Tax & Accounting News

The Deadline to File Your 1040 Will Be Here Soon

by
Lee Reams II
on
3/27/2016
The Deadline to File Your 1040 Will Be Here Soon

If you haven’t yet prepared your 1040 tax return and are getting nervous about April 15th getting closer, here’s some good news and some bad news. The deadline to file your 2015 tax return and pay any taxes owed — or to file for a six-month extension and pay the amount that you’re estimating that you owe — has been pushed back to April 18th because the 15th is a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. Whenever a legal holiday impacts the IRS’ headquarters, the filing date for all U.S. taxpayers automatically gets pushed to the next calendar day that isn’t a holiday or a weekend. The bad news? April 18th is getting closer too.

Not only does the deadline for 1040 return filing and payments get moved back, but so do all of the following deadlines:

  • April 18th is the deadline for making a tax-deductible contribution to a Roth or traditional IRA. This is true whether or not the taxpayer files for an extension.
  • If you pay estimated quarterly taxes, the 18th of April is the date that the payment for the first quarter of 2016 is due. If you have filed for an extension of your 2015 income taxes and are expecting that once your taxes are filed you will be owed a refund, you are permitted to apply the expected refund to the quarterly estimated taxes. When refunds are expected to fall short of the full amount due, taxpayers should use their quarterly estimated tax voucher to submit the balance.
  • April 18, 2016 marks the statute of limitations on claims for refunds owed to individuals for tax year 2012. No filings for 2012 refunds, either for original tax returns or amended tax returns, will be accepted after that date. It is important to note that this rule does not apply to balances due for 2012 returns that have not been filed.

The delay in the deadline is even greater for taxpayers residing in the states of Massachusetts and Maine, and will be extended to April 19th. This is because both are serviced by an IRS Service Center located in Massachusetts which will be observing a holiday on the 18th.

Keep in mind that taxpayers filing for extensions for submitting their tax returns do not waive their obligation so submit the taxes that are due on that date. Those who do not submit their estimated or actual taxes due by the April 18th deadline will be subject to late payment penalties and interest.

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Lee Reams II

Lee Reams II

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I am a tax and business news junkie who has spent the last 20 years developing and executing "best in class" word-of-mouth marketing campaigns for tax and accounting professionals. With TaxBuzz and CountingWorks we have taken that same commitment to quality content directly to the consumer. Keeping you up-to-date with the latest tax law changes, business growth tips and planning strategies to help you reach your best financial outcome.

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