Business Tax Deadlines 2027: Small Business Tax Calendar

Quick answer: The core business tax deadlines 2027 for calendar-year US businesses are February 1 (W-2s, 1099-NEC, Q4 Form 941 and Form 940), March 15 (Form 1065, Form 1120-S and S elections), April 15 (Form 1040, Form 1120 and first estimates), June 15, September 15, October 15 and January 18, 2028 for the last 2027 estimate.

Most tax trouble for small businesses does not come from complex rules. It comes from a date that slipped by. This guide lays out the business tax deadlines for 2027 as a single small business tax calendar: what is due, who it applies to and where the weekend and holiday shifts land. If you send invoices with our free invoice generator, you can match these dates to your own billing cycle so the cash is there when the IRS wants it.

Important: This is general information, not tax advice. As of late October 2026 the IRS had published the 2026 edition of Publication 509 and not yet the 2027 edition, so the 2027 dates below are calculated from the IRS due-date rules and the 2027 federal holiday calendar. Check the new edition when it appears, and watch for disaster-area postponements that can move dates for affected taxpayers.

Business tax deadlines 2027 at a glance

The table below covers the federal dates most small businesses deal with, assuming a calendar tax year. Fiscal-year businesses use the same rules, counted from the end of their own year.

Date (2027)	What is due	Who it applies to
Friday, January 15	Fourth estimated tax payment for tax year 2026 (Form 1040-ES)	Sole proprietors, single-member LLC owners, partners, S corp shareholders
Monday, February 1	Form W-2 to employees and the SSA; Form 1099-NEC to contractors and the IRS; Form 940 for 2026; Form 941 for Q4 2026	Employers and businesses that paid contractors
Monday, March 1	Paper-filed Forms 1099-MISC and most other information returns to the IRS	Businesses filing fewer than 10 information returns on paper
Monday, March 15	Form 1065 and Form 1120-S (or Form 7004 extension); Schedules K-1; Form 2553 to elect S status for 2027	Partnerships, multi-member LLCs, S corporations
Wednesday, March 31	Electronically filed information returns such as 1099-MISC and 1099-K	E-filers
Thursday, April 15	Form 1040 with Schedule C (or Form 4868); Form 1120 (or Form 7004); first 2027 estimates for individuals and corporations	Everyone with a calendar year
Friday, April 30	Form 941 for Q1 2027	Employers
Tuesday, June 15	Second 2027 estimated payment (individuals and corporations)	Estimated tax payers
Monday, August 2	Form 941 for Q2 2027	Employers
Wednesday, September 15	Third 2027 estimate; extended Form 1065 and Form 1120-S	Estimated tax payers, extended pass-throughs
Friday, October 15	Extended Form 1040 and Form 1120	Individuals and C corporations on extension
Monday, November 1	Form 941 for Q3 2027	Employers
Wednesday, December 15	Fourth 2027 corporate estimated payment	C corporations
Tuesday, January 18, 2028	Fourth 2027 individual estimated payment	Sole proprietors, LLC owners, partners

Payroll deposits are separate from these return dates. Monthly depositors pay each month's withheld and payroll taxes by the 15th of the following month, and semiweekly depositors follow a tighter schedule set by payday.

How weekend and holiday shifts change the 2027 calendar

The IRS rule is simple: if a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day. In 2027 several anchor dates land on weekends, which is why the calendar looks slightly different from a standard year:

• January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. W-2s, 1099-NEC, Form 940 and the fourth-quarter Form 941 all move to Monday, February 1.
• February 28, 2027 is a Sunday. The paper filing date for most other information returns moves to Monday, March 1.
• July 31, 2027 is a Saturday. The second-quarter Form 941 moves to Monday, August 2.
• October 31, 2027 is a Sunday. The third-quarter Form 941 moves to Monday, November 1.
• January 15, 2028 is a Saturday, and Monday, January 17, 2028 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so the last 2027 individual estimate moves to Tuesday, January 18, 2028.

Two quirks are worth knowing. District of Columbia Emancipation Day falls on Friday, April 16, 2027, the day after Tax Day, so it does not move the April 15 deadline this time. And holiday shifts for federal tax deposits follow their own rules: the IRS notes that statewide holidays can delay a filing deadline but do not delay federal deposit deadlines. The 2026 IRS Publication 509 tax calendars explain both rules in full.

Small business tax calendar by business type

Your entity type decides which return you file and when. If you are not sure how your business is taxed, our guide to types of business entities walks through the options.

Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs

You report business profit on Schedule C with your personal Form 1040, due Thursday, April 15, 2027 for the 2026 tax year. You also pay self-employment tax and make quarterly estimates: January 15, 2027 for the last 2026 payment, then April 15, June 15, September 15, 2027 and January 18, 2028 for 2027. Our Schedule C guide for freelancers covers the return itself.

Partnerships and multi-member LLCs

Form 1065 and every partner's Schedule K-1 are due Monday, March 15, 2027. The partnership generally pays no income tax itself; partners pay on their share through their own returns and estimates. A Form 7004 extension moves the filing date to September 15, 2027, but partners still need numbers in time for their own April 15 deadline or extension.

S corporations

Form 1120-S and shareholder K-1s are also due March 15, 2027, with the same September 15 extension date. If you want an existing LLC or corporation treated as an S corporation from January 1, 2027, Form 2553 is generally due within two months and 15 days of the start of the tax year, which is March 15, 2027. S corp owners who pay themselves a salary also have payroll deadlines; see S corp vs LLC for how that changes your workload.

C corporations

Calendar-year C corporations file Form 1120 by April 15, 2027, or by October 15, 2027 with a Form 7004 extension. Corporate estimated tax is paid in the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months of the tax year, so a calendar-year corporation pays on April 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15, 2027.

Quarterly estimated tax deadlines for 2027

Estimated taxes are where most freelancers and owner-operators lose money to penalties, because nobody withholds tax from invoice income. The IRS expects tax to be paid as income is earned. Here is how the 2027 estimate dates line up against the income periods they cover:

Payment	Income period (individuals)	Due date
1st	January 1 to March 31, 2027	Thursday, April 15, 2027
2nd	April 1 to May 31, 2027	Tuesday, June 15, 2027
3rd	June 1 to August 31, 2027	Wednesday, September 15, 2027
4th	September 1 to December 31, 2027	Tuesday, January 18, 2028

Worked example: setting your 2027 estimates

Maya is a freelance designer. Her total federal tax on her 2026 return (income tax plus self-employment tax) was $14,800, and her 2026 adjusted gross income was below $150,000. Under the prior-year safe harbor she avoids an underpayment penalty if she pays at least 100% of last year's tax during 2027.

• Required total: $14,800 x 100% = $14,800.
• Per installment: $14,800 / 4 = $3,700.
• Schedule: $3,700 on April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2027, and $3,700 on January 18, 2028.

To fund that, she sets aside 25% of every payment received. A $5,000 invoice paid in March puts $5,000 x 25% = $1,250 into her tax savings account. By April 15 she needs three such payments: 3 x $1,250 = $3,750, which covers the $3,700 installment with $50 to spare. If her prior-year AGI had been above $150,000, the safe harbor would be 110%, or $16,280, split into four payments of $4,070. Our guide to quarterly estimated taxes for freelancers explains the safe harbors, and estimated tax penalty shows what happens when a payment is short.

Payroll and contractor deadlines in 2027

W-2 and Form 1099-NEC

For pay and contractor payments made in 2026, Forms W-2 and Form 1099-NEC must be filed and furnished by Monday, February 1, 2027. The 1099-NEC reporting threshold for nonemployee compensation rose to $2,000 for payments made from 2026, as covered in our 1099 threshold 2026 guide. If you file 10 or more information returns of any type in total, the IRS requires you to e-file them. Step-by-step filing through IRIS is in how to file 1099-NEC in 2027.

Other information returns

Forms 1099-MISC, 1099-INT and similar returns are generally due to the IRS by March 1, 2027 on paper or March 31, 2027 electronically, with recipient copies due earlier. The IRS General Instructions for Certain Information Returns list the form-by-form dates. Collect a W-9 before you pay any contractor; our W-9 vs 1099 guide covers what to request.

Form 941, Form 940 and deposits

Form 941 reports quarterly withholding, Social Security and Medicare. The 2027 filing dates are February 1 (Q4 2026), April 30, August 2 and November 1, with Q4 2027 due Monday, January 31, 2028. If every deposit for the quarter was made on time, you get ten extra days to file. Form 940, the annual federal unemployment (FUTA) return, is due February 1, 2027 for 2026; FUTA tax itself must be deposited quarterly once the accumulated liability passes $500.

Tax extensions: what they buy you and what they do not

An extension is a filing extension only. It never extends the time to pay. That catches many owners out every year.

• Form 4868 extends Form 1040 from April 15 to October 15, 2027.
• Form 7004 extends Forms 1065 and 1120-S from March 15 to September 15, 2027, and Form 1120 from April 15 to October 15, 2027.
• Tax still due on time. Estimate what you owe and pay it by the original date, or interest and the failure-to-pay penalty start running. Our guide on how to pay the IRS online covers Direct Pay, EFTPS and card options.
• Information returns are different. W-2s and 1099-NEC have very limited extension options, so treat February 1 as fixed.

If a deadline does slip, the penalties are often negotiable for a first offence; see IRS penalty abatement.

How to build your small business tax calendar for 2027

1. Confirm your entity and tax year. Write down whether you file Schedule C, Form 1065, Form 1120-S or Form 1120, and whether you use a calendar or fiscal year.
2. Add the federal return dates. Copy the rows from the table above that apply to you, including the weekend-adjusted dates.
3. Add estimated tax dates. Put all four estimates in your calendar with the amount you plan to pay next to each one.
4. Add payroll and contractor dates. If you have staff or contractors, add February 1, the four Form 941 dates and your monthly or semiweekly deposit days.
5. Add state and local dates. Include state income or franchise tax, sales tax returns and any annual report; our LLC annual report guide covers the state filing many owners forget.
6. Set two reminders per deadline. One reminder 14 days ahead to gather numbers, and one 3 business days ahead to file or schedule the payment.
7. Link it to your invoicing. Review open invoices a month before each estimate date and chase anything overdue so the tax money is collected in time.

State deadlines and sales tax filing

Federal dates are only part of the picture. Most states with an income tax follow the April 15 date for individuals, but corporate returns, franchise taxes and annual reports run on state-specific schedules. Sales tax is the most frequent obligation: states usually assign a monthly, quarterly or annual filing frequency based on how much tax you collect, and the due date is often the 20th of the following month, though this varies. If you sell into several states, our sales tax nexus guide explains when you must register, and the sales tax calculator helps you put the right amount on each invoice.

Clean invoices make every one of these filings easier. Each invoice should show a unique number, the tax rate and the tax amount separately. A consistent invoice numbering system lets you total sales tax collected per period in minutes rather than hours.

Keep your 2027 tax deadlines in sight

The business tax deadlines 2027 calendar has a few weekend surprises, February 1, August 2, November 1 and January 18, 2028 among them, but the structure is the same as every year: information returns in early February, pass-through returns in mid-March, individual and C corporation returns in mid-April and four estimated payments spread across the year. Put the dates in one calendar, attach an amount to every payment and keep cash flowing from clients so the money is ready.

Create your next invoice with the Invoice Creator invoice generator to keep tax, discounts and balances clear on every bill, or browse the invoice templates to find a layout that suits your business. No sign-up is needed, and your PDF invoice is ready to send in a few minutes.