For federal income tax, most people file one return per year, due April 15. How often you have to file taxes beyond that depends on the kind of income you earn and whether you employ anyone: self-employed people and investors with untaxed income typically send in four estimated payments a year on top of the annual return, and employers file quarterly employment tax returns plus an annual unemployment tax return. The annual Form 1040 is the anchor; everything else layers on top of it.
The Annual Income Tax Return
The standard filing cycle covers one calendar year, January 1 through December 31.1Internal Revenue Service. Tax Years You report the year’s income on Form 1040 by April 15 of the following year. If April 15 falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.2Internal Revenue Service. When to File
Not everyone has to file. Whether you’re required to depends on gross income, filing status, and age. For tax year 2025, the returns filed in 2026, the minimum income thresholds are:
- Single, under 65: $15,750
- Single, 65 or older: $17,750
- Married filing jointly, both under 65: $31,500
- Married filing jointly, one spouse 65 or older: $33,100
- Married filing jointly, both 65 or older: $34,700
- Head of household, under 65: $23,625
- Head of household, 65 or older: $25,625
- Married filing separately, any age: $5
These thresholds adjust for inflation each year.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 501 – Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information Even below them, filing can be worth it to recover withheld tax or claim refundable credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. A few situations trigger a filing requirement regardless of income: $400 or more in self-employment earnings, or receiving advance payments of the Premium Tax Credit through a health insurance marketplace.
Some businesses use a fiscal year instead, meaning any 12-month period ending on the last day of a month other than December. You pick your accounting period when you file your first return, and changing it later requires IRS approval on Form 1128.1Internal Revenue Service. Tax Years
Quarterly Estimated Payments for Untaxed Income
If you have income that no employer withholds tax from — self-employment earnings, rental income, dividends, interest — you generally owe estimated tax four times a year using Form 1040-ES.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-ES – Estimated Tax for Individuals The idea is pay-as-you-go: you spread the tax across the year instead of owing everything the following April.
The four due dates:
- First payment, covering January through March income: April 15
- Second payment, covering April and May income: June 15
- Third payment, covering June through August income: September 15
- Fourth payment, covering September through December income: January 15 of the following year
A due date on a weekend or holiday shifts to the next business day.5Internal Revenue Service. When Are Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments Due
Who Has to Pay Quarterly
You generally need to make estimated payments if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year after withholding and refundable credits.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-ES – Estimated Tax for Individuals Falling short triggers an underpayment penalty, calculated at the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points, currently 7% per year compounded daily.6Internal Revenue Service. Interest Rates Remain the Same for the First Quarter of 2026
You can avoid the penalty by hitting a safe harbor: paying in at least the lesser of 90% of your current-year tax or 100% of the tax shown on last year’s return (which must have covered a full 12 months). If your prior-year adjusted gross income exceeded $150,000, or $75,000 for married filing separately, the prior-year figure rises to 110%.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6654 – Failure by Individual to Pay Estimated Income Tax Basing payments on last year’s known tax is often simpler than forecasting the current year.
Missing the April Deadline
The IRS charges two different penalties, and the distinction matters. Failure to file costs 5% of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25%, with a minimum of $525 or 100% of the unpaid tax (whichever is less) once a return is more than 60 days late; the $525 floor applies to returns due after December 31, 2025.8Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty Failure to pay runs at 0.5% per month, also up to 25%.9Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty Because filing late costs ten times what paying late costs, file on time even when you can’t pay.
Getting an Extension
Form 4868 gives you an automatic six-month extension to file, pushing the return deadline to October 15.10Internal Revenue Service. File an Extension Through IRS Free File It does not extend the time to pay. Any balance is still due April 15, and interest plus the failure-to-pay penalty run on unpaid amounts starting the next day.11Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayers Who Need More Time to File a Federal Tax Return Should Request an Extension When you request the extension, estimate what you owe and send a payment with the form.
If You Have Employees, You File More Often
Employers face their own schedule on top of their personal return.
Form 941, Quarterly
Employers who withhold federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare from paychecks report those amounts on Form 941 every quarter.12Internal Revenue Service. About Form 941 – Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return Once you begin filing, you keep filing every quarter, even quarters with nothing to report, unless you’re a seasonal employer or filing a final return.13Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 941 (03/2026)
Very small employers whose combined annual liability for withholding, Social Security, and Medicare is $1,000 or less can ask permission to file Form 944 once a year instead. To switch, contact the IRS between January 1 and April 1 of the applicable year.14Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 944
Form 940, Annual
The Federal Unemployment Tax Act requires a separate annual return on Form 940 by January 31 of the year after the tax year. If you deposited all FUTA tax on time, you get ten additional days to file.15Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 940 The rate is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of wages paid to each employee. Although the return is annual, FUTA deposits are due quarterly whenever cumulative liability tops $500; anything at or below $500 carries forward to the next quarter.16Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Due Dates
Amended Returns Aren’t a Recurring Filing
If you find an error on a return you already filed — unreported income, a missed deduction, wrong filing status — you correct it with Form 1040-X. It isn’t a scheduled filing, but it has a deadline for refund claims: generally within three years of the original filing date (including extensions) or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. Special windows apply for bad debts and worthless securities (seven years) and foreign tax credits (ten years).17Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-X
Filing for Someone Who Died
When a person with a filing requirement dies during the year, their surviving spouse or personal representative files a final income tax return covering January 1 through the date of death.18Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died The deadline is the same as for any taxpayer, typically April 15 of the following year. If the decedent had unfiled returns from earlier years, the representative may need to catch those up too. A surviving spouse who does not remarry that year can still file jointly for the year of death.
State and Local Filings Run Separately
Most states with an income tax follow the federal calendar and set their annual deadline on or near April 15, but not all do. Business filing frequency varies more: some states require monthly sales tax returns from high-volume sellers, quarterly from mid-range, and annual from the smallest, with the cutoffs set by how much tax the business collects. Local jurisdictions add another layer. Some cities levy their own income tax with a separate return, and counties and municipalities may require periodic filings for lodging or hospitality taxes. These deadlines and penalties operate independently from federal rules, so confirm the schedule with each authority that applies to you.