Business tax deadlines in 2026: what's due, when, and what you can get filed free

If your company runs on a calendar year, the main federal and Delaware filings for the 2026 tax year fall due between February and October 2027, and the first one arrives on February 1, which is earlier than most owners expect when they think of "tax season" as an April problem.

The order runs like this: Forms 1099-NEC and W-2 are due February 1, 2027, the Delaware annual report and franchise tax for corporations are due March 1, S corporation and partnership returns are due March 15, and C corporation returns (Form 1120, with Form 5472 attached where it applies) are due April 15. Delaware LLCs pay their annual tax by June 1, and companies that filed Form 7004 have until September 15 or October 15 to file the return itself, though not to pay the tax.

Below is each deadline in the order it lands, what triggers it, and what a late filing costs, followed by what we cover for free if you sign up for your 2026 filings with us before December 20, 2026.

The 2026 tax year calendar for US companies

The dates in this table assume a calendar-year company. Where a federal due date falls on a weekend, the deadline moves to the next business day, which is why the 1099 deadline is February 1 rather than January 31. Delaware's March 1 deadline is set by state law. Payroll deposits and quarterly payroll returns run on their own schedule and are not listed here.

If your company uses a fiscal year, the federal dates shift with it. The rule for C corporations is the 15th day of the fourth month after the year ends, and for S corporations and partnerships it is the 15th day of the third month.

The first deadline of the year is a 1099, not a tax return

Form 1099-NEC is due to both the IRS and each contractor by February 1, 2027, since January 31 falls on a Sunday. Because the form reports what you paid people in 2026, it depends on books that are closed for December, contractor W-9s that are on file, and payment records that separate card payments (which the card processor reports instead) from bank transfers and checks.

The reporting threshold changed for 2026. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised it from $600 to $2,000 for payments made after December 31, 2025, so a contractor you paid $1,500 across 2026 no longer needs a 1099-NEC, while one you paid $2,400 does. The threshold is measured per payee across the whole calendar year, which means two small invoices to the same contractor can add up to a filing obligation that neither invoice triggered on its own. Payments to corporations are generally exempt (legal fees are an exception), and payments made by card or through a payment platform are reported by the processor on Form 1099-K instead. Payments to foreign contractors for work done outside the US are generally not reported on Form 1099; those contractors are documented with Form W-8BEN, or Form W-8BEN-E for foreign entities.

Late 1099s are penalized per form, in tiers that depend on how late the form arrives. For returns due in 2027, the IRS charges $60 per form filed within 30 days of the deadline, $130 per form filed after that but by August 1, and $340 per form filed later or not at all. A separate penalty, on the same tiers, applies for each contractor copy sent late. Filing season 2027 is also the first in which 1099s are e-filed only through the IRS's IRIS system, since the older FIRE system has been retired.

Delaware does not wait for the IRS

Every Delaware corporation files an annual report and pays franchise tax by March 1, 2027, whether or not it had revenue in 2026. Missing the date costs a $200 penalty plus interest of 1.5% a month on both the unpaid tax and the penalty, and a corporation that stays delinquent eventually loses its good standing, which tends to surface at the worst possible moment, such as during a fundraise or a bank account review.

The franchise tax itself depends on the calculation method. Under the Authorized Shares Method, which Delaware uses by default, a company that authorized 10 million shares at formation would owe $85,165. The Assumed Par Value Capital Method often produces a far smaller figure, with a minimum of $400 plus a separate $50 annual report fee, but the result depends on the company's assets and share count, and it requires the company's total gross assets and issued share count, which come from the year-end balance sheet. This is one more reason the books need to be closed before the filing, not after.

Delaware LLCs work differently. They file no annual report and instead pay a flat annual tax by June 1. House Bill 400 raised that tax from $300 to $400 starting with the 2026 tax year, so the payment due June 1, 2027 is the first one at the higher amount. The late penalty is $200 plus 1.5% monthly interest on both the tax and the penalty.

Pass-through returns are due a month before corporate returns

S corporations file Form 1120-S and partnerships, including multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships, file Form 1065 by March 15, 2027. Each owner's Schedule K-1 is due by the same date, because the owners need those figures to file their own returns.

These entities usually owe no income tax at the entity level, so the IRS penalizes a late return by headcount rather than by the amount of tax. For returns due in 2027, the penalty is $260 per partner or shareholder for each month or part of a month the return is late, for up to 12 months. A three-owner company that files four months late would owe $3,120 on a return that showed no tax due.

C corporations have until April 15, but the tax does not

Form 1120 is due April 15, 2027, along with any income tax the corporation owes for 2026. Filing Form 7004 by that date extends the time to file the return by six months, to October 15, 2027, but it does not extend the time to pay. Tax that is unpaid on April 15 starts accruing interest from that date even when the extension is valid, and generally a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% a month as well. That penalty does not apply if at least 90% of the tax is paid by April 15 and the rest by the extended deadline.

If the return itself is late and tax is owed, the failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month, up to 25%. For returns due in 2027, a return filed more than 60 days late carries a minimum penalty of $535 or 100% of the unpaid tax, whichever is smaller.

Companies with a foreign owner holding 25% or more attach Form 5472 to Form 1120 when they have reportable transactions with that owner or another related party, and an owner's capital contribution counts even if the company had no revenue. This applies to foreign-owned single-member LLCs as well, which file a pro forma Form 1120 for the purpose. The penalty for not filing a required Form 5472, or for filing a substantially incomplete one, is $25,000, and it applies whether or not the company owed any tax or made any money.

An extension is a filing decision, not a delay tactic

Form 7004 gives an automatic six-month extension to C corporations, S corporations, and partnerships, and the IRS does not ask for a reason. It is useful when the books are closed but a specific item, such as a late K-1 from an investment or a pending R&D credit study, needs more time.

What an extension does not do is move any other deadline. The 1099s are still due February 1, the Delaware report is still due March 1, and any income tax is still due on the original date. Companies that treat Form 7004 as a way to push all of tax season into the autumn tend to find this out from the penalty notices.

What we file for free if you sign up before December 20, 2026

We are running an offer for the 2026 tax year, built around the fact that the first deadlines land in February and the work for them starts in December. If you sign up by December 20, 2026 and file your 2026 federal business tax return with us, you get the following, worth up to $1,000 depending on which filings your company needs.

Delaware Franchise Tax and Annual Report, free for your first year. We prepare and file your annual report, calculate your franchise tax under both methods so you pay the lower amount, and waive our filing fee. The franchise tax and Delaware's $50 annual report fee are still paid to the state.

FBAR (FinCEN Report 114), free for your first year. If your company's foreign bank accounts went over $10,000 in total at any point in 2026, we prepare your FBAR and file it with FinCEN.

Form 1099s, free for your first year. We prepare and file a 1099-NEC for each contractor who received $2,000 or more in reportable payments in 2026, and send each one their copy before the February 1 deadline.

Form 7004, free for your first year. If your return needs more time, we file the extension so the six extra months are there when you need them. Because an extension covers filing and not payment, we also estimate what you owe before April 15.

25% off bookkeeping for six months. A dedicated bookkeeper closes your books every month in Inkle Books, QuickBooks, or Xero, which is what every filing above depends on.

A tax expert prepares each filing, and nothing is submitted until you have reviewed and approved it in your Inkle dashboard. The discount applies at checkout, with no code needed.

Frequently asked questions

When is the business tax deadline for 2026?

For the 2026 tax year, calendar-year C corporations file Form 1120 by April 15, 2027, and S corporations and partnerships file by March 15, 2027. Earlier deadlines apply to 1099s (February 1, 2027) and the Delaware annual report for corporations (March 1, 2027).

What is the corporate tax deadline for the 2026 tax year?

Form 1120 for a calendar-year C corporation is due April 15, 2027. Filing Form 7004 by that date extends the filing deadline to October 15, 2027, but any tax owed is still due on April 15.

What is the 1099 threshold for 2026 payments?

For payments made in 2026, a company generally files Form 1099-NEC for each contractor who received $2,000 or more in reportable payments during the year, with exceptions for most payments to corporations and for card payments. The threshold was $600 for payments made through December 31, 2025, and it will be adjusted for inflation starting with 2027 payments.

Does a company with no revenue still have to file?

Yes. A C corporation files Form 1120 every year it exists, and a Delaware corporation files its annual report and pays franchise tax regardless of income. Foreign-owned companies with reportable related-party transactions still file Form 5472, and the $25,000 penalty for missing it does not depend on revenue.

When does the Inkle 2026 tax filing offer end?

The offer is open to companies that sign up by December 20, 2026 and file their 2026 federal return with Inkle. After that date, regular pricing applies.