Posts Tagged ‘Tax Return Due Dates’

Are You REQUIRED to File a 2010 Tax Return?

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

There are generally many situations in which you are required, by law, to file a tax return annually.  If you are not sure, then a review of IRS Publication 17 (“Your Federal Income Tax-For Individuals”) at http://www.irs.gov or this link http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf should answer your questions  Be sure that the Publication 17 that you are reviewing is for the current tax year as new versions are released for each tax year,  The information is located on pages 4-7 in that document.  Explanations are provided with three relevant tables:

  •  Table 1-1 Filing requirements based on your gross income, or
  •  Table 1-2  Filing requirements if someone is claiming you as a dependent, or
  •  Table 1-3  Other situations and circumstances in which you must file

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that the filing deadline for 2010 Federal tax returns which is traditionally April 15th has been extended until April 18th to allow additional time.  The delay in filing is not related to the late December extension of the tax law provisions by the U.S. Congress.  It is related to the celebration of Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia on April 16th, a Saturday which will be observed as a holiday on Friday, April 15th.  By law, Federal tax filing deadlines can not occur on Saturday, Sundays or holidays.

There are also seven or more situations in which you may wish to file a tax return although you are not REQUIRED to do so.  Those circumstances are described below: (more…)

Failure to Pay and Failure to File Penalties

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

This can be a relatively complex subject based on the myriad of tax returns that are required to be filed by taxpayers.  The major income tax returns  are the Form 990 (Tax Exempt organizations), Form 1040 (Individuals), Form 1041 (Estates and Trusts), Form 1065 (Partnerships),  Form 1120 (Corporations), and the Form 1120-S (Sub Chapter “S” Corporations).  The best guidance available as to filing instructions and due dates is provided by the IRS website (http://www.irs.gov).  Search for the instructions for your specific tax return and then carefully review the information that is provided in the document.  Most states follow the Federal guidelines since the state returns utilize your Federal return as a starting point for your state tax obligations.  However, this is a general rule and the state department of revenue requirements should also be reviewed.

In my profession we have an adage (that is shared with the IRS) “Ignorance of the law is not a defense!”

If you can not file your tax return by the statutory due date request an extension of the time to file.  There are legitimate reasons for encountering this situation.  However, an extension of the time to file your tax returns is NOT an extension of time to pay your taxes.  The taxes (including your best estimates) have to be remitted to the taxing authority on or before the original due date.  If you can not accurately determine your tax liability there are “safe harbor” rules which if followed will usually allow you to avoid interest and penalties.

Additonal information on this subject is provided below:  (more…)