Business tax returns built on numbers that hold up

The three common federal entity returns, plus the K-1s that go to each owner:

• Form 1065 for partnerships and LLCs taxed as partnerships. A partnership "does not pay income tax. Instead, it 'passes through' profits or losses to its partners" (IRS partnerships page).
• Form 1120-S for S corporations.
• Form 1120 for C corporations.

Sole proprietors report on Schedule C with their personal return; that is covered on the self-employed page.

Both are due earlier than personal returns. The IRS says a partnership "must file Form 1065 by the 15th day of the 3rd month following the date its tax year ended" (March 15 for a calendar year, moved to the next business day when it lands on a weekend or holiday) (Form 1065 instructions). An S corporation follows the same rule: Form 1120-S "is due on the 15th day of the 3rd month after the end of the corporation's tax year," and a C corporation's Form 1120 is due on the 15th day of the 4th month (IRS Publication 509). When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next day that isn't one.

Owners cannot finish their own 1040s until they have their K-1s, so a late entity return delays everyone.

The penalty is charged per partner, per month. For partnership returns due after December 31, 2025, the IRS lists $255 for each partner for each month, up to 12 months (IRS failure to file penalty). For a three-partner firm, that adds up quickly.

Relief can exist. First Time Abate covers earlier years, and the IRS's new Automatic Exemption from Penalty applies to Form 1065 and Form 1120 returns for 2025 and later (IRS administrative penalty relief). One client wrote that "requesting the IRS to grant me consideration for a first time offense for a late filing for a partnership return" made a real difference. More on the penalty abatement page.

Because every number on a business return comes from them. Blaga ran financial operations as a controller for an industrial energy company and has owned a manufacturing business, so she reads a balance sheet the way an owner does. Lachezar Velev handles reconciliations and the financial records underneath. If the year's books are behind, catch-up bookkeeping comes first, and the return follows on numbers that tie out.

Most Texas entities owe a franchise tax report along with the federal return. The Comptroller applies the tax to each taxable entity formed or doing business in Texas, with the annual report due May 15, and for 2026 and 2027 reports the no-tax-due threshold is $2,650,000 (Texas Comptroller). Entities at or below that threshold file a Public Information Report or Ownership Information Report instead. The business formation pages cover the state side when you first set up.

Yes. Blaga is an Enrolled Agent, so she can represent the business, not just its owners, on audits, collections and appeals. If a notice arrives about a late filing, a penalty, or a figure the IRS questions, the person who prepared the return answers it, with the books already in hand. See IRS help for the problems the firm handles.