Significant Changes to IRS Deadlines
New tax provisions were signed into law on July 31st, 2015, changing the filing deadlines for many U.S. tax returns and forms. Please keep the following changes in mind for tax years starting January 1, 2016.
- C Corporation returns will be due on the 15th day of the 4th month following the company’s fiscal year-end. If you file a U.S. Form 1120 for a corporation with a December 31 year-end, the new tax law has extended the filing deadline to April 15th of the subsequent year.
- Partnership returns will be due on the 15th day of the 3rd month following the company’s fiscal year-end. If you receive a Form 1065 or K-1 that is reported on your personal tax return, these forms will generally be made available to you by March 15th. This change will help with the flow of tax information during tax season.
- Forms 3520 for foreign trusts such as TFSA and RESP accounts will be due April 15th.
Please be mindful of these new deadlines when you provide our office with your tax information so your returns can be filed in a timely manner.
This legislation also extended IRS’ period for auditing returns from 3 to 6 years, a timeframe previously reserved for taxpayers charged with substantial understatement of their tax liability. Therefore, it is even more important to keep organized records for the following 6 years after filing in case the IRS sends correspondence or requests further support for a previous tax year.
FBAR Filing Deadline Changing for 2016 FBAR Forms
The new tax laws also addressed the filing deadlines for FinCEN Form 114, more commonly known as “FBAR”. These forms will be due April 15th, not June 30th. However, FINCEN has not yet issued regulations to change this filing deadline, which means they currently still have a June 30th filing deadline for the 2015 tax year. This change is expected to go into effect for the 2016 FBAR forms, which be filed in early 2017. Once the regulations establish an April 15th deadline, 6 month extension forms will be available. This new due date will help align the FBAR filing deadlines with the Form 1040 filing deadlines.
Please keep these deadlines in mind as we head into the 2015 and 2016 tax seasons.