The Surface Transportation Act of 2015: Tax Provisions (enacted on Jul. 31, 2015) provided for major changes in certain tax return deadlines. To allow for a transition period for taxpayers adjust to the new due dates, the new filing deadlines carried a delayed effective date: for tax returns for tax years starting on or after January 1, 2016. As a result, the upcoming 2017 filing season is the first year these changes will take place.

Partnerships

The due date for partnerships to file Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income and Schedule K-1s, Partner's Share of Income, is moving this year from April 15 to March 15 (or to the 2½ months after the close of its tax year). This will be the same filing deadline now in place for S corporations.

The shift to a March 15 deadline will better enable partners, like current S corporation shareholders, to receive their Schedules K-1 in time to report that information on their Form 1040 before its April 15 due date. Many partners in the past had been forced to file for a six-month extension to file their Form 1040s.

Note: The traditional April 15, 2017 deadline falls on a Saturday and because Washington, D.C., will celebrate Emancipation Day the following Monday, April 17, 2017, the filing deadline has been pushed to Tuesday, April 18, 2017.

C Corporations

The filing deadline for regular C corporations is moving this year from March 15 (or the 15th day of the 3rd month after the end of its tax year) to April 15 (or the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of its tax year). One exception: For C corporations with tax years ending on June 30, the filing deadline will remain at September 15 until tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, when it will become October 15.

Further, an automatic six-month extension will be available for C corporations, except for calendar-year C corporations through 2025, during which an automatic five-month extension until September 15 will generally apply. The stop-gap bill also instructs the IRS to modify regulations to provide for a variety of extensions-to-file rules, including, among others, a 6-month extension of Form 1065 to September 15 for calendar-year partnerships; and 5½ months ending September 30 for calendar-year trusts filing Form 1041.

FBARs

The new law also aligns the FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) due date with the due date for individual returns, moving it from June 30 to April 15.