March 2017 Tax Deadlines and What’s New in Taxes

When are March

Major Tax Deadlines for March 2017

• March 1 – Farmers and fishermen who did not make 2016 estimated payments must file 2016 tax returns and pay taxes in full.
• March 2 – Large employers must furnish Form 1095-B and Form 1095-C to employees.
• March 15 – 2016 calendar-year S corporation income tax returns due.
• March 15 – 2016 partnership returns due.
• March 15 – Deadline for calendar-year corporations to elect S corporation status for 2017.

 
Note: Businesses are required to make federal tax deposits on dates determined by various factors that differ from business to business.
 
Payroll tax deposits: When are March payroll taxes due? Employers generally must deposit Form 941 payroll taxes (income tax withheld from employees’ pay and both the employer’s and employees’ share of FICA taxes) on either a monthly or semiweekly deposit schedule. There are exceptions if you owe $100,000 or more on any day during a deposit period, if you owe $2,500 or less for the calendar quarter, or if your estimated annual liability is $1,000 or less.

• Monthly depositors are required to deposit payroll taxes accumulated within a calendar month by the fifteenth of the following month.
• Semiweekly depositors generally must deposit payroll taxes on Wednesdays or Fridays, depending on when wages are paid.

For more information on tax deadlines that apply to you or your business, contact our office.
 

New Business: Partnership tax returns due March 15

 
As a reminder, please recall that partnership tax returns are due on March 15, one month earlier than last year. The change is important to note, as filing the tax return late could result in unexpected penalties. The new due date now aligns filing Form 1065 with other flow-through entities like S corporation Form 1120S. If you get caught by surprise by this earlier filing date, contact us immediately.

What’s New in Taxes: Current law still requires you to have health insurance

 
On January 20, President Trump signed an executive order asking federal agencies to reduce the economic burden the Affordable Care Act (ACA) puts on American citizens.
Unfortunately, this executive order caused confusion. Many people wondered whether fines would no longer be imposed or if rules no longer needed to be followed. While this may impact how some federal departments behave, it does not impact the law. This includes:

• The requirement to have health insurance
• The requirement to pay a shared responsibility tax if you do not have continuous health insurance coverage
• The ability to receive a health insurance premium credit if you qualify
• Possible health insurance credits for qualifying small businesses

 
It’s important to realize that unless tax laws actually change, you are expected to follow the laws as they are currently written.