On July 31, 2015, President Obama signed into law P.L. 114-41, the “Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015”. The act has gotten little publicity, even though it makes significant changes to the due dates and extended due dates of certain tax returns that you will want to be aware of. The act is generally effective for returns for tax years ending after December 31, 2015.

More About the Law

The law will approve funds for federal aid highway and public transportation programs as an extension to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The law also makes more than 3 billion dollars available from the Veteran’s Choice Fund to pay for non-VA care given to eligible patients from May 1st to October 1st of this year. The bill also expands the number of non-VA providers who are permitted to participate in the Veterans Choice Program.

Revised Due Dates

For Partnership and C Corporation Returns

Partnerships and S corporations will have to file their returns by the 15th day of the third month after the end of the tax year. Thus, entities using a calendar year will have to file by March 15th of the following year, meaning the filing deadline for partnerships will be accelerated by one month, while the filing deadline for S corporations will remain the same.
C corporations will have to file by the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the tax year. Previously, the due date was the 15th day of the third month after the end of the tax year.

Extended Due Dates for Other Returns

1. Form 1065 (U.S. Return of Partnership Income) will have a maximum extension of six-months (currently, a 5-month extension applies). The extension will end on September 15th for calendar year taxpayers.
2. Form 1041 (U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts) will have a maximum extension of five and a half months (currently, a 5-month extension applies). The extension will end on September 30th for calendar year taxpayers.
3. The Form 5500 series (Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan) will have a maximum automatic extension of three and a half months (under current law, a 2½ month period applies). The extension will end on November 15th for calendar year filers.

FinCEN Report Due Date

Under the new law, for returns for tax years beginning after December 31, 2015, the due date of FinCEN Report 114 will be April 15th with a maximum extension for a 6-month period ending on October 15th. The IRS may also waive the penalty for failure to request an extension for filing the Report in a timely manner, for any taxpayer required to file FinCEN Form 114 for the first time.

Contact a member of our Tax Services Group for more guidance on how these changes will affect your taxes.