US Tax Filing Deadlines 2017

​The tax filing deadline in the US is usually April 15, but this year it has been extended 3 days, to April 18, 2017, which falls on a Tuesday. This means you will have an additional weekend to file your taxes and get your documentation in order.

​In addition to that, you can ask for a 6-month extension to file your tax returns. However, the extension would mean you will only get more time to file your return – it should not be taken to be a permission to put off paying taxes owed by you. 
You would still need to pay your taxes by April 18 – you are only permitted to file your return later, over a 6 month period. Not paying your taxes on time would invite substantial tax penalties.
 You can request an extension for filing the taxes at the same time as sending the payment to the IRS. Let’s discuss how you can ask for an extension. 
You will need to file the Form 4868, which is an application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Tax Return. You can file this using the IRS e-file or with the help of an online tax software such as Proseries, ATX etc. You can also file a paper Form 4868 and send it by snail mail to the IRS along with your payment.

You can pay your taxes using credit card or debit card, or by Direct Pay. You can also use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System to pay the taxes that you owe to the IRS
Indeed, you can even pay your taxes using the IRS’ PayNearMe scheme as long as the payment is limited to under $1,000 a day.

When you file for an extension for filing the tax returns, you should make sure that the returns are filed latest by October 16, 2017. If you happen to live in a state where you are required to pay state taxes as well, any federal tax extension would also give you an extension for the state returns.

​If you are a freelancer or are self-employed, you will not be able to see any tax withholdings in the earnings made from the occupation. In this case, the IRS would want you to stay current on your tax bill by making quarterly payments by filing Form 1040-ES in addition to the estimated payment.
So, for your earnings in 2016, you should have made the final quarterly payment latest by January 17, 2017 – the date for that has already passed by the time you read this article.
The tax year 2017, the first quarterly payment, which will relate to your earnings from January through March, should be made by April 15.

The second-quarter payment, which relates to your earnings from April through May, should be made by June 15.

The third-quarter payment, which relates to your earnings from June through August, should be made by September 15.

The fourth-quarter payment, which relates to your earnings from September through December, should be made by January 15, 2018.
You can delay making the fourth-quarter payment without being penalized as long as you file your tax returns and pay your taxes by the end of January 2018.
The best way to file your tax returns quickly and on time is by using any of our cloud-based tax software hosting solution such as Drake, Lacerte, ProSeries, ATX.