In March, advisors may be helping their clients gather information like 1099 forms for their tax returns or, in some cases, completing and filing those returns for clients. But throughout the month and the year, there are other important dates for some clients and advisors — especially if they (or you) happen to live in Maine or Massachusetts. Below, we provide the 2016 dates that are important for helping your clients deal with tax year 2015 and 2016.
Tuesday, March 15: This is the deadline for calendar-year corporations and S corps to file their 2015 income tax returns, and is also the day when S corps and electing large partnerships must provide each shareholder or partner, respectively, with their K-1s.
Thursday, March 31: This is the deadline for electronically filing various forms with the IRS, including 1099s. February 29 was the deadline for paper filing of Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922 and W-2G. The deadline for firms to deliver these forms to the appropriate recipients "generally remains Feb. 1," according to the IRS.
Friday, April 1: While RMDs are usually due by Dec. 31 of the tax year, for clients who turned 70 ½ last year, April 1 is the deadline to take their first required minimum distribution, though doing so will also require a second RMD by year-end which, as Schwab's Rande Spigelman points out, could put your client into a higher tax bracket. However, Spigelman also says that the omnibus budget bill passed by Congress last year permanently extended the tax provision that allows distributions "made directly from an IRA to a charitable organization to be excluded from income and count towards your RMD."
Friday, April 15: Surprise! This is not the deadline for filing your federal tax return. Washington, D.C.'s Emancipation Day holiday will be observed on April 15 since it falls on a Saturday this year. The actual tax return filing deadline is three days later, April 18.
Monday, April 18: This is the deadline for individuals to file their 1040 federal tax returns this year — the IRS helpfully adds "and pay any tax due" — because of the DC holiday, unless you happen to live in two New England states.
It's also the day for 'household employers,' taxpayers who paid cash wages of $1,900 or more to a household employee in 2015, to file Schedule H (Household Employment Taxes) of Form 1040, along with reporting any Federal Unemployment (FUTA) tax and any income tax withheld for household employees (see IRS Publication 926).
Monday, April 18: This is the deadline for residents of all states to file their first installment of their 2016 estimated taxes, if applicable.
Monday, April 18: This is also the deadline for filing returns for the 2012 tax year should you have forgotten to do so, or were not required to do so because it was a low-income year. Filing those missed returns for 2012 could benefit many taxpayers, the IRS says, since the agency estimates the median refund for those missed returns would be $718.
