Happy New Year from ExpressIRSForms!

And a happy new year it will be, indeed!

A little birdy dropped the word yesterday that the filing deadlines for the new Affordable Care Act forms have been extended from their original dates.

(That birdy was the IRS, by the way, so it was a pretty reputable source on the matter.)

While this is pretty exciting news for some of you filers out there, don’t forget that the early bird gets the worm. Just because you have more time to file, that doesn’t mean things couldn’t go wrong at the last minute. Be sure to use this time wisely so you’re not scrounging around at the eleventh hour.

So what are the new dates? Recipient forms that initially had to be mailed out by February 1, 2016 now need to be mailed no later than March 31, 2016. If you’re paper filing, you would’ve initially had to have your forms to the IRS by February 29, but that deadline’s now May 31, 2016. E-filers will see their deadline extend from March 31 to June 30, 2016.

Keep in mind that this is only for the ACA forms 1094-B/C and 1095-B/C. This does not apply to 1099s, W-2s, or any other information returns which are still due on their regular deadlines. This deadline extension has also only been authorized for 2015 information returns, so future filings will need to be completed sooner in the year.

And another thing to keep in mind: the ExpressIRSForms offices will be closed New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. If you need help during those times, we will be offering emergency email support. We’ll be back taking calls and live chats on Monday, January 4th at 9 a.m. EST.

See you next year!

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2015 Tax Filing Deadlines

Welcome back, folks!

We hope you had a great holiday weekend and are looking forward to jumping right into your 2015 tax filings this Monday morning! Oh, who are we kidding? Any one of us would hit a snooze button to delay thinking about filing for at least another week in a heartbeat if we could.

Although, that’s not to say that you can’t: in the spirit of the holidays, we’ll let it slide if you want to put off looking at your filings until next year/week. But before you go popping the champagne early, keep in mind that you’ve got some deadlines coming up. So take a look at the dates below, think about the amount of forms you’ll need to file, and determine if it’s time to own up to the responsibility or if it’s time for a glass of bubbly:

March 31, 2016
March 31st is the date by which copies of the ACA forms you’re filing will need to be sent out to your recipients. Normally, this due date is scheduled for January 31st of the year following the year for which you’re reporting but the IRS has extended this deadline for the 2015 tax year.

May 31, 2016
If you’re paper filing your ACA forms, you’ll need to have them sent to the IRS by May 31st. The official wording of the rule is “the last day of February following the year for which you’re filing,” so in future years, this due date will be February 28th or 29th.

June 30, 2016
And for the e-filers: your ACA forms 1095 and 1094 will need to be transmitted to the IRS by 11:59 p.m. (your time zone) on June 30th. But even though you can literally wait until the last minute to e-file, we recommend giving yourself a few days (or hours at least) to file before the deadline so you can avoid any issues with heavy site traffic or computer errors. And remember: after 2016, this due date will be March 31st of each year.

So be sure to keep these dates in mind as the new year approaches. If you miss one you're required to meet, you could face some serious penalties. You know better than we do how long it’ll take you to complete those  Form 1099s, Form W-2s, or ACA forms (although you might want to knock some of your estimated time off - our name is ExpressIRSForms, after all), so we won’t tell you that you have to start now. But it couldn’t hurt, either.

And if you need any help along the way, give us a call at (704) 839-2270, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, or send us an email anytime at support@expressirsforms.com!

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