For the 2025 tax year, most individual federal returns are due Wednesday, April 15, 2026, and that same date anchors a cluster of other federal obligations covered in the IRS tax calendar of filing deadlines: IRA and HSA contributions, gift tax returns, FBAR filings, and the first quarterly estimated payment for 2026. When any federal deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it shifts to the next business day.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 509 (2026), Tax Calendars
Individual Return and Extension
Calendar-year individual taxpayers file Form 1040 by April 15, 2026.2Internal Revenue Service. When to File April 15 is a Wednesday in 2026, so no weekend or holiday shift applies.
Need more time? File Form 4868 by April 15 and you get an automatic six-month extension, moving your filing deadline to October 15, 2026.3Internal Revenue Service. Get an Extension to File Your Tax Return The extension buys time to file the paperwork, not time to pay. Any tax owed is still due April 15, and interest and penalties on unpaid balances start running from that date regardless of the extension.2Internal Revenue Service. When to File
Other Obligations Due April 15, 2026
Several actions that affect your 2025 return share the April 15 date:
- Traditional and Roth IRA contributions applied to the 2025 tax year must be made by April 15, 2026.
- Health Savings Account contributions for 2025 can be made through April 15, 2026.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8889 (2025)
- Form 709 gift tax returns for taxable gifts made in 2025 are due April 15, 2026.5Internal Revenue Service. Filing Estate and Gift Tax Returns
- The FBAR (FinCEN Form 114), required if foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 in aggregate at any point in 2025, is due April 15, 2026. Unlike the individual return, the FBAR receives an automatic extension to October 15 without any paperwork.6Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments
If you earn income that doesn’t have taxes withheld — self-employment earnings, investment income, rental income — you likely owe quarterly estimated payments on Form 1040-ES. The trigger is straightforward: if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal tax after withholding and credits, estimated payments are required.7Internal Revenue Service. Estimated Taxes
The 2026 payment schedule for income earned during the 2026 tax year:
- April 15, 2026, for income earned January 1 through March 31
- June 15, 2026, for income earned April 1 through May 31
- September 15, 2026, for income earned June 1 through August 31
- January 15, 2027, for income earned September 1 through December 31
The second quarter covers only two months, not three. The IRS splits the year unevenly, and this catches first-time filers off guard.
Safe Harbor
You avoid the underpayment penalty, even if you owe at tax time, by meeting one of two thresholds: paying at least 90% of the tax owed for the current year, or 100% of the total tax shown on last year’s return, whichever is smaller. If your prior-year adjusted gross income exceeded $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately), the prior-year threshold rises to 110%.8Internal Revenue Service. Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals Penalty For anyone whose income fluctuates year to year, basing payments on last year’s tax is the simplest way to stay penalty-free.
When You Should Receive W-2s and 1099s
Before you can file, you need the paperwork reporting your income. Employers must furnish Form W-2 to employees by January 31.9Social Security Administration. Deadline Dates to File W-2s The same January 31 date applies to Form 1099-NEC for non-employee compensation of $600 or more paid to independent contractors, and to Form 1099-MISC recipient copies.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (04/2025)
Because January 31, 2026, is a Saturday, those deadlines shift to Monday, February 2, 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 509 (2026), Tax Calendars Some forms carry a February 15 furnishing deadline, including 1099-B from brokerages and 1099-DIV for dividends. February 15, 2026, is a Sunday followed by Presidents’ Day, so that date moves to February 17, 2026.
If your W-2 or 1099 hasn’t arrived by mid-February, contact the payer first, then the IRS if that doesn’t produce the form.
Business Return Deadlines
Business filing dates depend on entity type, and some come earlier than most people expect.
Partnerships and S Corporations
Partnerships (Form 1065) and S corporations (Form 1120-S) file by the 15th day of the third month after their tax year ends. For calendar-year entities, that’s March 15. In 2026, March 15 falls on a Sunday, so the deadline shifts to Monday, March 16, 2026.11Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1065 These pass-through entities don’t pay income tax themselves; income and losses flow to owners’ individual returns, and the earlier deadline gives partners and shareholders time to receive Schedule K-1s before their own April 15 filing date.
C Corporations
C corporations (Form 1120) file by the 15th day of the fourth month after year end. For calendar-year corporations, that’s April 15, 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 509 (2026), Tax Calendars
Extensions
Any business can request a six-month extension by filing Form 7004 by the original due date.12Internal Revenue Service. About Form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns With the extension, the 2026 filing deadlines become September 15, 2026, for partnerships and S corporations, and October 15, 2026, for C corporations. As with individual extensions, these extend the time to file, not to pay.
Employer Payroll Tax (Form 941)
Employers who pay wages subject to employment taxes file Form 941 quarterly, due the last day of the month following each quarter’s end:13Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Due Dates
- First quarter (January–March): April 30
- Second quarter (April–June): July 31
- Third quarter (July–September): October 31
- Fourth quarter (October–December): January 31 of the following year
If you deposited all employment taxes on time throughout the quarter, you get an additional 10 calendar days to file.13Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Due Dates The next-business-day rule applies when any of these dates falls on a weekend or holiday.
What Missing a Deadline Costs
Missing a deadline costs money in two separate ways, and the penalties stack.
The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is late, capped at 25% of the unpaid tax.14Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty This is the more aggressive of the two, which is why the standard advice when you can’t pay is to file anyway.
The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of the unpaid balance per month or partial month, capped at 25%.15Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty An approved IRS payment plan cuts that rate in half, to 0.25% per month. When both penalties apply in the same month, the failure-to-file penalty is reduced by the failure-to-pay amount.14Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty
Interest runs on top of penalties. The rate is set quarterly and tied to the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points. For the first quarter of 2026 the rate is 7%; for the second quarter it drops to 6%.16Internal Revenue Service. Quarterly Interest Rates Interest compounds daily from the original due date until you pay in full, even if you filed for an extension.
Automatic Relief for Disasters and Combat Zone Service
Two situations automatically shift deadlines without a request.
When the President signs a major disaster declaration, the IRS postpones filing and payment deadlines for affected taxpayers. You qualify if your home or principal place of business is in the covered area, if your tax records are located there, or if you’re a relief worker deployed to the zone.17Internal Revenue Service. Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses The extended dates vary by disaster and are announced in IRS news releases; there is no single standard extension period. Check the IRS disaster relief page for the specific dates that apply.
Military members serving in a designated combat zone receive an extension covering their entire period of service in the zone plus 180 days after leaving. The extension also preserves whatever time remained before the original deadline when the service member entered the zone. A taxpayer who deployed on March 1 with April 15 as the original deadline has those 46 remaining days added to the end of the 180-day period. No interest or penalties accrue during the extension.18Internal Revenue Service. Extension of Deadlines – Combat Zone Service
State Deadlines Are Separate
Most states with an income tax use the same April 15 date, though a handful use later dates running through mid-May. Nine states have no income tax and require no individual return. Many states automatically honor a federal extension, but some require their own extension form or a payment voucher if you owe state tax. Confirm the rules with your state tax agency; the federal calendar above governs only your federal obligations.