When are taxes due?
📅 Your tax-year 2026 return is expected to be due April 15, 2027 — 172 days from now.
The IRS has not published a tax-year 2026 filing deadline. April 15, 2027 is the statutory date — the IRS says an individual return is generally due April 15, moved to the next business day when that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday — and October 15, 2027 is the automatic six-month extension of it. Both are expected dates, not announced ones.
The IRS usually opens e-filing in late January; the date for the 2027 season has not been announced yet.
Missed the April 15, 2026 deadline for tax year 2025? You can still file — see filing after the deadline.
The federal income-tax deadline is April 15 by statute — when it lands on a weekend or a Washington DC holiday, it slides to the next business day. Whatever the calendar does, two things are due that day: your return and your payment.
The dates ahead
| Date | What's due |
|---|---|
| January 15, 2027 | Estimated tax payment — Final installment; payment period Sept. 1–Dec. 31 (1099 / self-employed workers) |
| April 15, 2027 (expected date) | Federal filing deadline for your tax-year 2026 return (and to pay what you owe) |
| October 15, 2027 (expected date) | Extension deadline (Form 4868 — extends filing, NOT payment) |
The IRS has not yet published the tax-year 2026 deadlines; the dates marked expected are the statutory ones (April 15, plus the automatic six-month extension) and will be confirmed when the IRS announces them. Source: IRS. State deadlines usually match the federal date but vary — check your state tax agency.
The extension, honestly explained
Form 4868 gives anyone an automatic six-month extension — no reason needed, free to file. But it extends only the paperwork. If you owe tax, the money was still due in April; from that day the IRS charges interest plus a late-payment penalty of 0.5% per month on the unpaid balance. The right move when you can’t finish on time: estimate what you owe, pay what you can with the extension, file the return when it’s ready.
If nobody withholds your taxes
W-2 employees have tax taken out of every paycheck. If you’re paid by 1099, in cash, or run your own work — cleaning, construction, delivery apps, food service — nobody withholds anything, and the IRS expects you to send estimated payments on the quarterly dates above. Skip them and your April bill arrives with an underpayment penalty attached. The self-employment with ITIN guide covers the mechanics.
First time filing without an SSN?
You don’t wait for an ITIN to file — the ITIN application (W-7) goes in the same envelope as your return. Renewing an expired ITIN? The renewal W-7 also goes in with your return (step by step) — the IRS processing time is 9-11 weeks from January 15 to April 30, and 7 weeks the rest of the year.