The federal highway funding extension bill contains several tax provisions, including changing the due dates for partnership and corporate tax returns.  Other changes affect mortgage interest statements, basis of inherited assets, and the six-year statute of limitation.  Read more about it at http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2015/jul/tax-return-due-dates-changed-201512746.html.

The Problem

Every year filing taxes can become burdensome with the inefficient timeline and flow of information.  Partnership returns have the same due date as trust and personal returns and one month after corporate returns.  Additionally, Schedule K-1s arrive late, sometimes within days before or after the due date of their personal returns and up to a month after the due date of their business returns.  Late K-1s make it very difficult to file in a timely, accurate manner.

The Solution

Changing return due dates would allow for a chronological flow of filing returns.  It would lessen the workload surrounding the September 15 business return deadline an encourage early filing personal and business returns.

Effective for 2016 tax returns prepared during the 2017 tax filing season:

Form 1065 will move up a month and be due March 15th.

Form 1120 will be moving back a month and be due April 15th or for fiscal year end filer the 15th of the 4th month after year-end.

Please see following pdf-link for table of original and extended tax return due dates.  http://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/Tax/Resources/Compliance/DownloadableDocuments/Due-Dates-Summary-Chart.pdf