Do you remember what you were doing on July 31, 2015? It’s very likely that you don’t. So it’s even more likely that you don’t remember what President Obama was doing that day either. (Hint: He signed the highway funding extension bill into law.) Why are we bringing this up? Because the bill included many revised filing deadlines which may affect you and your freelance business in the coming tax season. Here is a rundown of the most notable tax deadline changes for 2017:
- Business entities that are S-corps, partnerships, LLPs or multi-member LLCs (filing Form 1065) must file by March 15 (the previous deadline was April 15), or the 15th day of the third month following the end of the organization’s fiscal year. You can also file an extension for up to six months, which means your return must be filed no later than September 15, 2017.
- C-corps (filing Form 1120) must file by April 15 (previously March 15) or the 15th day of the fourth month following the end of the organization’s fiscal year. If you need and extension you can file up to five months later on September 15 (this extension date will change after 2026, when all C corporation extensions will be up to 6 months).
- The Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) is now due April 15 (previously it was due June 30). In a bit of good news, there is a new six month extension for FBAR filings.
- W-2 and 1099 filings will change from March 31 to January 31 in 2017. For freelancers, this means that if you are employed and usually receive a W-2, you should get it earlier and if you issue and/or receive 1099s you’ll have less time to a) get them in the mail and b) make any necessary changes, since the due date for getting these forms to the recipient remains the same. Bottom line: try to expedite the preparation and review of these forms, where applicable.
A full list of 2017 tax deadlines can be found here. While tax season may seem far off, it’s going to be here before you know it. If you need professional assistance with year-end or tax season preparation, get in touch with us.
