On July 31, President Obama signed the Highway Funding Bill which included a provision that modified the rules for tax filing deadlines applicable to C-corporations, partnerships, certain tax-exempt entities, and Form 5500 filers. These changes will become effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2015. In other words, the first tax returns under the new rules will be filed in 2017. There is an exception for C-corporations with a tax year ending June 30: the new rules are not applicable to them until tax years after December 31, 2025.
The table below summarizes current rules and the changes (highlighted):
| Entity Type | Due Date; Calendar Year | Extended Due Date; Calendar Year | ||
| Current | New, after 12/31/15 | Current | New, after 12/31/15 | |
| C-corp. | 2.5 mos.; March 15 | 3.5 mos.; April 15 | 6 mos.; Sept 15 | 5 mos.; Sept 15 |
| S-corp. | 2.5 mos.; March 15 | 2.5 mos.; March 15 | 6 mos.; Sept 15 | 6 mos.; Sept 15 |
| Partnership | 3.5 mos.; April 15 | 2.5 mos.; March 15 | 5 mos.; Sept 15 | 6 mos.; Sept 15 |
| Retirement Plans | 7 mos.; July 31 | 7 mos.; July 31 | 2.5 mos.; Oct 15 | 3.5 mos.; Nov 15 |
| Tax-exempt Trust | 4.5 mos.; May 15 | 4.5 mos.; May 15 | 3 mos.; add’l 3 mos. with approval | 6 mos.; Nov 15 |
| Tax-exempt Corp. | 4.5 mos.; May 15 | 4.5 mos.; May 15 | 6 mos. | 6 mos.; Nov 15 |
As it is often the case, further guidance from the Treasury and Department of Labor will be needed to clarify application to other forms and disclosure documents impacted by these changes, for instance how it will impact Form 8955-SSA filing deadline or deadline for distribution of the Summary Annual Report, both of which are tied to the Form 5500 filing deadline.
We will continue to monitor for future developments and guidance from the regulators and provide updates as they become available.
