Government is Shut-down….Tax Due Dates Remain!

Government has shut-down. However, tax due dates remain effective.  Thus, employers and small businesses should continue to file their W-2’s and 1099’s by Jan. 31, 2018.  Individuals should file tax returns and pay any tax owed by April 17, 2018. An extension can be filed which automatically extends the due date to file your tax return by six months. However, any tax owed is still due on April 17, 2018. If tax due is not paid, penalties and interest may be applied.

The IRS anticipates that 35,076 employees, or 43.5% of the total employee population, will be retained during the shutdown.  These employees have roles that include:

• Processing of returns with payments
• E-filing
• Mailing tax forms
• Appeals (statutory deadlines will not be changed)
• Call centers (only during filing season)
• Civil and criminal tax cases
• Certain communications to taxpayers
• Active criminal investigations
• IRS.gov

Some of the roles of IRS employees that will more than likely be put on hold due to the government shutdown are:

• No tax refunds issued
• No processing of non-disaster relief transcripts
• No processing of forms 1040X, amended returns
• No non-automated collections
• No audit or examinations (some exceptions apply)
• No whistleblower office activity

Important Due Date Reminders:

Jan. 31 – W-2 and 1099 must be issued to employees/independent contractors & filed with appropriate government agency.

Mar. 15 – Partnership (Form 1065) and S-Corporation (Form 1120-S) tax returns are due.  Schedule K-1 is to be issued to each partner/shareholder.

Apr. 17 – Individual (Form 1040) and Corporate (Form 1120) tax returns are due.  Any tax owed from 2017 tax year is due to avoid penalties and interest.

As always, thank you for reading my blog!

Tina