Do tax deadlines seem to sneak up on you? April 15 isn’t the only important day on the tax calendar. There are a number of important tax deadlines throughout the year that may or may not impact you depending on factors such as whether you own a business, make estimated tax payments, or contribute to a retirement account.
This tax deadline guide should help you stay on top of those deadlines in 2026 and avoid penalties and interest. Grab your calendar or planner and jot down the dates applicable to you.
Q1 (Jan. – March): Getting Ready for Tax Filing Season
January 12
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during December should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
January 15
Taxpayers who make quarterly estimated tax payments should make their fourth-quarter 2025 estimates. It’s also a good time for anyone who didn’t have enough tax withheld from their income to make an estimated payment. You can use Form 1040-ES to calculate and mail estimated payments or use IRS Direct Pay to make a payment online with your checking account.
You don’t have to make this payment if you file your 2025 federal tax return and pay any tax due by February 2, 2026. For farmers and fishermen and -women, that deadline is extended to March 2 to avoid an estimated tax penalty.
January 26
The IRS begins accepting and processing 2025 tax returns.
February 2
Individuals who didn’t make their last installment of estimated tax by Jan. 15 can file their 2025 tax return and pay any balance due by Feb. 2 to avoid a penalty for late payment of their fourth-quarter installment.
For employers and vendors, this is the deadline to send W-2s to employees. It’s also the deadline for filing Form 1099-MISC and Form 1099-NEC with non-employee compensation payments. This deadline applies to both the recipient and IRS copies of the 1099 forms, whether your file electronically or on paper.
February 10
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during January should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
February 17
If you claim an exemption from federal income tax withholding on Form W-4, you have until this date to file a new Form W-4 with your employer to continue your exemption for another year.
This is also the filing deadline for Informational Returns for businesses who report payments on Form 1099-B, 1099-S, or payments in Box 8 or 10 of Form 1099-MISC.
March 2
This is the deadline for paper filing of 1099 forms (other than 1099-NEC) with the IRS.
This is also the deadline to file for farmers and fishermen and women who did not make their fourth-quarter 2025 estimated tax payment on Jan. 15 to file their tax return and pay their balance due. If you wait until the April 15 deadline to file and pay, you may be charged a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax.
March 10
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during February should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
March 16
This is the deadline for partnerships and S corporations to file their 2025 calendar-year returns using Form 1065 or Form 1120-S. It’s also the deadline to provide each partner or shareholder with a copy of their Schedule K-1. You can request an automatic six-month extension of time to file your return using Form 7004.
This is also the deadline for filing Form 2553 to make an S corporation election for the calendar year 2026. If the election is made after this date, S corporation treatment will not begin until the calendar year 2027.
March 31
This is the deadline to electronically file Information Returns such as Form 1097, 1098, 3921, 3922, and W-2G with the IRS. It’s also the deadline to efile 1099 forms (other than 1099-NEC) with the IRS.
Q2 (April – June): Tax Day & More
April 1
If you turned 73 in 2025, April 1 is the deadline to take your first required minimum distribution (RMD) for 2025. In subsequent years, your RMD will need to be taken by December 31. If you delayed taking your first RMD until 2026, you will need to take two RMDs this year.
You can calculate your RMD amount using IRS tables, or get help from your financial advisor or tax professional.
April 10
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during March should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
April 15
April 15, 2026, is the deadline to file 2025 Form 1040 and pay any tax due. You can file your tax return by either using a local tax preparer or by using tax prep software like H&R Block.
If you need more time to prepare a complete and accurate return, you can request an automatic six-month extension using Form 4868. However, you must still pay any tax you estimate you owe by April 15 to avoid penalties and interest.
April 15 is also the deadline to make your first-quarter 2026 estimated tax payment using Form 1040-ES.
Contributions to traditional and Roth IRAs for the 2025 tax year must be made by April 15, 2026. Self-employed people who contribute to a SEP IRA must make their contributions before filing their individual return — so, either April 15 or Oct. 15 if you requested an extension of time to file your tax return.
April 15 is also the deadline to open and fund a health savings account (HSA) for 2025. HSAs must be established by this tax filing deadline — without extensions — for the tax year in which your contributions will apply. So even if you extend your tax return, you will need to open and fund your HSA by this date.
For corporations, the deadline to file a 2025 calendar-year income tax return using Form 1120 and pay any tax due is also April 15, 2026. If you want an automatic extension, you can request one using Form 7004. Be sure you pay any estimated tax due for 2025 by April 15 to avoid penalties and interest.
April 15, 2026, is also the deadline for corporations to make their first-quarter 2026 estimated tax payment using Form 1120-W.
If you paid cash wages of $2,200 or more to a household employee — such as a babysitter, nanny, housekeeper, or gardener — in 2025, April 15 is the deadline to file Schedule H and report any household employment taxes. If you file Form 1040, you’ll attach Schedule H to your return.
If you’re not required to file a 2025 tax return — for example, because your income is below the minimum amount required to file — you can submit Schedule H by itself.
May 12
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during April should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
June 10
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during May should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
June 15
U.S. citizens or resident aliens living and working outside of the United States and Puerto Rico have until this date to file Form 1040 and pay any tax, penalties, and interest due. You can request an additional four-month extension of time to file using Form 4868.
This is also the due date for second-quarter 2026 estimated taxes. Individuals can calculate and pay their estimated taxes using Form 1040-ES. Corporations can use Form 1120-W.
Q3 (July – Sept.): Partnership & S-Corp Extensions
July 10
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during June should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
August 10
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during July should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
September 10
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during August should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
September 15
This is the deadline for making third-quarter 2026 estimated tax payments. Individuals can calculate and pay their estimated taxes using Form 1040-ES. Corporations can use Form 1120-W.
For partnerships and S corporations that requested a six-month extension of time to file their 2025 return, this is the deadline to file that return and provide each partner with a Schedule K-1.
Q4 (Oct. – Dec.): Individual Extensions & RMDs
October 12
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during September should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
October 15
This is the deadline for individuals and corporations that requested a six-month tax extension to file their 2025 tax returns.
It’s also the deadline to make SEP IRA contributions if you filed a request for an extension of time to file your return.
November 10
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during October should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
December 10
Employees who work for tips and received $20 or more in tips during November should report them to their employer using Form 4070.
December 15
This is the deadline for corporations to make their fourth-quarter 2026 estimated tax payment using Form 1120-W.
December 31
This is the last day to take your RMD for 2026, as long as this is not your first RMD. If you turn 73 in 2026, you have a three-month extension until April 1, 2027.
However, keep in mind that if you wait until after year-end to take your RMD, you’ll have to take two RMDs in one year in 2027. That could impact your income tax bracket or Medicare eligibility. The penalty for not taking a timely distribution is 25% of the amount of the distribution (though it can be reduced to 10% if corrected promptly).
If you decide to convert your existing IRA or an old 401(k) into a Roth IRA, you have until Dec. 31 to make the conversion for the 2026 tax year.
Note that these deadlines apply to calendar-year taxpayers. Fiscal-year taxpayers may need to change some of these dates using the guidance available in IRS Publication 509.
Final Word
Many taxpayers scramble each year to meet the deadlines mentioned above. If last year’s tax season felt like a fire drill, this list should help you do better in the coming year.
Schedule reminders for the applicable deadlines now and file receipts and other tax records in an organized manner throughout the year. It will make dealing with tax deadlines and filing on time easier when tax season inevitably arrives.
If you need more help, be sure to check out our complete tax filing guide.
Make & Save More Money, Spend Less Time
Sign up for our daily email newsletter
Join over 50k subscribers and get one actionable money tip in your inbox daily. No nonsense and completely free – just the tip.
No spam, ever. Unsubscribe anytime.
Related:
Editorial & Advertiser Disclosure: The editorial content on this website is not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser. Opinions expressed are ours alone, not those of any advertiser. The offers that appear are from companies from which we may receive compensation. However, this compensation does not impact where and how these companies are mentioned on the site. We do not include all companies or all available offers in the marketplace.
