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We’re now into that time the year that accountants and other tax preparers refer to as “tax season.”
For the rest of us it’s panic season.
We scramble to get together our tax documents and hope that we won’t have to pay taxes.
How many of you have filed your return the day it was due?  I’m raising my hand (not easy to type like that).
Add to the stress the fact that not everyone files taxes the same.  Some are individual filers while others file as self-employed.  Corporations file taxes too (and they have a different due date).
But the tax deadlines aren’t all the same in every case.  It’s enough to make your head spin, wondering “when are the tax due dates for my taxes?”
Below you will find Federal Income Tax deadlines for 2014.  Use these due dates to your advantage and plan enough time to prepare your taxes before they are due.
Individual Income Tax Filing Due Dates
When it comes to filing income taxes, everyone is well acquainted with “April 15”— a date in America that’s so universally recognized that it sits in a category with the Fourth of July and December 25th.
Make sure you get your taxes done by April 15th.  (Get them done earlier than that to give yourself time in case any issues pop up).
Did you know a couple of years, April 15th wasn’t April 15th, if you know what I mean.  The IRS will adjust the date based on the calendar, and the past couple of years were a couple of those exceptions.
If you are really on top of your taxes, the IRS started accepting e-file and Free File returns in January.
Need an extension to file?
Filing an extension moves the filing date out six months, to October 15, 2014.
The extension is automatic with the filing of Form 4868 (Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return). You must file the tax extension form no later than the tax filing date of April 15th.
It’s important to remember that the extension is NOT an extension to pay your taxes, but only to file the return.
Any tax liability required by the final return must be paid by April 15 otherwise tax penalties and interest will be incurred.
What About Estimated Tax Payments for the Self-Employed?
Make sure you know the federal income tax deadlines for 2013!
Many taxpayers, particularly the self-employed, are required to make estimated income tax payments.  This is done by sending tax payments with Form 1040-ES (here’s the PDF of 1040-ES from the IRS site).
The due dates for estimated tax payments are:
1st payment, April 15, 2014 – For the period January 1st through March 31st
2nd payment, June 16, 2014 – For the period April 1st through May 31st
3rd payment, September 15, 2014 – For the period June 1st through August 31st
4th payment, January 15, 2015 – For the period September 1st through December 31st
You can also pay all of your estimated taxes for the year by April 15th.
Corporate Income Tax Return (1120) Filing Dates
Since so many people are self-employed—many maintaining corporations in the process—it’s worth noting that corporate entities work on a different filing schedule.
The filing deadline for both corporations and S corporations is March 17th in 2014.  Or rather, the 15th of the third month after the corporation’s tax year ends (this year the 15th falls on a weekend).  Many corporations follow the calendar year.  If the corporation doesn’t then the third month rule applies after their fiscal year ends.
If you cannot file by the due date, you can file Form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns.  This will provide a 6-month extension of time to file (September 15, 2014).  The corporation must file Form 7004 by the regular due date of the return.
Tax estimates are also required to be paid by corporations four times per year.
The due dates for the tax estimate installments are:
1st payment, April 15, 2014
2nd payment, June 16, 2014
3rd payment, September 15, 2014
4th payment, December 15, 2014
If any date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the installment is due on the next regular business day.
Check with your accountant or income tax preparer for these and other significant tax date, or go to IRS.gov for more information.
Final Word on Tax Due Dates
Remember, if you are mailing in taxes they must be postmarked by the due date.  It’s not enough to just put your mail in the mailbox, you have to make sure it will be processed by the post office by the due date.  That’s why you see those long lines at the post office on April 15th – people are making sure their returns are postmarked in time.
Don’t wait until the last minute.  You never know what may come up or get lost.  Give yourself a time cushion to prepare your taxes.  It will feel SO much better to have them taken care of before their due date.  And if you’re getting a tax refund then the quicker you file the quicker you get your money back.
Glen Craig is married and the father to four children that he spends the day chasing as a stay-at-home-dad. He took an interest in personal finance when he realized most of his paycheck was going toward credit card bills. Since then he's eliminated his credit card debt and started on a journey towards financial freedom.
February 6, 2012 at 6:05 am
My filing date depends on whether I owe them or they owe me. If I’m entitled to a refund I file as soon as possible. If I owe more I wait until the second week of April. Of course since becoming self-employed I get to file 4 times a year – Oh Joy!
February 6, 2012 at 8:30 am
That is another consideration. Many who owe wait as long as possible to file. Still, it’s important to give yourself enough time to actually prepare your taxes. You can have them done way before you actually file them.
February 6, 2012 at 9:04 am
Yes I prepare them in January. Then decide whether to file right away or wait. Since I’ve been filing quarterly I haven’t really needed to wait though since adjustments are made throughout the year. It’s a pain to do your taxes 4x per year, but there are benefits.
February 6, 2012 at 6:13 pm
I can imagine. I’ll be doing that this year for sure. Fun times!
February 6, 2012 at 12:21 pm
It’s always best to get your taxes sorted as soon as possible, especially if you have your own business as this frees up the time to sort out all of your other finance issues out as well.
February 6, 2012 at 6:14 pm
There are so many things that can come up. You don’t want to risk late fees and such because you waited until the last minute.
Jenna, Adaptu Community Manager says
February 6, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Thanks for keeping us all on track!
February 6, 2012 at 7:44 pm
No problem. But these are just words. You have to act on these dates in order for them to be effective.
SB @ One Cent At A Time says
February 6, 2012 at 8:24 pm
This weekend I am doing my taxes. Waiting for last minute is not at all good.
February 6, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Nope, it’s not. Ever see what the central post office looks like on due day? Insane.
We’re making an appointment to meet with our CPA for the next couple of weeks.
March 26, 2013 at 11:49 am
I prefer to get mine done as soon as possible. If I don’t I find it’s like everything else in my life, I spend way too much time thinking about it and being down about all the things I have to do. If I do them right away, I don’t have to spend time thinking about doing them.
March 26, 2013 at 1:20 pm
I totally agree. When you wait it just gets more stressful.
March 26, 2013 at 11:08 pm
This is the information about taxes I was exactly looking for since the tax season is approaching so quickly. It’s so much easier to read it in the form of an article like this than going on government web sites and trying to figure it all out by yourself. thanks for sharing!
April 8, 2013 at 8:07 pm
I’m very happy to say I will not need an extension this year, for the first time in about 5 years! I got mine done as early as I could this year because I read about the fraud that was going on. People were steal social security #s and filing tax returns for other people. Once one person files with a given SSN, another return cannot be submitted, and they have your return check mailed to them. I can only imagine how much a pain this is to sort out with the IRS, so I did it as early as possible to protect myself this year.
Bryce @ Save and Conquer says
February 20, 2014 at 7:41 pm
I’m close to finished with our income taxes, but since we owe some additional tax, I will hold off filing until the first week in April. I try to do that every year.
February 20, 2014 at 8:13 pm
If you are going to owe then I think it’s fine to wait to file (just don’t wait to actually do the taxes). I wouldn’t wait until tax day but like you say, the first week in April.
October 23, 2014 at 4:10 pm
Great article. Thanks for the info. List of deadlines is really helpful. BTW, if anyone needs to fill out a IRS forms, I found a blank tax forms here http://goo.gl/TtVwdg. This site also has some tutorials on how to fill it out the form you need.
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A Little About Me
I'm Glen Craig - I used to live paycheck-to-paycheck, drowning in credit card debt. I turned that all around and now I build wealth rather than debt.
My goal is to make personal finance easy for you.
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