# Small business tax deadlines in 2027 (for tax year 2026) The federal tax dates a small business needs in 2027: January 15, February 1, March 15, April 15 and October 15, with what is due on each one. Published October 28, 2026. A tax deadline is the last day to send a form or a payment to the IRS. Your 2026 tax year ends on December 31, but the forms and payments for it are due during 2027. Most small businesses need only four or five dates. This post lists them, says what is due on each, and tells you which ones apply to you. ## The short version - **Friday, January 15, 2027:** the last estimated tax payment for 2026. - **Monday, February 1, 2027:** Forms W-2 and 1099-NEC, to your workers and to the government. - **Monday, March 15, 2027:** partnership and S corporation returns. - **Thursday, April 15, 2027:** your own return (Form 1040 with Schedule C), and the first estimated payment for 2027. - **Friday, October 15, 2027:** your return, if you got an extension. ## Words to know - **Estimated tax:** tax you pay during the year when nobody takes it out of your pay. See [quarterly estimated taxes](https://rightobooks.com/blog/quarterly-estimated-taxes/). - **Form W-2:** the form an employer gives each employee. - **Form 1099-NEC:** the form you give a contractor you paid $2,000 or more in 2026. See [Form 1099-NEC for 2026](https://rightobooks.com/blog/form-1099-nec-2026/). - **Extension:** more time to file your return. It is not more time to pay. ## Why some dates are not the usual ones When a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day ([26 U.S.C. § 7503](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7503)). January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. So the forms that are usually due January 31 are due Monday, February 1. ## The dates, one by one ### January 15: last 2026 estimated payment The fourth estimated tax payment for 2026 is due **January 15, 2027** ([2026 Form 1040-ES](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf)). You can skip it if you file your full 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay all the tax due with it. Few people are ready that early, so most people pay. You can [pay online](https://rightobooks.com/blog/how-to-pay-estimated-taxes-online/). ### February 1: forms for your workers - **Form W-2:** give one to each employee, and file them with the Social Security Administration by **February 1, 2027** ([IRS](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw2w3)). - **Form 1099-NEC:** give one to each contractor you paid $2,000 or more for work in 2026, and file it with the IRS by the same day ([IRS](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099mec)). You need a [Form W-9](https://rightobooks.com/blog/form-w-9-explained/) from each contractor first. If you have no employees and no contractors, this date does not apply to you. ### March 15: partnerships and S corporations Partnerships file Form 1065 and S corporations file Form 1120-S by **March 15, 2027** ([26 U.S.C. § 6072](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6072)). Form 7004 gives them six more months, to September 15 ([IRS](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i7004)). A sole proprietor, or an LLC with one owner taxed the default way, files nothing on this date. ### April 15: your own return Form 1040, with [Schedule C](https://rightobooks.com/blog/schedule-c-explained/) and Schedule SE, is due **Thursday, April 15, 2027**. Any tax you still owe is due the same day. The first estimated payment for 2027 is also due ([26 U.S.C. § 6654](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6654)). Form 4868 gives you an automatic extension to file until October 15. It does not give you more time to pay. Interest runs on tax not paid by April 15 ([Form 4868](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf)). ### The rest of 2027 The other 2027 estimated payments are due June 15, September 15 and, for the last one, January 18, 2028. Our [estimated tax due dates](https://rightobooks.com/tools/estimated-tax-dates/) page lists them and gives you a calendar file. ## An example Rosa runs a small catering business on her own. (She is an example, not a real person.) She paid two freelance servers $3,000 each in 2026 by bank transfer. She has no employees. Her dates: 1. **January 15:** she pays her last 2026 estimated tax. 2. **February 1:** she sends a 1099-NEC to each server and files them with the IRS. 3. **April 15:** she files Form 1040 with Schedule C, pays what she still owes, and makes her first 2027 payment. March 15 does not apply to her. She has no partnership or S corporation. ## State dates Your state sets its own dates for state income tax, [sales tax](https://rightobooks.com/tools/sales-tax/) and yearly business reports. Many follow the federal dates, but not all. Check your state tax agency and add its dates to the same calendar. ## Get ready in Righto [Righto](https://rightobooks.com/) has a payment report for each contractor, so the totals for your 1099s are ready in January. It can also remind you of the federal estimated tax dates and add them to your calendar. You can ask your own AI agent, such as Claude Code, what you paid each contractor in 2026. See [how agents work with Righto](https://rightobooks.com/agents/). ## Common questions **Does an extension also move my estimated payments?** No. The first 2027 estimated payment is still due April 15. **Can these dates change?** The IRS can move deadlines for people in a federally declared disaster area. It lists the dates for each year in [Publication 509](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p509). ## What to do now 1. Pick the dates above that apply to you. 2. Put each one in your calendar, with a reminder a week before. 3. If you paid contractors in 2026, ask each one for a Form W-9 now. 4. Look at your [year-end bookkeeping checklist](https://rightobooks.com/blog/year-end-bookkeeping-checklist/) in December. [Righto](https://rightobooks.com/download/) is free, easy to use and needs no account. ## Sources - [2026 Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf), IRS - [General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026)](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw2w3), IRS - [Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099mec), IRS - [Instructions for Form 7004](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i7004), IRS - [Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf), IRS - [Publication 509, Tax Calendars](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p509), IRS - [26 U.S.C. § 7503](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7503), Legal Information Institute - [26 U.S.C. § 6072](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6072), Legal Information Institute - [26 U.S.C. § 6654](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6654), Legal Information Institute