estimated Tax Payments
Estimated tax is a way for certain groups of taxpayers to make the necessary payments on income that isn’t subject to withholding. These groups are usually self-employed or earn income from other areas like interest, dividends, or investments. Making quarterly estimated tax payments helps these taxpayers to stay on top of their taxes and ensure that they aren’t liable for a large amount of money when tax season ends.
Once tax season ends and you file your tax return, the IRS will calculate how much you’ve paid to see if it was more or less than was required. If you paid too much, you are eligible for a refund. However, if you’ve paid too little, you will need to pay the outstanding amount. You can estimate how much you would need to pay by using the IRS tax withholding estimator.
Who must make estimated tax payments?
The IRS’s estimated taxpayer rule generally applies to the following groups of people:
- U.S. citizens who are self-employed, including sole proprietors, partners, and S corporation shareholders.
- People who earn an income from investments, interest, dividends, and similar areas.
- Corporations that expect to owe more than $500 when filing their returns.
For more information and special cases, you can refer to the official IRS document on estimated taxes.
What are the quarterly deadlines?
If you are eligible for tax withholding and can pay your taxes in quarterly amounts, these are the dates to look out for:
- 1st installment (for earnings from January 1st to March 15th): April 18th, 2024.
- 2nd installment (for earnings from April 1st to May 31st): June 15th, 2024.
- 3rd installment (for earnings from June 1st to August 31st): September 15th, 2024.
- 4th installment (for earnings from September 1st to December 31st): January 16th, 2025.
Any outstanding taxes for earnings made in 2023 must be paid by January 17th, 2024.
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