It is amazing how often deadlines are missed. We get busy with something else and completely lose track of the days, which is a great reason why every business needs an accountant; it takes keeping track of all these dates off your plate as a business owner. Your accountant will be the one to remind you of what is upcoming. If you can’t afford an accountant yet (or maybe you aren’t sure your accountant will remind you), I encourage you to create calendar reminders for each of the deadlines below because failing to file by these dates can incur annoying and costly fines for your business.
Income Tax Filing
This is the standard filing that everyone thinks of when you mention taxes. It is for personal income tax as well as C Corporations. Most small businesses are not C Corporations, but just about everyone has personal income taxes to file. That’s why this is the most well-known deadline.
April 15, 2025 (Extension Filing October 15, 2025)
Estimated Tax—Form 1040-ES
Estimated tax payments are quarterly payments that equal the total amount of taxes owed for a year. The computation can get a little complex, but I recommend paying at least 100% of last year’s tax if you earned less than $150,000 last year and 110% if you made more than $150,000 last year. We’ll go more in depth on the calculation in a future blog post, but this general rule should suffice for most businesses.
January 15, 2025—Q4 tax estimates are due for 2024
April 15, 2025—Q1 tax estimates are due for 2025
July 15, 2025—Q2 tax estimates are due for 2025
September 15, 2025—Q3 tax estimates are due for 2025
January 15, 2026—Q4 tax estimates are due for 2025
Payroll Tax—Form 941
Payroll taxes are due the last day of the month following a quarter end. This seems a little redundant because it is reporting already-contributed payroll taxes and income taxes withheld. Despite this, it is important to make sure you file these forms once a quarter.
January 31, 2025—Q4 filing is due for 2024
April 30, 2025—Q1 filing is due for 2025
July 31, 2025—Q2 filing is due for 2025
September 15, 2025—Q3 filing is due for 2025
January 31, 2026—Q4 filing is due for 2025
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
W-2 and 1099 Filing
This is the deadline for when businesses are required to file both W-2s and 1099s for employees and contractors, enabling them to file their own taxes on time.
January 31, 2025
S-Corp and Partnership Tax Return
This is the due date for filing a passthrough entity return. It’s earlier than the big deadline of April 15 because it is needed to file individual returns. I strongly recommend you hire an accountant if you fall into this category. The due date can be extended 6 months, but you will need to make sure to extend your personal return as well.
March 17, 2025 (Extension Filing September 15, 2025)
That was a lot of dates to throw at you, but as we said at the beginning, if you get them on your calendar now, you won’t be surprised as we get closer to them. We’ll also remind you through our social media posts when these dates come up, so be sure to give us a like and a follow to stay apprised of all your upcoming tax deadlines!
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