Tax season doesn’t have to feel like a last-minute scramble to the finish line for your business. Knowing what’s due and when—whether it’s furnishing information returns to recipients or filing them with the IRS—is the first step in maintaining compliance and avoiding costly penalties. Let’s dive into the key deadlines every business needs to know to transform tax reporting from stressful to successful.
2025 Furnishing Deadlines
Furnishing information returns to recipients is an essential step in the tax reporting process. These documents provide recipients—whether employees, independent contractors, or other stakeholders—with the details they need to file their own taxes before Tax Day on April 15. Businesses should be mindful of the following furnishing deadlines:
January 31, 2025
By the end of the month, businesses must provide annual information statements to recipients of certain payments made in 2024. These tax forms can be delivered electronically with the recipient’s consent.
Common types of payments that require Form 1099 include:
- Non-employee compensation (reported on Form 1099-NEC)
- Medical and health care payments
- Interest
- Rent
- Royalties
- Debt cancellations
- Prizes and awards
- Payments of over $10,000 in cash (refer to Form 8300)
Refer to the IRSs General Instructions for Certain Information Returns for comprehensive details on covered payments, reporting thresholds, the appropriate forms to use, filing deadlines, and how to request extensions for providing statements to the IRS.
February 18, 2025
By mid-February, businesses must provide annual information statements to recipients of specific payments made during 2024, including Form 1099-B, Form 1099-S and Form 1099-MISC (Boxes 8 and 10).
- Form 1099-B: Reports sales of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other securities.
- Form 1099-S: Covers proceeds from real estate transactions.
- Form 1099-MISC (Box 8 or Box 10): Includes substitute payments in lieu of dividends or interest (Box 8) and gross proceeds paid to attorneys (Box 10).
March 3, 2025
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers and other providers of minimum essential health coverage to report coverage details to employees or responsible individuals. Here’s an overview of what’s required and how to ensure you meet these obligations:
If your organization qualifies as an ALE (generally, employers with 50 or more full-time employees or equivalents), you must provide Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, to your full-time employees. This form details the health insurance coverage offered to them throughout the year.
If you offer minimum essential health coverage but are not classified as an ALE, you must provide Form 1095-B, Health Coverage, to the individuals responsible. This includes insurance carriers, small self-funded employers, and government-sponsored programs.
IRS Filing Due Dates for 2025
After furnishing information returns to recipients, businesses must also file copies with the IRS. The deadlines this tax filing season vary depending on whether you’re mailing paper forms or filing electronically. Remember that businesses filing 10 or more information returns must electronically file forms unless they have received a waiver from the IRS. Plan accordingly if you meet this threshold.
| Form Type | Paper Filing | Electronic Filing |
| 1099-NEC | January 31, 2025 | January 31, 2025 |
| 1097, 1098, 1099*, 3921/22, and W-2G | February 25, 2025 | March 31, 2025 |
| 1095-B, 1095-C | February 28, 2025 | March 31, 2025 |
| 1042-S | March 17, 2025 | March 17, 2025 |
| 5498, 5498-ESA, 5498-QA, 5498-SA | June 2, 2025 | June 2, 2025 |
Why Tax Deadlines Matter
IRS deadlines aren’t just bureaucratic requirements—they’re an essential part of running a compliant, efficient, and respected business. To help enforce timely and accurate records, the IRS imposes penalties for each information return and payee statement that is not correctly filed or provided on time.
| Delay | Penalty | Maximum Penalty Per Year |
| Up to 30 days late (2025) | $60 | $664,500 ($232,500 for small businesses*) |
| 31 days late to August 1, 2025 | $130 | $1,993,500 per year ($664,500 for small businesses) |
| After August 1 or not filed at all | $330 | $3,987,000 per year ($1,329,000 for small businesses) |
| Intentional disregard | $660 | No maximum penalty |
*The IRS defines a small business as one with average annual gross receipts of $5 million or less for the three most recent tax years (or for the period a business has been in existence, if shorter) ending before the calendar year in which the information returns were due.
Life is unpredictable, and despite your best efforts, unforeseen circumstances might make it impossible to furnish statements by the due date. In such cases, the IRS may grant additional time. Use Form 8809 request a 30-day extension for furnishing information returns. If you’re requesting an extension beyond the initial 30 days, complete and fax Form 15397 to the IRS Extension of Time Coordinator.
Important: Submitting an extension request does not guarantee additional time. Extensions are granted at the discretion of the IRS, so it’s best to act proactively and avoid the rush close to the deadlines.
How to Stay Compliant During the 2025 Tax Season
- Set internal deadlines: Don’t wait to get started. Maintain a detailed calendar with reminders set well in advance of each deadline. Include internal deadlines for gathering and verifying data to ensure you’re ahead of schedule.
- Review forms for accuracy: Before furnishing or filing, double-check that all information—especially Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs)—is accurate. Incomplete or incorrect forms could lead to rejected filings and penalties.
- Stay informed: Tax regulations and deadlines change regularly. Subscribe to IRS statements and announcements for updates on any modifications that could affect your filing process. You can also subscribe to the Sovos newsletter for key developments in tax and regulatory reporting.
- Leverage technology and tax professionals: If your organization handles a high volume of returns, consider outsourcing to a tax reporting service or consulting with a tax advisor to stay compliant. Explore the range tax information reporting services that Sovos has to offer.