IRS Tax Return Filing Deadlines, Extensions and Refund Dates 2021

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The table below shows key 2021 deadline dates for filing 2020 tax returns and requesting temporary extensions. Given the number of missing government payments around the COVID relief economic stimulus payments and especially the dependent child stimulus payment, I expect there to a keen interest in the upcoming tax season. Especially for those expecting a large refund (see expected 2020-2021 tax refund schedule).

  • Jan. 11, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in December 2020 to report this income to their employers on Form 4070
  • Jan. 15, 2021: Deadline to pay the fourth-quarter estimated tax payment for tax year 2020
  • Feb. 1, 2021: Deadline for employers to mail out W-2 Forms to their employees and for businesses to furnish 1099 Forms reporting non-employee compensation, bank interest, dividends, and distributions from a retirement plan
  • Feb. 1, 2021: Deadline for financial institutions to mail out Form 1099-B relating to sales of stock, bonds, or mutual funds through a brokerage account, Form 1099-S relating to real estate transactions; and Form 1099-MISC, if the sender is reporting payments in boxes 8 or 14
  • Feb. 1, 2021: Deadline for catching up on unpaid fourth-quarter estimated taxes without additional penalties by filing 2020 tax returns
  • Feb. 10, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in January 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • March 1, 2021: Deadline for businesses to mail Forms 1099 and 1096 to the IRS
  • March 2, 2021: Deadline for farmers and fishermen to file individual income tax returns
  • March 10, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in February 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • March 15, 2021: Deadline for corporate tax returns (Form 1120-S) for tax year 2020, or to request an automatic six-month extension of time to file (Form 7004) for corporations that use the calendar year as their tax year, and for filing partnership tax returns (Form 1065) or to request an automatic five-month extension of time to file (Form 7004)
  • March 31, 2021: Deadline for businesses to e-file Forms 1099 and 1096 to the IRS, except Form 1099-NEC
  • April 12, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in March 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • April 15, 2021: Deadline to file individual tax returns (Form 1040) and C Corporation (Form 1120) for the tax year 2020 or to request an automatic extension (Form 4868) for an extra six months to file your return, and for payment of any tax due
  • April 15, 2021: Deadline for household employers who paid $2,200 or more in wages in 2020 to file Schedule H for Form 1040
  • April 15, 2021: Deadline for first-quarter estimated tax payments for the 2021 tax year
  • May 10, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in April 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • June 10, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in May 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • June 15, 2021: Deadline for second-quarter estimated tax payments for the 2021 tax year
  • June 15, 2021: Deadline for U.S. citizens living abroad to file individual tax returns or file Form 4868 for an automatic four-month extension
  • July 12, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in June 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • Aug. 10, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in July 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • Sept. 10, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in August 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • Sept. 15, 2021: Deadline for third-quarter estimated tax payments for the 2021 tax year
  • Sept. 15, 2021: Final deadline to file corporate tax returns for tax year 2020, if an extension was requested (Forms 1120, 1120-A, 1120-S)
  • Oct. 12, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in September 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • Oct. 15, 2021: Final extended deadline to file individual tax returns for the year 2020 (Form 1040)
  • Oct. 15, 2021: Deadline for taxpayers who earned $69,000 or less in adjusted gross income (AGI) for tax year 2020 to use Free File to prepare and file their returns
  • Nov. 10, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in October 2021 to report this income to their employers
  • Dec. 10, 2021: Deadline for employees who earned more than $20 in tip income in November 2021 to report this income to their employers
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When You’ll Get Your Stimulus Check

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Want to know when your stimulus check will arrive?

Here’s what you need to know.

Stimulus Checks

For many Americans, stimulus checks will arrive soon. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said most Americans will receive their stimulus check by April 17. Director of the U.S. National Economic Council Larry Kudlow said checks will start going out this week or next. According to The Washington Post, which has reviewed a timetable from the IRS, stimulus checks could be distributed as follows (of course, these dates are subject to change):

April 9, 2020

Stimulus checks could be sent to some taxpayers as early as Thursday, April 9. If you filed your income taxes in 2018 or 2019 and provided your direct deposit information to the IRS, your stimulus check could be sent today. Estimated arrival time in your bank account could be on or before April 14, 2020.

April 24, 2020

The IRS will begin sending paper stimulus checks. The plan is to send paper stimulus checks to taxpayers with the lowest adjusted gross income first. Therefore, taxpayers who earned less than $10,000 will receive a paper check first.

May 1, 2020

This week, the IRS will send paper stimulus checks to taxpayers who earned between $10,001 and $20,000.

May 8, 2020

This week, the IRS will send paper stimulus checks to taxpayers who earned between $20,001 and $30,000.

May – September 2020

From May through September, the IRS will continue to send paper checks in order from lowest income to highest income based on 2018 or 2019 tax information.

September 4, 2020

The IRS will mail any remaining checks, such as to married couples making $198,000 (the maximum joint income that is eligible to receive a stimulus check).

September 11, 2020

The IRS will send checks to those who didn’t provide contact information to the IRS.

Can You Get Your Stimulus Check Sooner?

You may be able to get your stimulus check sooner (although no guarantees of course):

  • Check if you qualify to receive a stimulus check.
  • Direct Deposit Information: If you provided direct deposit information on your 2018 or 2019 income tax return, then the IRS already has your direct deposit information. How do you know if you provided your direct deposit information? If you paid federal income taxes online from your bank account or received a federal tax refund in your bank account, then you likely provided direct deposit information.
  • File Taxes: If you haven’t filed 2018 or 2019 income taxes, you can still file them. Make sure to provide direct deposit deposit information to get your stimulus check faster.
  • No Taxes, But Social Security: If you don’t file taxes, but you receive Social Security benefits, you don’t have to file any taxes to qualify. You’ll automatically receive a stimulus check.
  • New IRS Portal: In late April or early May, according to the memo, the IRS expects to create an online portal that will enable taxpayers to update their direct deposit information and check the status of their stimulus check. For those who don’t file taxes, but who receive Social Security benefits, you can also update your direct deposit information once the online portal is available.
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California Minimum Essential Coverage Individual Mandate

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California Minimum Essential Coverage Individual Mandate
We are sharing this information so you can be prepared to educate your clients on this new California requirement.
The California Legislature created the Minimum Essential Coverage Individual Mandate by enacting Senate Bill 78. The mandate took effect on January 1, 2020 and requires Californians to maintain minimum essential health coverage for each month on or after that date.

Californians who fail to have qualifying health coverage will owe a state penalty for each month they lack coverage. Californians who owe a penalty will pay when they file their tax year 2020 state income tax return in 2021. Note: this does not affect tax year 2019 returns.

To avoid this penalty, California residents need to have qualifying health insurance for themselves, their spouse, and their dependents beginning on January 1, 2020. Covered California, the state’s insurance marketplace, will provide financial assistance to some households that meet certain income requirements and will issue certificates of exemptions to individuals who are exempt from the mandate. For more details, visit the Franchise Tax Board’s webpage.

Californians must have health coverage: Californians must have health insurance beginning January 1, 2020. In general, a taxpayer who fails to secure health insurance will face a penalty when filing their 2020 tax return in 2021.

Exemptions available: Most exemptions from the mandate will be claimed when filing 2020 state income tax returns in early 2021. Additional exemptions will be granted through Covered California beginning in January 2020.

Financial assistance available: Covered California has financial assistance available for Californians to purchase health insurance.

To find out more about health insurance options and financial assistance, visit CoveredCA.com.
For information about the penalty for not having qualifying coverage, visit FTB.CA.GOV.
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2019 Tax Preparation Checklist

When it comes to a tax preparation checklist for 2019, what exactly needs to be on your to-do list? And how can you best streamline?

All the checklists are available here.

Make Sure Your Books Are Balanced

To make sure you file your taxes correctly and aren’t overpaying, your books need to be accurate and up to date. If you’re going the do-it-yourself route, look over your transactions and books.

Not properly categorizing your business transactions means that tax-deductible expenses might go overlooked. In turn, you might end up paying more in taxes. What’s more, having unorganized bookkeeping could mean more headache and time and money wasted when it’s time to file your taxes.

Beyond taxes, unbalanced books means you don’t have the data you need to make smart, informed decisions on how to run your business.

Give Your Accountant Access to Your Books

If you’re handling your books on your own, allow your accountant to have access to all your software after you close them, Consider Applied Bookkeeping & Tax Services . “This will eliminate a lot of back-and-forth questioning that will arise if you simply send him an Excel sheet of your annual profit and loss, statement balance sheet and trial balance.”

Signs of a good accountant includes making sure they report everything correctly on your tax return. Oftentimes this means digging into the details and the supporting documents found in your bookkeeping software.

Have Proof of Your Estimated Tax Payments

Take screenshots of payment confirmations for all estimated tax payments made during the year and send them to your accountant, along with your other tax documents.

Prepare 1099 Forms for Contractors

If you hired independent contractors in the past year, you’ll want to get your 1099 forms prepared. Per the IRS, if you’ve paid a freelancer at least $600 in 2019, you’ll need to file a 1099 for each person. Forms need to go to both the IRS and to your independent contractors. The deadline to submit these 1099 forms by January 31, 2020.

Organize Those Receipts

The ideal scenario is that you have all your receipts from business-related expenses stacked neatly in a safety box. The actual scenario? You most likely have piles of receipts scattered in random places — wedged in your car, at the bottom of your laptop bag or in a messy drawer.

While your accountant can most likely pull from your credit card or bank transactions, you’ll want to keep those receipts organized and handy. Besides providing proof of purchase, you might need them in the rare case that your business is subject to an audit.

Notify Vendors and Clients If You’ve Moved

If you’ve changed addresses in the last year, make sure you’ve notified all your clients of this change before the end of the year. Otherwise, you might get tax documents (i.e., 1099s) sent to the wrong address. You can also check your earnings from what’s called a Wage and Income Transcript. The transcript shows all the information the IRS gets from both your 1099 and W-9 forms.

Have Your Accountant Take a Look at Your Payroll

If your business has W-2 employees and you are handling payroll through a payroll platform, it might be a good idea to have your accountant take a second look, recommends Allec. “One common mistake is S Corporation employees who own 2% or more of the S Corporation not reporting on their W-2 health insurance premiums paid by the S Corporation on their behalf.”

There might be other mistakes you’ve made as well, and an accountant can help sort it out.

Set Aside Time to Get It Done 

Dedicate a block of time to focus on getting your tax prep in order. Otherwise, you might find yourself with more loose ends to tie.

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California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5)

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‘ABC Test’ for Independent Contractors Set to Take Effect in California Jan. 01, 2020.

As 2019 draws to a close, every business with a California presence should consider evaluating its workforce in the Golden State to ensure compliance with AB 5, which will be effective Jan. 1, 2020. 

Through AB 5, the California legislature codified and expanded the reach of the so-called “ABC Test” for determining whether a worker should be classified as an independent contractor. This new law expands the reach of the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision which applied to coverage under the California Industrial Welfare Commission’s Wage Orders. AB 5 applies this new test to businesses under the California Labor Code and the California Unemployment Insurance Code. 

Currently, California businesses are subject to a variety of tests of employee status, depending upon the law in question. Under most federal and California laws, the common law agency test applies. For workers’ compensation laws, the California Supreme Court adopted an “economic realities” test 30 years ago in S.G. Borello & Sons v. Department of Industrial Relations.

However, as of Jan. 1, 2020, the default standard for independent contractor treatment will be the ABC Test.
The ABC Test significantly narrows the scope of work for which businesses may classify workers as independent contractors, rather than employees, and expands the application of this new standard to nearly all employers doing business in California. 
Businesses that do not adapt to the ABC Test may face an increased risk of claims from workers asserting that they were misclassified as independent contractors, on an individual and class or collective basis.

ABC Test Explained
Under the ABC Test, a worker is assumed to be an employee unless the business demonstrates:
A. That the worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in performing the work, both in the contract for performance and in fact.

B. That the worker performs work that is outside of the usual course of the hiring entity’s business

C. That the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.

It is Prong B of the test that will likely cause the most difficulty for companies that regularly engage independent contractors. 

Prong B excludes from the assumption of employee status workers who perform duties outside the “usual course of the hiring entity’s business.” While AB 5 does not specifically define the phrase, many businesses use contractors to help them perform their regular business. California courts are expected to be tasked with interpreting the scope of this requirement. 

Many industries lobbied hard to obtain exemptions from the ABC Test. The new statute excludes seven different categories of occupations or business, each with its own separate test for qualifying for the exclusion. These exclusions cover diverse occupations ranging from professionals such as architects and lawyers to non-professionals such as grant writers, tutors, truck drivers, and manicurists. Each category has a slightly different requirement to qualify for the exclusion from the ABC Test. However, qualifying for the exclusion from the ABC Test merely defaults the workers to a determination under the Borello test. Complicating matters further is that for all these occupations, a determination of employee status under federal law, such as under the National Labor Relations Act, likely remains under the common law agency test.

Application and Enforcement
While the California Labor Commissioner is officially tasked with enforcing many of the provisions of AB 5, claims of worker misclassification will more commonly be asserted in private civil actions either individually or on a class basis. In other words, companies will increasingly see independent contractors bring claims for wage and hour law lawsuits or class actions (i.e. overtime claims, meal and rest break claims, wage statement claims, etc.).

Employer Takeaways
Although several industry groups are expected to challenge the new law, businesses operating in California should review and update their practices relative to independent contractors before Jan. 1, 2020 – whether through potentially reclassifying independent contractors as employees or revising independent contractor agreements. 
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New Tax Laws Changing or Going into effect in 2019

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Below are some of the federal provisions that will go into effect or be changing in 2019.
Provisions that go Into Effect Beginning in 2019:

  • Alimony – For divorce settlements that are finalized in 2019 and beyond
  • Alimony and separate maintenance payments are not deductible by the payor spouse.
  • Alimony and separate maintenance payments are no longer included in income of surviving spouse.

ACA Individual Penalty no longer applies. This means that individuals that do not have health insurance for all or part of 2019 will no longer be subject to a penalty.

Changing or Inflation Adjusted Provisions in 2019:

Medical Expense Threshold on Schedule A
10% of AGI for all taxpayers beginning in 2019

Standard Deduction
MFJ: $24,400
Single: $12,200
Head of Household: $18,350

Federal Mileage Rates
58 cents per mile – Business
20 cents per mile – Medical and moving
14 cents per mile – Charity

Retirement Contribution Limits
IRAs – $6,000 ($7,000 for taxpayers over 50)
401(k), 403(b) or 457 plans – $19,000 ($25,000 for taxpayers over 50)

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2019 Tax Filing Due Dates

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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed late December 2017 brought many changes to the tax code, however it did not change the statutory due dates for filing taxes.

Whenever a regular tax filing date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal observed holiday in the District of Columbia, the due date for returns is pushed to the next business day.  In 2019, only a few dates will be adjusted because of this rule.

For calendar year tax returns reporting 2018 information that are due in 2019, the following due dates will apply.

Form 2019 Tax Filing Due Dates (Tax Year 2018)
Form W-2 & certain 1099-Misc (electronic or mail) January 31st
Form 1065 – Partnerships March 15th
Form 1120-S – S Corporations March 15th
Form 1040 – Individuals April 15th
FinCEN 114 – FBAR (will be allowed to extend) April 15th
Form 1041 – Trusts and Estates April 15th
Form 1120 – C Corporations April 15th
Form 990 Series – Tax Exempt Organizations May 15th
Form 5500 Series – Employee Benefit Plan July 31st
  Form   Extended Due Dates
Form 1065 Extended Return September 15th (9/16 for 2019)
Form 1120-S Extended Return September 15th (9/16 for 2019)
Form 1041 Extended Return September 30th
Form 1120 Extended Return October 15th
Form 1040 Extended Return October 15th
FinCEN 114 (Extended with Form 1040) October 15th
Form 5500 Series Extended Return October 15th
Form 990 Series Extended Return November 15th

For fiscal year filers:

  • Partnership and S Corporation tax returns will be due the 15th day of the third month after the end of their fiscal tax year.
  • C Corporation tax returns will be due the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of their fiscal tax year. A special rule to defer the due date change for C Corporations with fiscal years that end on June 30th defers the change until December 31, 2025 – a full ten years.
  • Employee Benefit Plan tax returns are due the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends.

It is important to check when tax returns are due for all states in which taxpayers operate, because individual states may not conform to the Federal filing dates.

If you have any questions about these new due dates and the impact on your tax filings, please contact Applied Bookkeeping & Tax Services.

information contained herein is designed solely to provide guidance to the user, and is not intended to be a substitute for the user seeking personalized professional advice based on specific factual situations. 

Source: https://www.tgccpa.com/2018/11/2019-tax-filing-due-dates/

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We don’t miss a chance to impress our clients – here’s a proof! 

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We don’t miss a chance to impress our clients – here’s a proof!
Applied Accounting & tax Services Received Yet Another 5-Star Review!

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