Taxes
Returns computed from your books, not from a questionnaire
Every expense account is mapped to the line of the form it belongs to, so the annual return is an aggregation, not an interview.
Federal returns by tax classification
| If you are | You file | Due (calendar year) |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietor or single-member LLC | Schedule C + Schedule SE with Form 1040 | April 15 |
| Partnership or multi-member LLC | Form 1065 + Schedule K-1 per partner | March 15 |
| S corporation | Form 1120-S + Schedule K-1 per shareholder | March 15 |
| C corporation | Form 1120 | April 15 |
| Nonprofit | Form 990 | May 15 |
Partnerships and S corporations file a month earlier on purpose: partners and shareholders need their K-1 before they can file their own returns.
Estimated tax and the safe harbor
If you expect to owe, you pay quarterly. Underpay and you owe a penalty even if you settle up in full in April.
The safe harbor is the way out: pay the lesser of 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's — 110% if last year's AGI exceeded $150,000. Basing it on last year is the prudent route, because that number is already known and certain.
Kangaroo ERP computes both, tells you which is lower, and flags when the prior-year route is unavailable because it is your first year.
The quarters are not equal
The four instalments are due April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15. The second one covers only two months. This is a real feature of the system, not a typo, and it catches people out every year.
An extension is not an extension to pay
Filing an extension avoids the failure-to-file penalty of 5% per month up to 25%. It does nothing about interest or the failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month, both of which run from the original due date.
If you expect to owe, pay an estimate on the original date even if you file later. This is the most expensive misunderstanding in the US tax system.
See your own filing calendar
It is generated from your entity type, your fiscal year end and whether you have employees or contractors.
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