On July 31, 2015, President Obama signed the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 which implemented a change in the deadlines for certain tax returns, among other laws.
Under the new law, the filing deadline for Partnership tax returns, Form 1065, has changed from April 15th (3 ½ months after year end) to March 15th, or 2 ½ months after the close of the year. This deadline is the same as the S Corporation deadline, which remains unchanged from March 15th, 2 ½ months after year end. This change was made in an effort to speed up the timeline for owners of pass-through taxation entities to receive their K-1s, which they will need to file their personal tax returns.
The deadline for the filing of C Corporation returns has also changed. Previously, the deadline was 2 ½ months after the close of the year, or March 15th for calendar year filers. The deadline has now been moved to April 15th, or 3 ½ months after the close of the year.
Both changes still allow for extensions, which will make the extended deadline for filing these returns September 15th for all calendar year filers. These changes will take effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2015 (the 2016 returns that will be filed in 2017).
Another return which now sees significant changes in its filing deadline is Form FinCen 114, or Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). Previously, the return was due by June 30th of the following year, and no extensions were allowed. With the new law, the due date of the form has been moved April 15th, which now matches up with the due date of personal tax returns. However, FBARs are now also allowed a 6 month extension to October 15th, once again mirroring the due date of personal returns. Given the interplay for many foreign taxpayers between the FBAR and Form 8938, this change is welcome and not unexpected. This change also takes effect for the 2016 tax year, filed in 2017.
Currently, there have been no other changes for the filing of other returns, such as information returns (1099s) or Form 990 for not-for-profit entities.
The change of the filing deadline is important for all business owners to note, as there will now be a bigger rush to complete partnership returns before the March 15th deadline and less pressure to finalize C Corporation returns until April 15th. As business ownership shifts more toward pass-through taxation, this change will be beneficial for owners of these businesses.
Edward McWilliams, CPA
Partner
Ed is a Partner in the firm’s tax and business advisory practice focusing on providing services to middle market private companies across different industries as well as to early stage startups. Ed has over a decade of experience providing tax and business consulting services to these companies of different sizes and across different industries, bringing a broad and diverse knowledge base and strategic solutions to the many complex issues that businesses face.