Resources
The deadlines, and what each one really means
Not just the dates. The reason each one matters, and the ones people most often discover a week too late.
✓ Federal and New York✓ Individual and business✓ Extensions explained properly
| January 15 | Fourth-quarter estimated tax payment due for the prior year, for individuals and for most business owners. |
| January 31 | W-2s and 1099-NECs must be in recipients' hands and filed with the government. Fourth-quarter Form 941 and NYS-45 are due. |
| February | Filing season opens. This is when we would rather see you than in April, and appointments in February are easier to get. |
| March 15 | Calendar-year S corporation and partnership returns are due, or an extension to September 15. Shareholders and partners cannot file personally until their K-1 exists. |
| April 15 | Individual and C corporation returns are due, along with the first-quarter estimated payment. An extension moves the filing date and not the payment date. |
| April 15 | The last day to make a prior-year IRA or Roth IRA contribution, and the last day to claim a refund from a return three years old. |
| June 15 | Second-quarter estimated tax payment. Also the automatic filing deadline for US citizens living abroad. |
| September 15 | Extended S corporation and partnership returns are due. Third-quarter estimated payment. |
| October 15 | Extended individual returns are due. Also the FBAR deadline, on automatic extension from April 15. |
| October – November | Tax planning season. Everything that can still change this year's outcome has to be decided now. |
| December 31 | Almost every lever closes. Retirement contributions for employer plans, equipment purchases, charitable gifts, Roth conversions and loss harvesting must be done by today. |
General information, current for the 2026 filing season and not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Tax law changes, and the answer for your situation may differ. Speak to us before acting on anything you read here.
The one that catches everybody
An extension moves the filing date, not the payment date
This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in personal tax, and it costs people money every year. Filing Form 4868 gives you six more months to file. It gives you no additional time whatsoever to pay.
Failure to file
5% of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25%. This is the expensive one, and an extension removes it entirely.
Failure to pay
0.5% per month, up to 25%. Ten times cheaper than failing to file — which is why you should always file even when you cannot pay.
Interest
Charged on top of both, compounded daily, at a rate reset quarterly. It runs from the original due date regardless of any extension.
Our own calendar
When to come and see us
February is the best month to file. Appointments are easy to get, the office is not under pressure, and if something is wrong there is time to fix it properly rather than extend.
October and November are for planning. This is the conversation that changes the number, because almost every lever closes on December 31.
Any month at all if a letter arrived. Reading it and telling you what it is costs nothing, and the deadlines printed on those letters are real.
The first conversation is free
Talk to a CPA before you decide anything
Twenty minutes on the phone or across a desk on Roosevelt Avenue. Bring last year's return if you have one — most of what we need in order to quote you is already in it.