As the time for filing tax returns in 2018 nears its end, taxpayers should be aware of the filing deadlines applicable to their individual and business tax returns. These filing deadlines were updated by the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act for tax returns filed during 2017, and continue to be effective for returns filed in 2018 and future years. One of the significant changes from the prior law is that all pass-through entities (partnerships and S corporations) now have filing deadlines that generally fall one month prior to the filing deadline for individuals. This change was enacted to ensure that individual partners in a partnership or shareholders in an S corporation have sufficient time to receive the necessary information to report on their individual tax returns. Additionally, the filing deadline for C corporations was pushed back by a month to coincide with the filing deadline for individual taxpayers.
Below is a summary of the applicable filing deadlines for different types of taxpayers in 2018, assuming the filing period is the 2017 calendar year:
|
Original Due Date | Extension Request to |
Individuals | April 17th | October 15th |
Partnerships | March 15th | September 17th |
S Corporations | March 15th | September 17th |
C Corporations | April 17th | October 15th |
FinCEN 114 (FBAR) | April 17th | October 15th |
Estates & Trusts | April 17th | October 1st |
Exempt Organizations | May 15th | November 15th |
Employee Benefit Plans | July 31st | November 15th |
Since the original due dates have passed for all filer types, only taxpayers who properly filed an extension request prior to the original due date will be able to file their tax returns on time if they have not already done so. Fiscal-year filers should not use the above summary, since they will have different due dates from calendar-year filers and may be subject to special transition rules. Taxpayers who file in multiple states should also ensure that they have met all applicable state filing requirements, as not all states have followed the federal due date changes.
If you have any questions regarding the tax filing deadlines applicable to you in 2018, please contact your Bennett Thrasher tax advisor or call 770.396.2200.