If you’re a math geek like me, it didn’t go unnoticed that today is π day, or pi day (note to my brother: that’s pi, not pie). Yep, every year, on March 14, those of us who used to be on the math team giggle when we write out the date as 3/14.
March 14 also happens to be the day before most corporate taxpayers must file their tax returns (or extensions). Corporate returns are due, in most cases, before individual income tax returns. This includes forms 1120 for C corporations and forms 1120S for S corporations.
If you won’t be able to meet the March 15 deadline to file your returns, you can obtain an automatic extension by timely filing a federal form 7004 (downloads as a pdf). Don’t believe the nonsense that extensions trigger audits, they do not. And it’s always better to have an accurate, complete return filed on extension than a sloppy, incomplete return filed on time.
Most corporations are entitled to an automatic six month extension. You’ll want to make a payment towards any tax due with your extension: remember, an extension only extends the time to file, not the time to pay.
A number of passthrough entities (such as LLPs, GPs and LLCs) will have until April 17 to file. Remember, however, that many tax elections are just that, tax elections. That means that you could be organized as one kind of entity (such as an LLC) and have nonetheless elected a different tax status, such as C or S treatment. If you’re not sure about your filing status, check with your tax professional.
Note that the March 15 deadline applies to for profit corporations; nonprofit corporations generally have until May 15 to file their appropriate information returns.
Requests for extension must be timely filed. That means that you need to have your form 7004 postmarked or e-filed by the end of the day on March 15, 2012. If you need help with your extension, ask your tax pro (um, today, not tomorrow) or considering using an online filing service like FileLater (if you use the code Taxgirl2012, exclusively for taxgirl readers, at their site, you’ll get a 30% discount).
Now, go eat some pie.
—
Want more taxgirl goodness? Sign up to receive posts by email, follow me on twitter (@taxgirl), hang out with me on Facebook or check out my new YouTube channel.
