Important Tax Due Dates & Deadlines – 2020 IRS Tax Calendar

Do tax deadlines seem to sneak up on you? April 15 is NOT 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 calendar should help you stay on top of those deadlines in 2020 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 10

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 2019 estimates. It is also a good time for anyone who did not 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 do not have to make this payment if you file your 2019 tax return and pay any tax due by January 31, 2020. For farmers and fishermen and women, that deadline is extended to March 2 to avoid an estimated tax penalty.

January 31

Individuals who did not make their last installment of estimated tax by January 15 can file their 2019 tax return and pay any balance due by January 31 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 is also the deadline for filing Form 1099-MISC with non-employee compensation payments in Box 7. This deadline applies to both the recipient and IRS copies of the 1099-MISC, 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 18

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 14 of Form 1099-MISC.

February 28

This is the deadline for paper filing of Form 1099-MISC if yours has entries in boxes other than Box 7, 8, and 14 mentioned above.

March 2

This is the deadline to file for farmers and fishermen and women who did not make their fourth-quarter 2019 estimated tax payment on January 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 2019 calendar-year returns using Form 1065 or Form 1120-S. It is 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 2020. If the election is made after this date, S corporation treatment will not begin until the calendar year 2021.

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 is also the deadline for filing Form 1099 – without Form 1099-MISC – with the IRS.

Q2 (April – June): Tax Day & More

April 1

For individuals who turned 70½ in 2018, this is the deadline to take their first Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from an IRA or employer-sponsored retirement plan.

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

This is a big deadline for both individuals and businesses.

For individuals, this is the deadline to file 2019 Form 1040 and pay any tax due.

If you need more time to prepare a complete and accurate return, you can request an automatic six-month extension using Form 4868. However, this is an extension of your time to file, not an extension of your time to pay. You must still pay any tax you estimate you owe by April 15 to avoid penalties and interest.

This is also the deadline to make your first-quarter 2020 estimated tax payment using Form 1040-ES.

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