Your Month-by-Month Business Tax Calendar, With Payroll Taxes

Business Income Tax and Payroll Tax Payment Schedule

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Tax law is riddled with deadlines and due dates, particularly for small businesses. Creating a month-by-month calendar that includes payroll tax due dates and filing deadlines can be indispensable when it comes to preventing costly mistakes. The IRS commonly imposes financial penalties if you miss one or more.

Of course, you have to know what those dates and deadlines are so you can get started, and this can be a bit tricky because they can change by a day or two—or sometimes even longer—from year to year. The IRS sometimes extends deadlines due to national emergencies, and filing and payment dates are automatically pushed to the next available business date if they fall on a weekend or a national holiday.

Key Takeaways

  • The IRS rule is that a tax due date is the next business day if the original date falls on a weekend or a federal holiday. 
  • The IRS usually announces firm dates for any changes to the tax calendar for the upcoming year by November of the preceding calendar year.
  • National emergencies, like pandemics, hurricanes, or wildfires, can push due dates back by weeks or months.

Month-by-Month Tax Calendar

Personal tax returns are typically due by April 15. This includes business taxes filed with your personal Form 1040 tax return if you're a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC member filing Schedule C. This rule also applies to partners in partnerships, members of multiple-member LLCs, and S corporation owners that are filing a Schedule K-1.

Tax Dates May Change Each Year

The IRS rule is that if a tax due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date is the next business day. If a due date was on a Sunday, the due date would be moved to Monday, unless Monday were a holiday, then it would be Tuesday. For example, a tax due date of Sunday, April 15 would be moved to Monday, April 16 in that year.

The IRS usually makes firm tax dates available to taxpayers around November or Deceember of the preceding calendar year. Check with the IRS website as the dates draw near so you can be sure.

This calendar below gives you an overview of business and federal income taxes due in each month, including the usual monthly deposit dates for payroll taxes, including FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare). Some months have more activity than others. January is usually busy, with annual wage and tax reports to be distributed and filed by the end of that month. You must make payroll tax deposits according to the semi-weekly deposit rule if you have a large payroll. The semi-weekly deposit dates aren’t shown on this calendar.

Note

The tax year is the year for which taxes are calculated, not the one in which they’re paid. Tax dates may change slightly based on the calendar year, but for the most part, dates and deadlines are around the same time as those seen below.

January Tax Due Dates

  • Jan. 15: The fourth installment of estimated taxes for the previous tax year is due.
  • Jan. 15: Your payroll tax deposit for December is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly.
  • Jan. 31: Furnish tax reports to employees and non-employees to who you paid wages during the previous tax year. You must submit W-2 Forms to the Social Security Administration. You don't have to include a W-3 transmittal form if you file these forms online.

Note

Non-employee payments must be reported on Form 1099-NEC. Use Form 1099-MISC to report other miscellaneous types of payments, like rents and royalties. 

February Tax Due Dates

March Tax Due Dates

  • March 15: Your payroll tax deposit for February is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly. 
  • March 15: S Corporation income tax returns onForm 1120-S are due. All S corporations have a Dec. 31 year-end, so income tax returns are due the 15th of the third month after the year's end.  
  • March 15: Partnerships (including multiple-member LLCs filing income taxes as partnerships) must file their business income tax returns on Form 1065 by this date. If you want to file a 6-month extension application, it's due by this date using IRS Form 7004.

April Tax Due Dates

  • April 15: Report your business income taxes on Schedule C with ​your personal tax return if your business is a sole proprietorship or a single-member LLC. Schedule C is the business profit and loss form that must be submitted with your personal income taxes on Form 1040. Your Schedule C net income is included with your other sources of income to determine your taxable income. Use Schedule F if you’re a farmer.
  • April 15: Your corporation (C corp) must file Form 1120 Corporate Income Tax Return if it has a year-end of Dec. 31. If you want to file a 6-month extension application, it's due by this date using IRS Form 7004. 
  • April 15: The first installment of estimated taxes is due if you pay estimated taxes.
  • April 15: An extension application for your personal, partnership, or LLC tax return must be filed by this date if you want to request one. You must also pay income taxes by this date. Corporations receive an automatic extension if they ask, but they don't receive an extension on payment. 
  • April 15: Your payroll tax deposit for March is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly. 
  • April 30: First quarter federal unemployment (FUTA) taxes for larger employers are due. You must make a deposit by the due date if your FUTA tax liability in any quarter is more than $500.

May Tax Due Dates

  • May 10: File Form 941 and Form 940 and submit them by May 10 if you made all required payments in full by the due dates.
  • May 16: Your payroll tax deposit for April is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly.

June Tax Due Dates

  • June 15: Your payroll tax deposit for May is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly.  
  • June 15: The second installment of estimated taxes for the current year is due if you pay estimated taxes.

July Tax Due Dates

  • July 15: Your payroll tax deposit for June is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly. 
  • July 31: Second quarter federal unemployment (FUTA) taxes for larger employers are due. You must make a deposit by the due date if your FUTA tax liability in any quarter is more than $500.

August Tax Due Dates

  • Aug. 10: File Form 941 and Form 940 and submit them by Aug. 10 if you made all required payments in full by the due dates.
  • Aug. 15: Your payroll tax deposit for July is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly. 

September Tax Due Dates

  • Sept. 15: Your payroll tax deposit for August is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly. 
  • Sept. 15: The third installment of estimated taxes is due if you pay estimated taxes. 
  • Sept. 15: Your tax return is due by this date if you extended your partnership or S corporation tax return filing date.

October Tax Due Dates

  • Oct. 15: Your payroll tax deposit for September is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly. 
  • Oct. 15: Schedule C, along with your personal tax return, is due if you requested a 6-month extension to file.
  • Oct. 15: Corporations' tax return extensions are due.
  • Oct. 31: Third quarter federal unemployment (FUTA) taxes for larger employers are due. You must make a deposit by the last day of the month after the end of the quarter if your FUTA tax liability in any quarter is more than $500.

November Tax Due Dates

  • Nov. 1: File Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return. You have until Nov. 10 to submit this form if you made all required payments in full by the due dates. 
  • Nov. 15: Your payroll tax deposit for October is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly.

December Tax Due Dates

  • Dec. 15: Your payroll tax deposit for November is due if you make payroll tax deposits monthly. 
  • Dec. 15: Deposit the fourth installment of your estimated tax if your business is a corporation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do you know if your business uses a fiscal or a calendar year for taxes?

Most businesses can adopt either a calendar year or a fiscal year if they choose to do so. If you use a calendar year, you follow the normal calendar: January through December. If you have a fiscal year, the first day of your year may be on a different month, such as July 1.

What businesses must use a calendar year for their taxes?

You must use the calendar year if you've kept no financial records, if you have no annual accounting period, if your tax year doesn't qualify as a fiscal year, or if you're otherwise required to use a fiscal year under the terms of the Internal Revenue Code. You're best off consulting with a tax professional if you think any of these circumstances might apply to you.

Updated by Beverly Bird
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Sources
The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1.  Tax.gov. “Online Tax Calendar.”

  2.  IRS. “Instructions for Schedule F.”

  3.  IRS. “Tax Years.”

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