Tuesday, April 17, is the deadline for filing certain returns and taking certain tax-related actions. Here are the major deadlines.

• Filing 2011 income tax returns for individuals. If you cannot file your return by this deadline, be sure to file an extension request by April 17. The automatic extension (you don’t need to explain to the IRS why you need more time) gives you until October 15, 2012, to file your return. An extension does not, generally, give you more time to pay taxes you still owe. To avoid penalty and interest charges, taxes must be paid by April 17. (Watch out for our next blog post regarding penalty relief available to qualifying taxpayers.)
• Filing 2011 partnership returns for calendar-year partnerships.
• Filing 2011 income tax returns for calendar-year trusts and estates.
• Filing 2011 annual gift tax returns.
• Making 2011 IRA contributions.
• Paying the first quarterly estimate of 2012 individual estimated tax.
• Amending 2008 individual tax returns (unless the 2008 return had a filing extension).
• Original filing of 2008 individual income tax return to claim a refund of taxes. Some taxpayers have tax refunds due them for prior years, and unless a return is filed to claim the refund by the three-year statute of limitations, the refund is lost forever.

It is my responsibility as an Atlanta tax attorney and certified public accountant to notify you about important tax deadlines. In my commitment to educate my clients nationwide and in the greater Atlanta area, read about major tax deadlines for March below:

• Thursday, March 1st TODAY– Farmers and fishermen who did not make 2011 estimated tax payments must file 2011 tax returns and pay taxes in full.
• Thursday, March 15th – 2011 calendar-year corporation income tax returns are due.
• Thursday, March 15th – Deadline for calendar-year corporations to elect S status for 2012.

Here is a quick but very important tax relief update regarding February and March 2012 tax deadlines:

February 2012 Tax Deadlines

• February 15 – Deadline for providing 2011 Forms 1099-B and 1099-S to recipients.
• February 28 – Payers must file 2011 information returns (such as 1099s) with the IRS. (Electronic filers have until April 2 to file.)
• February 29– Employers must send 2011 W-2 copies to the Social Security Administration. (Electronic filers have until April 2 to file.)

March 2012 Tax Deadlines

• March 1 – Farmers and fishermen who did not make 2011 estimated tax payments must file 2011 tax returns and pay taxes in full.
• March 15 – 2011 calendar-year corporation income tax returns are due.

For most people, the month of June is linked to happy things like wedding season and the beginning of summer. But for Atlanta tax attorneys and folks with one or more foreign bank accounts, June 30 marks the annual Foreign Bank Account Report filing deadline.

The FBAR can be misunderstood by many folks who file one or should be filing one – but aren’t. If you have any questions, you should call an Atlanta tax lawyer for tax help.

What you need to know about Foreign Bank Account Reports:

• The FBAR is not an IRS form, but a Treasury Department form. It cannot be filed electronically and it is due on June 30. Postmarks of that date are not acceptable, it must be in their hands.
• If you pay taxes in the US as a citizen, resident or entity, and at any point during the year (no matter how briefly) you have $10,000 or more in one or more foreign accounts, you must file a FBAR. The $10,000 threshold is determined by using the highest account balance during the year and converting it to US dollars with the exchange rate of December 31 of the year in question. If you have any questions, call an Atlanta tax attorney.
• Includable assets might be brokerage and bank accounts, pooled investments, offshore mutual funds, trusts, annuities, life insurance, pension plans.
• A foreign bank account is defined by location. A US financial institution’s branch overseas is fair game. An offshore bank’s branch is not in the US.

This is not something to mess with. Failure to conform to these rules bears a heavy penalty. Violators are fined $100,000 or half of the value of the account, for every year that was not filed. This is true, even when no tax was actually owed or in arrears. Save yourself a lot of worry and money and consult with an Atlanta tax lawyer for tax help today.