When it comes to deadlines, March is to your business what April is to your personal taxes: a time of due dates and decision-making. Here are three business-related tax events — and due dates — to be aware of this month.
Subchapter S election. If you plan to convert your C corporation to an S corporation, the due date for making the election is March 15. That’s also the final day for choosing S corporation status for a new business with an incorporation date of January 1, 2016. What happens if you forget? In some cases, late filing relief is available.
Corporate returns. Calendar-year corporations must file federal income tax returns (Form 1120 for C corporations and Form 1120-S for S corporations) by March 15. If you’re not ready to file, you can get an automatic six-month extension. Just remember the extension only grants extra time for filing the return. Any tax owed is due March 15.
Note: You may have heard about changes to corporate due dates made by a law passed in December 2015. Those changes will affect your 2016 federal income tax return — the one you’ll file in 2017.
Information returns. When you file electronically, 2015 information returns, such as Form 1099, are due to the IRS by March 31.
If you’re an applicable large employer, you must furnish “Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage,” to your employees by March 31. You’re generally considered an applicable large employer if you had 50 or more full-time employees last year.
March 31 is also the deadline to send copies of 2015 Forms W-2 to the Social Security Administration if you file electronically.
Call us for more information, recent changes, and current tax due dates and deadlines.