Don't Mess With Taxes

Updated Monday, Jan. 10, to add the just-announced start of the individual taxpayer filing season on Jan. 24. Free File will open earlier, on Jan. 14.

With 2022's arrival came our new calendars. It also means that we need to mark some key tax dates.

For the last couple of years, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc with the tax dates we were used to meeting.

There are some changes in 2022, too, but most of them are due to the traditional way the Internal Revenue Service deals with tax deadlines falling on weekends or federal holidays. The affected due dates get bumped to the next business day.

With that in mind, here are some key 2022 individual tax dates. And yes, you need to look at every calendar page. There is at least one tax deadline in every month of the year.

Some key January dates are over in the ol' blog's right column as part of the monthly tax moves listing. The listing will be updated at the start of each subsequent month. You'll find some of the dates in this post listed there now and in the future. And there's a link at the end of it with more dates for business filers.

But if you're an individual taxpayer who's into full 12-month planning, here goes.

Friday, January 7 — Tax Season kicks off this day, as noted in the January Tax Tip list, for businesses that electronically filed their 2021 returns. The start of filing season 2022 for individual taxpayers comes a few weeks later in this list, on Monday, Jan. 24.

Monday, January 10 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in December, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070.

Friday, January 14 — The IRS' partnership with Free File Alliance tax software preparation companies continues, with participating companies accepting taxpayer filings today. They will hold the returns until the tax season formally opens later this month (on Monday, Jan. 24, noted below) and then e-file the returns.

Tuesday, January 18 — This is the due date for the final estimated tax payment of 2021. It's usually on Jan. 15, but that's Saturday this year, and Jan. 17, is Dr. Martin Luther King's Monday holiday. So 1040-ES #4 is due on Tuesday, Jan. 18.

Monday, January 24 — The IRS begins accepting and processing tax returns from individual taxpayers on this day. If you e-filed earlier, your return has been in a holding queue, but today the IRS will start dealing with these eager filers' forms.

Monday, January 31 — If you didn't pay your final 2021 estimated tax amount a couple of weeks ago, you need to file your full 2021 tax return today to avoid any penalty for not paying it on time.

Thursday, February 10 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in January, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070.

Tuesday, February 15 — If you claimed exemption from income tax withholding last year on the Form W-4 you gave your employer, you must file a new Form W-4 by today to continue your exemption for another year.

Tuesday, March 1 — Farmers and fishermen get until today to file their 2021 tax return (Form 1040) to avoid a potential penalty for having paid their final 2021 estimated tax by Jan. 18.

Thursday, March 10 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in February, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070.

Friday, April 1 — Yes, it's April Fools Day, but the IRS isn't fooling around if you turned 72 in 2021. If you celebrated that birthday last year and didn't take your first required minimum distribution (RMD) by Dec. 31, 2021, you must do so by today, April 1. Then you've got to take an RMD every year by Dec. 31, including this one. That means you'll be getting two distributions from your deferred-tax retirement accounts this year. So it's also a good time to check into whether this kicks you into a higher tax bracket and/or necessitates additional estimated tax payments.

Monday, April 11 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in March, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070.

Monday, April 18 — It is the tax year biggie, Tax Day 2022. It's a couple of days late this year because Friday, April 15, is the Emancipation Day holiday in Washington, D.C. Tax law says that when this mid-April commemoration of the freeing of slaves in the District of Columbia falls on Tax Day, the filing deadline gets moved to the next business day.

Most of us (more on this in a minute) must file our 2021 tax return and pay any tax due today or face late- or non-filing penalties.

Or we can file Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, to get until mid-October to file our paperwork. But the extension is just to file, not to pay any tax due. So today when you send in that form, either as a mailed paper document or electronically, you must pay any tax that you estimate you owe in order avoid penalties and interest.

Monday, April 18 also is the deadline (for most of us) to

• Pay our estimated tax amount for the first quarter of 2022 (use Form 1040-ES if mailing in the payment, or pay it electronically)
• Contribute to IRA, traditional or Roth, for the 2021 tax year;
• Withdraw excess 2021 IRA contributions in to avoid penalty (if you didn't file for an extension to finish your Form 1040);
• Contribute, if you're self-employed, to a Solo 401(k) Plan or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan for the 2021 tax year (if you didn't file for an extension to finish your Form 1040);
• Contribute to a health savings account (HSA) for 2021 tax year; and
• File Schedule H (1040) and pay employment taxes for household employees (file Schedule H separately if you are not filing Form 1040).

Tuesday, April 19 — If you are a Maine or Massachusetts resident, today is your federal (and state) Tax Day. You get an extra day to complete your federal Form 1040 because Monday, April 18, is Patriots Day, a legal holiday in these two New England states. If you can't get your returns done with the extra 24 hours, then file for an extension.

Tuesday, May 10 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in April, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070.

Friday, June 10 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in May, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070.

Wednesday, June 15 — Pay the estimated tax amount for the second quarter of 2022. You can mail the amount using Form 1040-ES and it will be counted as paid on time as long as the envelope bears a June 15, 2022, postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service. Or you can pay electronically.

Wednesday, June 15 — This mid-June day also is the deadline for U.S. taxpayers who are living and working abroad, as well as military personnel stationed outside the United States, to file their 2021 tax return. If overseas workers or active-duty members of the armed forces are unable to file today, they can use Form 4868 to request four extra months, until October, to file their forms, but as with the April deadline, the payment of any due tax is not extended.

Monday, July 11 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in June, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070. This deadline is a day later than usual, since July 10 is on Sunday.

Wednesday, August 10 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in July, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070.

Monday, September 12 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in August, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070. 4070. This deadline is two days later than usual, since Sept. 10 is on Saturday.

Thursday, September 15 — Pay the estimated tax amount for the third quarter of 2022. You can mail the amount using Form 1040-ES and it will be counted as paid on time as long as the envelope bears a Sept. 15, 2022, postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service. Or you can pay electronically.

Tuesday, October 11 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in September, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070. This deadline is a day later than usual, since Monday, Oct. 10 still is the federal Columbus Day holiday, although many jurisdictions celebrate it as Indigenous Peoples Day.

Monday, October 17 — Is the absolutely final Tax Day for most taxpayers in 2022. If you got an extension to file your 2021 tax year Form 1040, then you need to get the paperwork to the IRS electronically today, or on its way as an old-school paper filing in an envelope postmarked Oct. 17 by the U.S. Postal Service. This year's deadline is pushed a couple of days since the usual Oct. 15 extension due date is Saturday.

Monday, October 17 also is the deadline for those who got extensions to

• Withdraw excess IRA 2021 contributions in 2021 to avoid penalty; and
• Contribute, as self-employed taxpayers, to a Solo 401(k) or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) for the 2021 tax year.

Thursday, November 10 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in October, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070.

Monday, December 12 — If your job includes tips from customers and you got at least $20 in gratuities in November, you need to report the amount to your employer today using Form 4070. This deadline is shifted because Dec. 10 is on Saturday.

Saturday, December 31 — We finally made it! Tax year 2022 is over. It's also the day to meet some tax deadlines.

Retirees who must take required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s must do so by today.

It's also the last day to make contributions to company retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, for the 2022 tax year.

However, since Dec. 31 is on a Saturday, it's better to be tax safe than sorry and make sure you meet the official year-end deadline during one of the weekdays preceding it.

Delays for some and other tax collectors: In some cases, notable major disaster situations, these deadlines are adjusted for affected filers. You can check the ol' blog's "disaster" category for updates and tax deadlines changes.

Finally, don't forget about your state taxes. Most U.S. taxpayers live in a state that also collects some sort of tax. Most also follow the IRS calendar. But not all. The ol' blog's state tax directory has links to the various departments where you can the latest state and local tax news.

OK, that's it. For now.

Got your electronic or paper (yes, some of us still use them, too) calendars annotated and reminders set for upcoming 2020 tax tasks?

Good. Now you can enjoy the rest of the year.

You also might find these items of interest:

• The scoop on paying estimated taxes
• 4 tax moves to make in January 2022
• IRS starts accepting e-filed business tax returns on Jan. 7

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