Series 201: Tax Deadlines to Know for US-International Based Businesses

Whether you operate solely in the US, across multiple borders, or exclusively outside the US, so long as you have a US tax filing requirements, the deadlines to turn in the required filing, and make the related tax payments, stay the same. 

An entity organized as a corporation, S corporation, partnership, tax-exempt organization, or a disregarded entity must file, and pay their taxes, to the federal government by the following dates:

C Corporation (Form 1120)April 15th
S Corporation (Form 1120S)March 15th
Partnership (Form 1065)March 15th
Tax-Exempt Organization (Form 990)May 15th
Disregarded Entity (Activity Reported on Return of Owner and Form 8858 if Foreign)Due Date of Owner’s Filing

COIVD-19 RELEIF NOTE:

As part of the passage of the CARES Act in repose to the impact of COVID-19, the federal government has extended the deadline for all returns, payments, etc. with a deadline falling between April 1, 2020, and July 15, 2020 to July 2020. 

If you or your tax advisor don’t believe that you will be able to meet the filing deadline listed above, there is a possibility to be granted a 6-month extension to file your taxes. This can be done by preparing and filing IRS Form 7004 before the deadline applicable to your business. If done properly, Form 7004 will extend your applicable filing deadline by 6-months. However, please note that this only applies to the filing of taxes, and not the payments. The payment of all taxes is still due no later than the deadlines listed above.

So, how do you know that your business is subject to US tax filing requirements? Well, if your business entity makes more than the applicable thresholds listed below, then you are subject to filing taxes in the US.

C Corporation (Domestic)Form 1120$0. A domestic corporation is required to file even if it has $0 of income.
C Corporation (Foreign)Form 1120-FFiling required if the foreign corporation was engaged in a US trade or business or had US source income if not engaged in a US trade or business.
S Corporation (Domestic)Form 1120S$0. A domestic corporation (whether and C or an S corporation is required to file even if it has $0 of income.
Partnership (Domestic)Form 1065$0, unless the partnership neither receives income nor incurs any expenditures treated as deductions or tax credits.
Partnership (Foreign)Form 1065Filing required if the foreign partnership has income from a US trade or business or US source income, subject to certain exceptions.
Tax Exempt Organization (Domestic and Foreign)Form 990A tax exempt organization must file Form 990 if it has either (1) gross receipts greater than or equal to $200,000 or (2) total assets greater than or equal to $500,000 at the end of the tax year, subject to certain exceptions depending on the organization type.
Disregarded Entity (Domestic)N/ADomestic disregarded entities do not have a separate filing from that of their owner and reports their activity on their owner’s return if their owners are required to file a return.
Disregarded Entity (Foreign)Form 8865To determine if you are required to file Form 8858 on your foreign disregarded entity, please see Series 107: Ownership and Reporting of Foreign Businesses for Individuals. To note, Form 8865 is an informational return that is required to be filed along with the owner’s own tax filing.

If you have questions on what type of return your US-International based business is required to file and the timing surrounding such filing, please schedule a consultation with our attorneys so we can assist you with your questions.