First off, there’s more than one business tax filing deadline. And when it comes to taxes, businesses have different deadlines and requirements than individuals.

As a business owner, it’s important to be aware of tax filing deadlines to avoid penalties and fees. However, keeping track of taxes can be complicated for businesses, especially for those who are new to the process.

That’s why we’ve included the most important dates to know below based on your business type! Learn more about each deadline below, and add any relevant business tax filing deadlines to your calendar.

If you cannot afford to pay your tax bill in full immediately, you may qualify for a short-term payment plan of 180 days or less, or a long-term installment agreement with monthly payments.

The IRS will determine what you qualify for, depending on your individual tax situation.

Learn more about applying for online payment plans on the IRS website.

If you need more time, that’s totally fine!

You can file a business tax extension with Form 7004 or Form 4868, depending on your business type.

Multi-member LLCs, partnerships, corporations, and S corporations all use Form 7004. However, the deadline to submit the form differs depending on your business’s original filing deadline.

So, that means Form 7004 is due by:

• March 15, 2024 – for partnerships, S corporations, and LLCs taxed as a partnership or as an S corp; or
• April 15, 2024 – for C corporations and LLCs taxed as a C corp.

Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs use Form 4868, along with individuals filing their tax returns. The deadline for filing Form 4868 is April 15, 2024.

Once you file for a tax extension, your new updated deadlines will be:

• September 16, 2024: Partnership and S corp tax deadlines.
• October 15, 2024: Individual, sole proprietorship, and C corp filing deadline

Check out our article on business tax extensions in 2024 for how and where to file, what forms you need, and when to make your tax payment.

Estimated quarterly tax payments are based on your expected income and tax liability for the quarter, which can be calculated using last year’s tax return, your year-to-date income, or a handy tax withholding calculator.

Estimated quarterly tax payments are made using Form 1040-ES and paid online or by mail to the IRS, and they’re the best way to avoid tax penalties from the IRS.

You’re required to make quarterly tax payments if taxes have not been withheld from your income. This includes taxpayers such as:

• Individuals including sole proprietors, partners, and S corporation shareholders who generally expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when their return is filed.
• Corporations who will likely owe $500 or more in taxes when their return is filed.

The core idea behind quarterly taxes is that rather than paying a large bill in March or April, business owners space out payments in four installments throughout the year. If done right, you can better manage your cash flow and avoid hefty underpayment fines from the IRS, such as a failure-to-file penalty or failure-to-pay penalty. It’s important to note that interest also accrues on the unpaid tax amount, top of IRS penalties.

With that in mind, let’s make sure you don’t miss a quarterly tax deadline.

There are four quarterly tax due dates each year: January 15; April 15; June 15; and September 15. However, if these dates fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday in any given year, the payments are due the next business day.

With that in mind, here are the due dates for estimated quarterly tax payments in 2024:

• Estimated tax payment for Q4 2023 is due on January 15, 2024
• Estimated tax payment for Q1 2024 is due on April 15, 2024
• Estimated tax payment for Q2 2024 is due on June 16, 2024
• Estimated tax payment for Q3 2024 is due on September 16, 2024
• Estimated tax payment for Q4 2024 is due on December 16, 2024, for C corporations – or on January 15, 2025, for individuals.

Ready to make your life easier? Download our free quarterly estimated tax calculator, a tool we created to reduce the headache of calculating your payments.

If you miss a tax deadline, your options depend on two things: what deadline you missed, and whether you are owed a refund or you owe money.

If you miss the tax filing deadline and owe taxes, you’ll be charged a failure to file penalty. The penalty is 5% of your unpaid taxes for each month your return is late, but it won’t exceed 25% of your unpaid taxes.

Unfortunately, charges don’t stop there. The IRS charges interest on top of a failure to file penalty.

The current underpayment interest rate is 8%. However, underpayment interest rates vary and are subject to change based on the quarter, so check the IRS website for up-to-date rates.

If you miss the 2024 tax filing deadline and you are owed a refund, there’s no penalty. But you may miss out on your refund if you wait too long. According to the IRS website, by law, you have a three-year window from the original due date to claim your refund. Don’t miss out on a refund!

You may face a penalty charge upon filing your tax return if you missed a quarterly tax payment – even if you’re owed a refund.

If you haven’t already, add each of the quarterly tax payment deadlines to your calendar now to make sure you don’t miss one. Just scroll up!

And if you need help calculating how much you should pay each quarter, don’t forget to download our free quarterly estimated tax calculator.

Sending a W-2 or 1099 form? Make sure you distribute these forms to your employees and independent contractors by the deadline: January 31, 2024.

There are a number of different 1099s, but the majority are filed through the 1099-NEC form or the 1099-MISC form. 1099-NEC is for non-employee compensation of $600 or more, and 1099-MISC is for miscellaneous compensation such as rent, awards, medical or healthcare payments, to name a few.

For more information on issuing and filing 1099s, check out our blog: The 1099 Form.

Not sure who you should issue a 1099 to? No worries! Learn which tax forms you need to issue, and when, here.

At Acuity, our dedicated tax team ensures that you file on time, while getting each tax deduction and credit you deserve. Plus, our tax services include bookkeeping so that your books are cleaned up and organized when it comes time to file.

Without clean books, your business is at risk for audit, filing your taxes incorrectly, and missing out on tax savings. That’s why we offer tax and bookkeeping services together – so that you can get all the support you need in one place!

Our CPAs prepare federal and state tax returns for S corps, C corps, partnerships, LLCs, and individuals, making sure to maximize available tax savings.

Taxes are complicated, and as your business develops, they’ll only get more difficult. We’ve helped over 2,000 innovative entrepreneurs maximize their tax savings. Get the tax credits and deductions you deserve! Check out our tax services packages for more information.

And if you have any other questions, schedule a free consultation with our team! You’ll receive personalized solutions for your business.

You might be wondering why we’ve listed 2023 deadlines here…We want to make sure that you don’t have any loose ends when it comes to your taxes. Maybe you missed a deadline, want to refer back to due dates from 2023, or need a piece of info from our 2023 tax deadline FAQs.

January 17, 2023 – Deadline for Q4 2022 estimated tax payments.

January 31, 2023 – Deadline for your employees and independent contractors to receive their W-2 or 1099-NEC/1099-MISC forms.

March 15, 2023 – Deadline for partnership tax returns (& LLCs that are taxed as a partnership) as well as S corporation tax returns.

April 18, 2023 – Deadline for 2023 Q1 estimated tax payments.

April 18, 2023 – Deadline for C corporation, sole proprietor (businesses who report on a schedule C), and individual tax returns.

June 15, 2023 – Deadline for 2023 Q2 estimated tax payments.

September 15, 2023 – Deadline for 2023 Q3 estimated tax payments.

September 15, 2023 – Partnership and S corp tax deadline for those that received a filing extension.

October 16, 2023 – 2022 individual and c corp filing deadline for those who received a filing extension.