Last month, I shared a list of January tax dates that should be on the radar of small businesses. This month, we’re taking a look at February tax deadlines, and you’ll notice it is a pretty light month all around. There are only a few significant days that businesses need to be aware of.
We’ve got the scoop on what deadlines your small business needs to pay attention to, plus what you can do to prep for March.
February 10
If you run a business where your employees work for you and receive tips, like a restaurant, then all of these tips need to be reported to their employer (that’s you). Employees can file Form 4070, which reports how much they received in tips throughout the month of January. A quick caveat though — this is only required for anyone who receives more than $20 in tips.
Related: 3 Tax Season Tips for Small Business Owners
February 15
On February 15, your business will need to provide its annual information statements to recipients of specific payments you made in 2016. What kinds of forms are these and payments do they apply to, exactly? This applies to the following:
- Form 1099-B, which documents stocks, commodities and mutual funds that are sold through a brokerage account
- Form 1099-S, which reports the sales or exchanges of real estate transactions. For example, if your business bought a commercial or industrial building in whole or as part of a sale, you would need to file this form
- Form 1099-MISC, where you can use Box 8 to report substitute payments and Box 14 for reporting gross proceeds paid to an attorney
February 28
This is your deadline for filing information returns, like Copy A of paper Form 1099, for certain payments that you made in 2016. However, depending on your payment, you’ll need to use Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, to transmit paper forms to the IRS. These forms include Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G.
Additionally, if you run a large food or beverage establishment, February 28 is the deadline for filing the paper Form 8027, Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips.
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February is a short month, so show your business a little love by reaching all of your necessary tax deadlines as soon as possible. I’ll be back next month with your tax dates roundup for March, but in the meantime, it’s always a smart idea to prep for what’s ahead in the coming month.
In March, you can expect to hear more about the difference between Form 1065 and Form 1065-B, information related to S-Corporations and a focus on electronic filings.
