The Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (“the Highway Act”) revised filing deadlines for partnership tax returns, C corporation tax returns, and foreign information reporting (FinCen 114/FBAR) effective for 2016 tax returns.

Partnership

The Highway Act accelerates the due date to March 15 (from April 15) for filing partnership tax returns and issuing Schedules K-1 to partners for calendar year filers.

C Corporations

Calendar year C corporations filing date changes to April 15 (from March 15).  With this extra 30 days, C corporations have additional time for final information gathering and reporting, which may allow more companies to timely file their tax returns.

Foreign Information Reporting

Under the Highway Act, the annual foreign bank account reporting (FBAR) on Form FinCEN 114 will be due on April 15,  the same due date for filing individual income tax returns.  Additionally, taxpayers will be able to request an extension of time to file their Form FinCEN 114 until October 15.  It is important for U.S. taxpayers to properly file and report their foreign bank and financial accounts and any income earned, as large penalties can be assessed for failures to report assets and income.  The U.S. Treasury has increased scrutiny of U.S. taxpayers holding investments in foreign accounts and the reporting of income earned on those accounts.

Individual Implications of the Partnership Deadline Changes
By having partnerships due on March 15th, instead of April 15th, individuals will have more time to include any Schedule(s) K-1 income and/or loss on their personal income tax returns and are more likely to be able to file their individual return by April 15.  It is more convenient to file the FBAR returns at the same time as individual returns, as opposed to the prior June 30th date.

See Original and Extended Tax Return Due Dates for a printable schedule of due dates for the 2016 tax returns prepared during the 2017 tax filing season..