The annual compliance calendar, 2026–2027
Northwind's 2026–2027 calendar computed from rules: the federal return, estimates, 1099s, Delaware's March 1, and the dates that follow events.
Every date in this track is a rule first and a day second. "The 15th day of the 4th month after year end" is the rule; April 15, 2027 is the day it produces for 2026. A federal date that lands on a Saturday, Sunday or DC legal holiday moves to the next business day. So a compliance calendar is built from rules, recomputed every year, never copied forward from last year's.
Feb 1, 2027
1099-NEC for 2026 to each contractor and to the IRS (moved: January 31, 2027 is a Sunday)Form 1099-NEC
Feb 1, 2027
1099-MISC for 2026 to each recipient (moved: January 31, 2027 is a Sunday)Form 1099-MISC
Mar 1, 2027
1099-MISC for 2026 to the IRS, if filed on paper (moved: February 28, 2027 is a Sunday)Form 1099-MISC
Mar 1, 2027
Delaware annual report, $50 fee and 2026 franchise taxAnnual Franchise Tax Report
Mar 31, 2027
1099-MISC for 2026 to the IRS, if filed electronicallyForm 1099-MISC
Apr 15, 2027
Federal estimated tax, installment 1 of 4 for 2027EFTPS
Apr 15, 2027
Federal income tax return for 2026, and any tax still owedForm 1120
Apr 15, 2027
Extension of time to file the 2026 return — not to payForm 7004
Jun 15, 2027
Federal estimated tax, installment 2 of 4 for 2027EFTPS
Sep 15, 2027
Federal estimated tax, installment 3 of 4 for 2027EFTPS
Oct 15, 2027
Extended deadline for the 2026 return (the tax was due in April)Form 1120
Dec 15, 2027
Federal estimated tax, installment 4 of 4 for 2027EFTPS
The dates that follow events, not the calendar
A list of dates
- Good at
Quick to make once.
- Watch for
- Copies last year's weekend moves into this year.
- Misses rules that changed: thresholds, forms, deadlines.
- Best for
- Nobody, past the first year.
A list of rules
- Good at
- Each year's dates are recomputed, moves included.
- A changed rule changes every date that comes from it.
- Watch for
Needs each rule's source written down beside it.
- Best for
- Every company.
Step 1: List every recurring obligation
Delaware, the federal return, estimates, information returns, payroll returns.
Step 2: Add every state you're registered in
Each qualified state's annual report and returns, each sales tax registration's filing frequency.
Step 3: Store the rule, not the day
Write the rule and its source beside each date, and compute the day from the rule.
Step 4: Assign an owner
Give every line an owner, and a reminder far enough ahead to close the books first.
Step 5: Add events as they happen
Grants, new states, new hires, crossing a threshold: each one adds a date the day it happens.
Keep the calendar as rules with sources. Recompute the days every year, and move the ones that land on a weekend or holiday.
Where this lesson's rules come from
The sources behind this lesson's requirements, by kind. Anything marked as a convention is ours, not the rule-maker's.
- Federal statute
- 26 U.S.C. §7503 (opens in a new tab)Time for performance of acts where last day falls on Saturday, Sunday, or legal holidayFree to read
- IRS guidance
- Instructions for Form 1120 (2025), When To File (opens in a new tab)U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return — who must file, when, extensions, penaltiesFree to read
- IRS Pub. 542 (Rev. 01/2024), Estimated Tax (opens in a new tab)Corporations — estimated tax, EFTPS, Form 2220, and Form 1120-W now historicalFree to read
- Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. 12/2026) (opens in a new tab)Due dates, the $2,000 threshold for payments after 2025, and who gets a formFree to read
- State authority
- Delaware Division of Corporations — Annual Report and Tax Information (opens in a new tab)Due date, the $50 annual report fee, minimum and maximum tax, the $200 penalty and 1.5% monthly interestFree to read
- Official form
- Form 15620 (Rev. 4-2025), Instructions — When to File (opens in a new tab)Section 83(b) Election (PDF)PDF · Free to read
The words this lesson teaches
Each links to its glossary definition, which also names the authority behind it and the components that render it.
- Corporate estimated taxThe four installments a corporation pays toward the current year's income tax when it expects $500 or more — on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months of its tax year, each 25% of the required annual payment, through EFTPS. Underpayment is figured on Form 2220; Form 1120-W is historical
- Information returnA return that reports a payment to the IRS and to the person paid, rather than computing a tax — Form 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, 1099-K, W-2, 3921. Due dates are per form, and §7503 moves a weekend date to the next business day
- Form 7004The IRS application for an automatic extension of time to file business income tax returns — six months for Forms 1120, 1120-S and 1065 — filed by the original due date. It extends the time to file, not the time to pay
- State annual reportThe yearly filing a corporation makes with its state of formation and each state where it is qualified — officers, directors, address, and in Delaware the figures the franchise tax is computed from. Names, fees and due dates vary by state
In the founder glossary
This lesson’s ideas, explained for the founder running the company. Each has an entry in the founder glossary.
See also
- First-year compliance calendar for a Delaware C-corpDelaware franchise tax, 1099s, the federal return, payroll filings, state annual reports and sales tax: the deadlines a young C-corp misses most, by month.
- Startup tax deadlines by month for a C-corpFederal tax deadlines for a calendar-year C-corp, month by month: W-2s, 1099s, Form 941, Form 1120, estimated taxes and Delaware franchise tax.
- Delaware franchise taxAn annual tax, filed with an annual report, that every Delaware stock corporation owes by March 1, whether or not it made money.
- Form 1120The federal income tax return for a C corporation. It's due on the 15th day of the fourth month after year end, so April 15 for a calendar-year company; Form 7004 extends the filing, not the payment, by six months.
- ComplianceCalendarFiling deadlines by jurisdiction, with the owner and the date penalties start.
- TaxFormTrackerVendors over the reporting threshold, with W-9 and TIN-match state.