Sorry To Crash Your Party, But As We Bring In The New Year, It's Also Time To Bring In A New Tax Season. As A Small Business Owner Or Self-employed Person, One Of The Easiest Ways To Keep Uncle Sam Off Your Back And Out Of Your Life Is To File Your Forms, Payments And Other Paperwork On Time.Over The Next Four Months There Are Several Key Dates That You Dare Not Forget! Here They Are -- All In One Place, Along With Links To The IRS Website PDF File For That Particular Form, Where Appropriate.NOTE: This Article Only Addresses Federal Tax Deadlines. Be Sure To Contact Your State's Tax Department For Their Due Dates.Also, The Calendar Is Adjusted For Saturdays, Sundays And Federal Holidays, Because If A Due Date Falls On A Saturday, Sunday, Or Federal Holiday, Then The Due Date Is Moved To The Next Business Day.JANUARY:Tuesday, Jan. 17PersonalIf You Pay Quarterly Estimated Income Tax Payments,it's Time To Make The Fourth-quarter Payment For 2005via Form 1040-ES.http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1040es.pdfBusinessIf You Have Employees, You Must Make The Federal Payrolltax Payment For December 2005 By Today (assuming You Areon The Monthly Deposit Schedule).You Use Form 8109 (found In The Little Yellow Couponbook) Or The IRS Electronic Federal Tax Payment System(EFTPS).Tuesday, Jan. 31Business4th Quarter And Year-end 2005 Payroll Tax Returns Are Due By January 31, 2006. Here's An Overview Of The 4 Most Common Federal Payroll-related Forms Due Today:1. Form W-2 (for Your Employees) Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdffw2.pdfIf You Mail The W-2's, The Postmark Must Be On Or Before January 31, 2006.You May Also Be A Recipient Of A W-2 (if You Work As An Employee For Someone Else), So Don't Give Your Employer A Hard Time Unless The W-2 Is Postmarked, Or Delivered In Person, Later Than January 31.2. Form 941 (for Payroll Tax) Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff941.pdf 3. Form 940 (for Unemployment Tax) Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff940.pdf4. Form 1099-MISCIf You Paid Any Independent Contractors At Least 600 In 2005, You Must Send Each One A 1099 By January 31. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1099msc.pdfTip: If The Independent Contractor Is A Corporation, You Usually Don't Have To Issue A 1099. The Main Purpose Of The 1099 Is To Track Payments To Sole Proprietors, I.e. Unincorporated Self-employed People.FEBRUARY:Wednesday, Feb. 15If You Have Employees, You Must Make The Federal Payroll Tax Payment For January 2006 By Today (assuming You Are On The Monthly Deposit Schedule).Tuesday, February 28If You Prepared Any W-2's Or 1099's (mentioned Above), Today Is The Deadline For Sending A Copy Of Those Forms To The IRS.Form W-3 Is Sent To The Social Security Administration, Along With Copy A Of Any Forms W-2 You Issued. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdffw3.pdfForm 1096 Is Sent To The IRS, Along With Copy A Of Any Forms 1099-MISC You Issued. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff109604.pdf MARCH:BusinessWednesday, March 15Today Is A Big Day If Your Business Is A Corporation.Form 1120 -- The Annual Corporate Income Tax Return For Regular "C" Corporations. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1120.pdfForm 1120S -- The Annual Corporate Income Tax Return For "S" Corporations. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1120s.pdfForm 7004 -- If You Can't File Form 1120 Or 1120S By Today, Here's A Tip: Just File Form 7004 ByMarch 15 And You Are Granted An Automatic, No-questions-asked 6-month Extension Of Time To File The Return (i.e. Until Sept. 15, 2006) Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff7004.pdfForm 2553 -- If You Want Your Corporation To Be Treated Like An "S" Corporation For The First Time, Today Is The Deadline For Telling The IRS That You Want To Be An "S" Corp Beginning With Calendar Year 2006. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff2553.pdfAlso, If You Have Employees, You Must Make The Federal Payroll Tax Payment For February 2006 By Today (assuming You Are On The Monthly Deposit Schedule).APRIL:Monday, April 17Ah, Yes, The Most Famous Tax Deadline Of All.Form 1040http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1040.pdfAnd If You Are A Sole Proprietor, Don't Forget That You Must File Several Business-related Tax Forms With Your Form 1040. The Most Commonly Used Tax Forms For The Self-employed Person Include:Schedule C (to Report Your Business Income And Expenses) Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1040sc.pdfSchedule SE (for Self-employment Tax) Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1040sse.pdfForm 4562 (to Deduct Equipment And Other Depreciable Property) Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff4562.pdfForm 8829 (to Deduct A Home Office) Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff8829.pdfNeed More Time To Prepare Your Personal Tax Return? Go No Further Than Form 4868, Which Grants An Automatic No-questions-asked 4-month Extension To File The Return. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff4868.pdfNOTE: This Is Only An Extension Of Time To File The Return, Not An Extension To Pay Any Tax Due. So If You Think You Might Owe, It May Be Wise To Estimate What You Owe And Send In A Payment With Form 4868; Otherwise You May Have To Pay Extra In Late Payment Penalties And Interest.Form 1065If Your Business Is A Partnership Or Limited Liability Company (LLC), Today Is Also Your Lucky Day To File The Annual Business Income Tax Return -- Via Form 1065. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1065.pdfForm 8736To Get An Automatic 3-month Extension Of Time To File Form 1065, File Form 8736 On Or Before April 17. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff8736.pdfAs If April 17 Wasn't Already Painful Enough, It's Also The Deadline For The First Quarter Estimated Tax Payment For Year 2006:Personal -- Form 1040-ES. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1040es.pdfCorporate -- Form 1120-Whttp:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff1120w.pdfAnd If You're An Employer, Yup, It's Time For Yet Another Monthly Federal Payroll Tax Deposit -- For March 2006.MAY:Monday, May 1Form 941 Is Due For The 1st Quarter 2006. Http:www.irs.govpubirs-pdff941.pdfForm 940 Federal Unemployment Tax Deposit Is Due Today, If Your First Quarter Liability Exceeds 500.Had Enough? OK, OK. I'll Stop Here. That Should Get You Through The First Four Months Of The Year.For More Tax Resources, Here's A Few More Links:Looking For A Federal Tax Form?http:www.irs.govformspubsindex.htmlLooking For A State Tax Form?http:taxes.yahoo.comstateforms.htmlhttp:www.taxadmin.orgftalinkforms.htmlIRS Website For Small Business The Self-Employed Http:www.irs.govsmallbiz
