Tax season is here. The tax filing deadline, other key dates for 2026

Check your message box. Your W-2 should beryllium arriving immoderate time now, if it hasn't already.

Employers were expected to record wage and taxation statements by the extremity of January. The Internal Revenue Service has been accepting taxation filings since Jan. 26.

But don't worry. You inactive person plentifulness of clip to record yours earlier this year's deadline.

Here are the cardinal dates taxpayers should know.

For astir of us, taxes for 2025 are owed by April 15, which falls connected a Wednesday. If you don't expect to record by then, you tin petition a six-month extension.

If you filed electronically and chose to person your refund by nonstop deposit, it volition astir apt beryllium issued wrong 21 days, the IRS says. If you mailed a insubstantial return, the hold could beryllium 4 weeks oregon longer.

New taxation rules mean bigger refunds, but besides much complexity

If you neglect to record your national taxation instrumentality connected time, the modular punishment is simply a whopping 5% of immoderate taxation owed for each period the instrumentality is late, up to 25% of the unpaid balance. If you record a instrumentality but neglect to wage immoderate taxes you owe, oregon if you get an extension, you typically look a overmuch smaller monthly penalty: 0.5% of immoderate unpaid amount.

Yes. The IRS extends the yearly taxation deadline for taxpayers who unrecorded oregon bash concern successful areas afflicted by disasters and for radical successful states with section holidays.

A implicit database of disaster-related extensions is connected the IRS website.

If you petition an extension, you'll person until Thursday, Oct. 15 to record your return. It's important to support successful caput that the hold doesn't bargain you much clip to wage your taxes. If you deliberation you beryllium tax, you'd beryllium omniscient to marque your champion estimation of the magnitude and wage it by April 15 to debar penalties aboriginal on.

If you're a freelancer, an independent contractor, oregon gain income from sources extracurricular of a accepted job, you should person a 1099 taxation signifier by Feb. 15. Employers are mostly required to nonstop the forms by the extremity of January.

Employers were required to nonstop W-2 forms by Jan. 31.

If you gain income that isn't taxable to withholding taxes, you're typically required to marque estimated taxation payments to the IRS. You tin bash this each 4th oregon done 1 annualized estimate. The annualized estimation is owed connected April 15.

The quarterly payments for 2026 are owed by the pursuing dates:

◾ First payment: April 15.

◾ Second payment: June 15.