By GreenGrowth CPAs Tax Team · Updated October 2026 · Tax Compliance
The IRS business forms most companies file fall into five groups: payroll returns, 1099 information returns, income tax returns, extensions and elections, and special reports such as Form 8300 or Form 8973. The table below lists each one with its purpose, filer and 2026 due date.
Use it as a checklist for your calendar. Dates assume a calendar tax year and already reflect weekend and holiday shifts from IRS Publication 509 for 2026.
QUICK ANSWER
Common IRS business forms include Form 941 (quarterly payroll), Form 940 (FUTA), W-2 and W-3 (wages), 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC (payments to others), Form 1065, 1120-S or 1120 (income tax), and Form 7004 (extension). Form 8973 is a niche filing: a certified PEO files it within 30 days of starting or ending a service contract with a customer, under IRC Section 3511.
IRS Business Forms: At a Glance
- Payroll: Forms 941, 940, 943 or 944, plus W-2s and a W-3.
- Payments you make: The 1099 family, including the new Form 1099-DA for digital asset brokers.
- Income tax: Your entity type decides between Schedule C, Form 1065, Form 1120-S and Form 1120.
- Special reports: Form 8300 for large cash, Form 5500 for benefit plans and Form 8973 for CPEOs.
- How we help: GreenGrowth CPAs prepares federal business returns and builds the filing calendar around them. Get started →
The 2026 IRS Business Forms Reference Table
Dates apply to calendar-year filers. Returns due in early 2026 cover the 2025 tax year. Fiscal-year filers shift income tax dates to match their year end.
Payroll and Information Returns
▶ Payroll and 1099 Forms
| Form | What it reports | Who files | Due in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 941 | Quarterly wages, withheld income tax, Social Security and Medicare | Most employers | Apr. 30, Jul. 31 and Nov. 2, 2026 for 2026 quarters |
| 940 | Annual federal unemployment (FUTA) tax | Employers subject to FUTA | Feb. 2, 2026 (Feb. 10 if all deposits were on time) |
| 943 | Annual payroll taxes for farmworkers | Agricultural employers | Feb. 2, 2026 (Feb. 10 if all deposits were on time) |
| 944 | Annual payroll taxes in place of quarterly 941s | Certain small employers | Feb. 2, 2026 (Feb. 10 if all deposits were on time) |
| W-2 and W-3 | Each employee's wages and withholding; the W-3 transmits them | All employers | Feb. 2, 2026 to employees and the SSA |
| 1099-NEC | Contractor pay of $600 or more in 2025 ($2,000 for 2026 payments) | Businesses that pay contractors | Feb. 2, 2026 to recipients and the IRS |
| 1099-MISC | Rents, royalties, prizes, attorney proceeds and similar payments | Businesses making those payments | Recipients Feb. 2 (Feb. 17 for boxes 8 and 10); IRS Mar. 2 on paper or Mar. 31 electronically |
| 1099-K | Card and third-party network payments | Payment settlement entities | Recipients Feb. 2; IRS Mar. 2 on paper or Mar. 31 electronically |
| 1099-DA | Digital asset sale proceeds; new for 2025 sales | Digital asset brokers | Recipients Feb. 17; IRS Mar. 2 on paper or Mar. 31 electronically |
Income Tax Returns, Extensions and Credits
▶ Income Tax Forms
| Form | What it reports | Who files | Due in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1065 | Partnership income return | Partnerships and multi-member LLCs | Mar. 16, 2026 (Sept. 15 with Form 7004) |
| 1120-S | S corporation income return | S corporations | Mar. 16, 2026 (Sept. 15 with Form 7004) |
| 1120 | C corporation income return | C corporations | Apr. 15, 2026 (Oct. 15 with Form 7004) |
| Schedule C | Sole proprietor profit or loss, filed with Form 1040 | Sole owners and single-member LLCs | Apr. 15, 2026 (Oct. 15 with Form 4868) |
| Schedule K-1 | Each owner's share of income, deductions and credits | Partnerships and S corporations | Mar. 16, 2026, with the entity return |
| 7004 | Automatic extension for business returns | Partnerships and corporations | Original due date of the return |
| 4868 | Automatic six-month extension for Form 1040 | Individuals, including sole owners | Apr. 15, 2026 |
| 3800 | General business credit, such as R&D and WOTC | Businesses claiming those credits | With the income tax return |
| 4562 | Depreciation, amortization and Section 179 | Businesses placing assets in service | With the income tax return |
Special Reports, Authorizations and Elections
▶ Special Filings and Elections
| Form | What it reports | Who files | Due in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8300 | Cash received over $10,000 | Any trade or business | Within 15 days; customer statement by Jan. 31 of the next year |
| 8821 and 2848 | Tax information authorization; power of attorney | Taxpayers naming a CPA or other designee | No deadline; file when needed |
| 5500 | Annual report for employee benefit plans | Plan sponsors and administrators | July 31, 2026 for 2025 calendar-year plans (Oct. 15 with Form 5558) |
| 990 | Annual information return | Most tax-exempt organizations | May 15, 2026 (Nov. 16 with Form 8868) |
| 8973 | Start or end of a CPEO service contract | Certified PEOs | Within 30 days of the change |
| 8832 | Entity classification election | Eligible entities such as LLCs | Effective up to 75 days before or 12 months after filing |
| 2553 | S corporation election | Eligible corporations and LLCs | Mar. 16, 2026 for an election effective in 2026 |
Payroll and Employment Tax Forms
Form 941 covers each quarter's federal income tax withholding plus Social Security and Medicare. The fourth-quarter 2026 return comes due February 1, 2027, because January 31 falls on a Sunday. Form 940 reports federal unemployment tax once a year.
Farm employers swap Form 941 for the annual Form 943. Cannabis cultivators often fall in this group; see our Form 943 for cannabis cultivators. A few small employers use the annual Form 944 instead. When you made every deposit on time, you get until the 10th of the following month to file these returns.
Information Returns: The 1099 Family
Form 1099-NEC reports what you paid contractors, and it has no automatic extension for electronic filing. Under the 2025 budget law, the reporting threshold rises from $600 to $2,000 for payments made in 2026. Form 1099-MISC covers rents, royalties, prizes and attorney proceeds.
Form 1099-K comes from card processors and payment apps. The federal threshold is back to more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions for third-party network payments.
Form 1099-DA is new. Digital asset brokers report gross proceeds for sales made on or after January 1, 2025, and basis for certain sales from 2026 on. Read more on the tax treatment of crypto transactions.
Filers with 10 or more information returns of any type in a year must e-file them.
Income Tax Returns by Entity Type
Partnerships and multi-member LLCs file Form 1065 and give each partner a Schedule K-1. S corporations file Form 1120-S with K-1s for shareholders. Both were due March 16, 2026 for calendar-year 2025.
C corporations file Form 1120 by April 15. Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs report business income on Schedule C, attached to their Form 1040.
Extensions, Credits and Depreciation
Form 7004 gives partnerships and corporations an automatic six-month extension. Individuals use Form 4868. Neither extends the time to pay.
Form 3800 gathers business credits such as the research credit and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit; see our guide to the general business credit. Form 4562 reports depreciation, amortization and Section 179 expensing. Both attach to the income tax return.
Want a 2026 and 2027 filing calendar built around your entities?
Get Started →Form 8973: The CPEO Client Report
Form 8973 is the Certified Professional Employer Organization/Customer Reporting Agreement. A certified PEO files it to tell the IRS that a service contract with a customer has started or ended, or to fix an earlier filing.
Why It Exists: IRC Section 3511
Section 3511 treats a CPEO as the employer, for federal employment tax purposes, of the worksite employees it pays. Customers still claim certain credits based on those wages. Section 3511(g) requires the CPEO to notify the IRS when contracts start and end, and Form 8973 is how it does so.
Who Files, When and How
Filer: The CPEO files. The customer signs Part 5 when a contract starts. Only the CPEO's signature is needed to report that a contract ended.
Deadline: Within 30 days of starting or ending a service contract. A newly certified CPEO gets six months from its certification notice to report existing customers.
Delivery: Mail to the IRS in Ogden, Utah. Give the customer a copy of the fully completed and signed form.
Errors here ripple into Form 941 and Schedule R, because the IRS matches each customer to the CPEO's aggregate return. Our PEO accounting and audit team works with PEOs on these filings.
Compliance and Authorization Forms
Form 8300 applies when your business receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or related transactions. You have 15 days to file. See our Form 8300 guide.
Forms 8821 and 2848 authorize someone else. Form 8821 lets a designee see your tax information. Form 2848 lets a CPA, attorney or enrolled agent represent you.
Benefit plans file Form 5500 through the Department of Labor's EFAST2 system; see the Form 5500 deadline. Tax-exempt organizations file Form 990 by the 15th day of the fifth month after year end. Our page on Form 990 deadlines covers extensions.
Entity Elections: Forms 8832 and 2553
Form 8832 lets an eligible entity, such as an LLC, choose to be taxed as a corporation, a partnership or a disregarded entity. The effective date can fall up to 75 days before filing or up to 12 months after. After a change, you generally must wait 60 months to elect again.
Form 2553 elects S corporation status. File it within two months and 15 days after the start of the tax year it should cover, or at any time in the prior year.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- ›Payroll forms run on a quarterly and annual rhythm: Form 941 each quarter, then Form 940 and W-2s each winter.
- ›W-2s and 1099-NECs for 2025 were due February 2, 2026, with no automatic e-file extension for the 1099-NEC.
- ›For 2026 payments, the 1099-NEC threshold rises to $2,000, and Form 1099-DA now covers digital asset sales.
- ›Certified PEOs file Form 8973 within 30 days of starting or ending a customer contract.
- ›Extensions on Forms 7004 and 4868 extend the time to file, never the time to pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Form 8973 and CPEOs
Form 8973 is the Certified Professional Employer Organization/Customer Reporting Agreement. A certified PEO (CPEO) uses it to tell the IRS that a service contract with a customer has started or ended, or to correct an earlier filing. When a contract starts, the form also lists the employment tax forms the CPEO will file for that customer's workers. It exists because Section 3511 treats the CPEO as the employer for wages it pays, so the IRS needs to know which customers sit behind each CPEO's returns.
The CPEO files Form 8973, not the customer. A customer signs Part 5 when a contract starts, and the CPEO signs Part 6. The CPEO generally must file within 30 days of starting or ending a service contract. A newly certified CPEO has six months from its certification notice to report existing contracts. The form goes by mail to the IRS in Ogden, Utah, and the CPEO must give the customer a copy of the fully completed and signed form.
Forms and Deadlines
It depends on your entity and your payments. Every business files an income tax return: Schedule C with Form 1040 for a sole owner, Form 1065 for a partnership, Form 1120-S for an S corporation or Form 1120 for a C corporation. If you have employees, add Form 941 each quarter, Form 940 each year, and a W-2 for every worker. If you pay contractors, add Form 1099-NEC. Large cash receipts trigger Form 8300.
Both are due by January 31, moved to the next business day when that date falls on a weekend or holiday. For 2025 payments, the deadline was February 2, 2026, because January 31 fell on a Saturday. That date applies to the copies you give workers and to the copies you file. Forms W-2 and W-3 go to the Social Security Administration. Form 1099-NEC goes to the IRS, with no automatic extension for electronic filing.
Authorizations and Extensions
Form 8821 lets a person or firm you name inspect and receive your confidential tax information for the tax types and years you list. It does not let them represent you. Form 2848 is a power of attorney. It lets an eligible representative, such as a CPA, attorney or enrolled agent, act for you before the IRS, including in exams and collection matters. Neither form has a filing deadline. You file them when you need the authorization.
Partnerships, S corporations and C corporations file Form 7004 by the return's original due date to get an automatic six-month extension. For calendar-year 2025 returns, that moved Form 1065 and Form 1120-S from March 16 to September 15, 2026, and Form 1120 from April 15 to October 15, 2026. Sole proprietors use Form 4868 for their Form 1040. An extension gives more time to file, not to pay, so estimate and pay any tax due by the original date.
Where to Go From Here
Never Miss an IRS Business Deadline
We prepare federal and state business returns, payroll filings and information returns, and keep the calendar for you.
KEY FACTS
One Calendar. Every Form. Filed on Time.
Tell us about your entities and we will map every federal filing you owe.
Book Your Free Consultation →GreenGrowth CPAs · Tax Team
Get more GreenGrowth CPAs insights in Google Search and AI Mode.
