Managing taxes on time is not about avoiding penalties. It’s just all about maintaining the financial discipline and transparency under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Even if you are an employee, freelancer, or business owner. You need to understand the tax deadlines for accurate filing and better year-end planning. In this article, we will discuss and understand the tax deadlines and the schedule of quarterly tax payments with IRS compliance. And provide you with a planning checklist of year-end dates. Keep reading this article and resolve your queries, and learn about the accurate tax filing date.
What is Tax Deadlines and Its Importance?
A tax deadlines means it is shown on a specific date set by the government for filing or paying the tax. By which individual or business you must file the tax return or pay any tax owed, as per the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It ensures your income, deductions, and credits are properly recorded and reported.
Always adhering to these IRS tax deadlines is a legal obligation, and missing these important dates can lead to penalties, interest charges, and other legal consequences. Normally, the federal income tax return for the year 2024 should be filed no later than April 15. In case you are not able to do it by that date, you can certainly obtain an extension until October 15, but it is still necessary to remember that the tax has to be paid in April.
Important Reminder
The IRS insists on the requirement that an estimated payment be made even if you file for an extension. Should you decide to postpone the payment, a penalty may be imposed on you according to the federal tax regulations.
Quarterly Tax Payment Dates and Deadlines
If you are self-employed, working as a freelancer, or in any other way earning money besides receiving a regular salary, then you need to make estimated tax payments quarterly to the IRS. These are the payments for federal income tax, social security, and medicare, which will cover the whole year – that is why you do not have to pay a large amount of money at a time during the tax season.
There are Deadlines for Filing Quarterly Returns
- April 15, is the deadline for the income earned from January to March.
- June 15, is the deadline for the income from April to May.
- September 15, is the deadline for the income from June to August.
- January 15, is the deadline for the income from September to December.
Paying quarterly on time helps to avoid a situation where a penalty for underpayment of tax according to IRS Code Section 6654 is due, and, besides, it keeps your financial records in good order. The business owner hired employees who were also required to file IRS Form 941. The Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return is filed each quarter to report income tax withholding and both employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Year-End Important Dates and Deadlines
It is necessary to keep things in good condition and to perform all tax obligations. For the majority of taxpayers, the last moment will be December 31. Any income, expenses, or deductions that you want to be considered for the year have to be done by this date. The result of observing or missing deadlines can be either getting charged or losing your deductions.
Year-End Tax Dates
- December 31: Tax-deductible contributions may still be made (for example, investments, donations, etc.) that will be counted for the present year.
- January 15 (next year): This is the date by which self-employed individuals/freelancers must make their fourth quarter estimated tax payment.
- January 31 (next year): Besides Form W-2, employers are also required to provide employees and contractors with Form 1099.
- April 15 (next year): The last day to file your yearly income tax return or obtain a filing extension is April 15.
Preparing for the Year-End Tax Deadlines Steps
Step 1: Review Your Income & Expenses
This can be done by finding all the receipts, invoices, and bank statements that relate to both business and personal income.
Step 2: Maximize Deductions
In order to decrease the taxable income, one is supposed to make some deductible purchases or payments, e.g., philanthropic giving, making deposits into a retirement fund, and other similar actions before December 31, if one has the intention of doing so.
Step 3: Reconcile Your Accounts
This can be done by comparing the bookkeeping records with the bank statements and thus making sure that both sets of records are accurate.
Step 4: Submit Outstanding Payments
If there is any money owed in the form of bills, taxes, or employee bonuses, it should be paid before the deadline.
Step 5: Organize Tax Documents
Collecting necessary tax documents like W-2, 1099, receipts, along with the proof of investment holdings, and storing them together is a very productive way of filing.
Step 6: File or Plan Ahead
If a person is not in a position to file his/her tax return, he/she may ask for a filing extension before April 15 to be relieved from the obligation of fines
Conclusion
I hope that after reading this article, your queries will be resolved, and you will know the value of the tax deadline. In this article, we discuss the importance of tax deadlines, quarterly payment dates, and year-end dates that help you remember your tax deadlines. In which we provide you with proper information on how to prepare for the year-end tax deadline.