When are 2026 taxes due?

For a calendar-year individual, the 2026 return is due the 15th day of the 4th month after the year ends: April 15 in a normal year, or the next business day if that date is a weekend or legal holiday. Check the 2027 edition of IRS Publication 509 for the exact date once the IRS releases it.

When is the next estimated tax payment due?

Form 1040-ES (2026) lists January 15, 2027 for the fourth 2026 payment. You can skip it if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027, and pay the entire balance due with the return.

Does an extension give me more time to pay?

No. Form 4868 extends the time to file, and the IRS tells you to pay what you estimate you owe by the original date. The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25%.

What happens if I miss the filing deadline?

File as soon as you can. The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the tax due for each month or part of a month the return is late, up to 25%. Penalty relief may apply, including the IRS Automatic Exemption from Penalty for eligible returns.

Tax Deadlines: IRS and Texas Due Date Rules, Houston

When are individual returns due?

Form 1040 "is due on the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of your tax year," per IRS Publication 509, Tax Calendars. For a calendar year, that is April 15.

Extension: Form 4868 gives an automatic 6-month extension to file. Publication 509 tells you to "pay what you estimate you owe in tax to avoid penalties and interest." It is more time to file, not more time to pay.
Living abroad: U.S. citizens and resident aliens living and working outside the United States and Puerto Rico have until June 15 to file, and can ask for more time.
Extended returns: due October 15 for calendar-year filers.

If a year slipped by without a return, see unfiled tax returns. For help preparing this year's return, see individual tax preparation.

When are estimated tax payments due?

Individuals pay estimated tax "on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, and 9th months of your tax year and on the 15th day of the 1st month after your tax year ends," per Publication 509. For 2026, Form 1040-ES (2026) lists the dates:

April 15, 2026
June 15, 2026
Sept. 15, 2026
Jan. 15, 2027

The form adds that you do not have to make the January 15, 2027 payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027, and pay the entire balance due with it. Corporations pay on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months of their tax year; Publication 509 lists December 15, 2026 for the fourth 2026 installment of a calendar-year corporation. Freelancers and owners can read more on self-employed taxes.

When are business, trust and estate returns due?

The rule depends on the type of entity, per Publication 509:

Partnerships (Form 1065) and S corporations (Form 1120-S): the 15th day of the 3rd month after the tax year ends. Partners and shareholders get their Schedule K-1 by the same date.
C corporations (Form 1120): the 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends. A June 30 fiscal year has its own rule.
Extensions: Form 7004 gives an automatic 6-month extension for these returns, and 7 months for a corporation with a June 30 fiscal year.
S corporation election (Form 2553): due "no more than 2 months and 15 days after the beginning of the tax year the election is to take effect or at any time during the preceding tax year."

Estates and trusts file Form 1041. For fiscal-year estates and trusts, the IRS says to file "by the 15th day of the 4th month following the close of the tax year," per the Form 1041 instructions. See business tax preparation and estate and trust returns.

What do employers file, and when?

Form 941 is due "the last day of the first calendar month after the calendar quarter ends," per Publication 509. Forms 940, 943, 944 and 945 are due the last day of the first calendar month after the year ends. If you deposited the tax on time and in full, you may file by the 10th day of the 2nd month after the period ends.

The next one on the 2026 calendar: Form 941 for the third quarter of 2026 is listed for November 2, 2026, or November 10 if you deposited the quarter's tax timely, properly and in full.

Form 1099-NEC for contractors goes to the IRS on or before January 31, moving to the next business day on a weekend or holiday, per the Form 1099-NEC instructions. Payments made after 2025 are reported once they reach $2,000. Clean books make January much easier.

What if a due date falls on a weekend or holiday?

You get until the next business day. Publication 509 says that if a due date "falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday," the act is timely if it is done "no later than the next day that isn't a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday." A legal holiday here means a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. A statewide holiday counts only in limited cases, and never for a federal tax deposit.

Mail counts by its postmark. Form 1040-ES says that if you mail your payment and it is postmarked by the due date, the postmark date is the date of payment. Certain IRS-designated private delivery services also count, but they cannot deliver to an IRS P.O. box.

When is the Texas franchise tax report due?

May 15 each year. "The annual franchise tax report is due May 15," and if May 15 "falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date will be the next business day," per the Texas Comptroller franchise tax page.

For 2026 and 2027 reports, the no tax due threshold is $2,650,000. A business at or below it still files: the Comptroller says to file the Public Information Report or Ownership Information Report. If you are forming a company, see Texas LLC setup.

Federal and Texas tax due dates, and the rules behind them