“Death and taxes” are the two things Benjamin Franklin promised us would always be certain. However, when it comes to human nature, we can safely add “procrastination” to this short list, given how every tax season, small and medium sized business owners are rushing around at the last minute, trying to file their taxes, overwhelmed with confusion about the types of taxes to be filed, the taxes applicable to them, and the requirements and deadlines of each.

There’s no shame in procrastination though. As long as you understand the root cause behind it, that’s always the perfect first step to take regardless of the tasks you need to get done. And so, when it comes to tax filing, and relate procrastination, we’ve seen from our experience with our extensive client base, that most of the times, small business owners such as yourself, either are not aware of what taxes apply to their business, or they’re not diligently staying on top of the approaching deadlines.

We understand it can get super overwhelming when there are so many taxes applicable to so many different corporation types, and so many deadlines that always seem to be approaching. That’s why, in this blog post today, we’ll take you over a quick list (with brief details) about all the taxes that you must file for 2023, and what their (mostly approaching) deadlines are.

Why It Is Tough For Entrepreneurs to Keep a Tab on Tax Deadlines

It is not uncommon knowledge that tax filing dates are not static year on year, but rather, are subject to potential and possible changes every year. This can make the task of staying on top of your tax filing and management tasks even more daunting for entrepreneurs and small business owners, who are already wearing multiple hats every day.

Furthermore, with the business landscape forever evolving and tax rules and regulations responding accordingly, it’s a lot to stay up to date with on a regular basis, especially for someone whose forte it is not. For instance, in the tax season of 2023, some businesses received certain tax forms to be filled and filed that they hadn’t seen before, such as the 1099-K form – for payments using credit cards. Turns out, that with the advent of several third-party payment networks such as PayPal, Venmo, Amazon, Wise, and Skrill etc., the form is now sent to anyone who transacts an amount as low as $600, while in previous years, the form would only be triggered if and when taxpayers had more than 20 transactions worth a total of more than $20,000.

Small business owners are entrepreneurs (in fact, so are gig workers, freelancers, and independent contractors) – meaning to highlight that they’re often not privileged enough to have countless resources hired to do all their work. Most of the time, they are single-handedly catering to a million aspects of running a business, all the while trying to ensure that the core business or service offering of theirs is being delivered on time, as per set quality standards. This necessitates it for such busy business runners to hire certain experts, such as tax lawyers, to handle some of the more specialty work that is not their own cup of tea. At the very least, it necessitates it for them to keep an eye on blog posts such as this one, so that at the very least, they can stay up to date about the latest rules and regulations, as well as deadlines, that they should be mindful of when it comes to tax filing.

Tax Deadlines for Individual Tax Filers

Individual filers include self-employed individuals, retired people, independent contractors, freelancers, and gig workers.

Some of the taxes that you should have filed and/or paid by now, include the final quarter’s tax payment for 2023 (due date was January 16, 2024), and the W-2 forms, which employers send to independent contractors and freelancers etc., so they may complete their tax returns on time (due date for this was January 31, 2024). January 31, 2024 was also the final date that certain 1099 forms were to be sent out, such as the 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms that help report payments that come from an irregular or one-time source.

Upcoming tax deadlines for individuals include:

April 15, 2024

April 15 happens to be an important date this year, as this is the tax deadline for at least 4 major events that, if they apply to you, you should be mindful of. These are:

1. Tax Day
2. Filing of Form 4868 to request an extension – you can file for an extension on the same day as is the last date to file your taxes. Once you file this extension form you may be granted an extension till October 16 this year. Do note that this extension does not absolve you of any taxes accrued in the meantime, including those you may owe by the April deadline.
3. Last date to make IRA and HSA contributions for the tax year ending in 2023.
4. Last date to estimate how much income you’re likely to make for the remainder of the year and thus, your first quarter (of 2024) estimated tax payment is due. The form 1040-ES can be used to calculate estimated due amounts, and all details regarding this can be found in the IRS Publication 505, but since all this can get super overwhelming, and understandably so, feel free to get in touch with one of our Tax Specialists for free, and they can guide you briefly as to what your needs and responsibilities would be. Until you need further assistance or decide to simply offload all this taxing tax-related work, you are under no obligation to sign on with us or buy any of our services. This is a freebie that you shouldn’t miss!

June 17, 2024

This is the due date for making estimated tax payments for the second quarter of the year 2024.

September 16, 2024

This is the last date to pay your estimated due taxes for the third quarter of the year 2024.

October 15, 2024

Remember the extension you filed on April 15th? This is the final due date for that – you should file your 2023 tax returns by this last date.

December 31, 2024

This is the deadline for RMDs (required minimum distributions) that have to be taken for individuals aged 73 or more, or for those who are required to receive an RMD for 2024 regardless of their age.

For more details and a more complete list of tax forms, consult one of Monily’s Tax Specialists (for free, and without any obligations).

Tax Deadlines for Businesses – Partnerships, C-Corps, S-Corps

Businesses are also required to file taxes accurately and on time, but there are many different types that businesses can be categorized into. These include the most common ones, which are:

• Partnerships, including LLCs,
• C Corporations (for which, usually the Form 1120 suffices),
• S Corporations (for which, usually the Form 1120S suffices).

Upcoming tax deadlines for businesses include:

January 15, 2024

This is the due date for making estimated tax payments for the last quarter of the year 2023.

January 31, 2024

This is the due date for sending the W-2 forms to employees. This is also the last date to send out any applicable 1099 forms.

March 15, 2024

This is the last date for some business organizations, such as partnerships (including multi-member LLCs), and S-Corporations, to file their Forms 1065 or 1120S. This is, however, only if these businesses follow the calendar year.

April 15, 2024

This is the last date for other types of businesses, such as C-Corporations, to file their form 1120. This is only if these businesses follow the calendar year system.

September 16, 2024

This is the deadline put in place for extended partnerships and S-Corporations returns for the year 2024.

October 15, 2024

This is the deadline put in place for extended C-Corporation returns for the year 2024.

January 15, 2025

This is the date when your estimated tax payment for the 4th quarter of 2024 is due, and this date is highlighted here to give you a heads-up so you may prepare in advance, given that returning after Christmas and Holiday season is likely going to be met with loads of work piled up for you to cater to, which you are likely to find very overwhelming especially when it comes to tax filing.

Do keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list, of course. But it does cater to some major tax related deadlines that individual service providers and business owners, as well as small businesses in the form of partnerships, multi-member LLCs, and C- and S- Corporations should definitely make sure not to miss.

Stay on Top of Your Tax -Related Needs and Operations – Start Here!

Making it an annual habit to determine which dates you need to be mindful of for tax filing and management, especially keeping in mind the state and local deadline differences where applicable, is a very healthy finance and accounting practice that you as an entrepreneur can incorporate in your regular business operations and cycle. Not only will it help you ensure that you always file your taxes on time, correctly and accurately, but it would also help you avoid costly and heavy penalties which could result due to something as simple as negligence stemming out of laziness or being overwhelmed by the amount of information out there to sort through when it comes to such technical aspects of running a business.

Preparing your business taxes can be very easily overwhelming and time-consuming for entrepreneurs, especially when small business owners have so much more that needs their immediate attention all the time. So if you feel you do not have the bandwidth to tackle your taxes on your own, consult one of Monily’s Tax Specialists for free, with no obligation to sign up or buy any of our services.

Alternatively, if you want to offload tax filing and management tasks to experts you can hire on a per-hour and per-project basis, contact us today at info@monily.com or give us a quick call at + 1 (832) 391-3460.

Nida Bohunr

A highly skilled accounting professional at Monily, having extensive and diverse experience of working in US healthcare and agriculture industry. Nida is a CA finalist with expertise in Bookkeeping, Auditing, Bank Liaison, Tax Preparation, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable.