It’s the most critical month of the year for business compliance. If you haven’t already wrapped up your tax filing, it’s time to make moves. Here are all the HR, benefits, payroll, and tax deadlines you need to know about in April.
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Notable holidays
April 16, 2025
Emancipation Day
Emancipation Day is a regional government holiday observed in Washington, D.C. The city holiday commemorates April 16, 1862, the day President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, freeing over 3,000 slaves in the D.C. area.
April 21, 2025
Patriots’ Day
Patriots’ Day, which falls on the third Monday of April, is a state holiday celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine. State and government offices, as well as some schools and businesses, are closed on Patriots’ Day to commemorate the opening battles of the American Revolution in 1775 in Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy.
Tax and payroll compliance deadlines
Payroll tax deposits (for semi-weekly depositors)
Employers who file Forms 940 and 941 have to deposit payroll taxes at different frequencies throughout the year, depending on factors like the information returns they use and their past filing history.
If you report more than $50,000 in payroll taxes during the lookback period of July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, you’re considered a semi-weekly depositor and must follow the schedule below:
| If payday for your employees is on… | Deposit employment taxes by… |
| Wednesday | The following Wednesday |
| Thursday | The following Wednesday |
| Friday | The following Wednesday |
| Saturday | The following Friday |
| Sunday | The following Friday |
| Monday | The following Friday |
| Tuesday | The following Friday |
The exception is if you accumulate $100,000 or more of tax liability in a single day. In that case, the IRS requires you to deposit the amount due by the following business day, regardless of whether you normally deposit on a semi-weekly or monthly basis (more on monthly deposits below).
Read Publication 15 to get more information on federal payroll tax deposits.
Keep in mind that some state and local governments that collect payroll taxes will also expect their own deposits and those deadlines may be different from the federal ones. To make sure you have the correct deadlines and forms, contact your state and local tax agencies directly.
April 1, 2025
Start of Q2 for calendar fiscal year
If you run your fiscal year in accordance with the calendar year, the second quarter of the year begins on April 1.
April 10, 2025
Employee tip reporting deadline for March
If your employees earned tips of $20 or more in March, they have until April 10 to report those earnings to you. Find more info on tip withholding and reporting requirements here.
April 15, 2025
Payroll tax deposits for monthly depositors
If your company follows the monthly payroll tax deposit schedule (meaning that you reported less than $50,000 in payroll taxes during the lookback period), then your tax deposit for March payrolls is due on April 15.
Form 1040 and income taxes due for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs
If you’re a sole proprietor or single-member LLC who reports your income through your personal tax returns, you must submit Form 1040 or 1040-SR and Schedule C by April 15. If you’re a household employer and you paid $2,700 or more to a household employee in 2024, you also need to file Schedule H with your Form 1040.
Residents of Maine and Massachusetts have until April 17 to file Form 1040 and 1040-SR.
For an automatic six-month extension, file Form 4868 and deposit any estimated taxes.
The IRS has extended the tax filing and payment deadline for individuals and businesses located in the following FEMA-designated disaster areas:
- Kentucky: Taxpayers impacted by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and landslides have until November 3, 2025
- California: Taxpayers affected by the wildfires that began on January 7, 2025, have until October 15, 2025
To check if your state qualifies for any disaster relief extensions, see the IRS disaster relief list for 2025.
Form 1040-ES and estimated tax payment due for the first quarter of 2025
If you’re a sole proprietor, partner, or S corp shareholder who expects to owe at least $1,000 in taxes for 2025, you’re required to make quarterly estimated tax payments throughout the year using Form 1040-ES. You also have to make estimated payments if you’re a corporation that expects to owe at least $500 in taxes.
The first installment of 2025 estimated taxes is due by April 15. California businesses in FEMA-designated disaster areas have until October 15 to file, and Kentucky businesses in disaster areas have until November 3. If you’re a corporation, you must submit these payments via the EFTPS; individuals can do it through the EFTPS, by mail, by phone, or through the IRS2Go app.
To learn more about federal estimated tax payments, read Publication 505. Remember to review your state website to check your state quarterly estimated tax obligations, too.
Form 990-T filing deadline and estimated tax due
If you run an exempt organization—like a church, nonprofit, or educational group—you’ll use Form 990-T to report unrelated business income, report unrelated business income tax liability, and report proxy tax liability.
If your exempt organization has unrelated business taxable income (UBTI), you need to file Form 990-T, along with a separate Schedule A for each separate unrelated trade or business. You also need to pay estimated taxes on your UBTI from the first quarter of 2024. You can use Form 990-W—which is a worksheet—to determine the amount of taxes due.
If you’re an exempt organization and don’t have any UBTI, you just need to file Form 990-T by itself; you don’t need to complete or attach a Schedule A.
For more information, read the IRS instructions.
Form 1120-POL filing deadline
Form 1120-POL is used to report your political organization’s taxable income and income tax liability. The form is due on the 15th day of the fourth month following the end of the political organization’s taxable year. If you operate on a calendar year, Form 1120-POL is due April 15.
Extended filing deadline for Forms 1042 and 1042-S
Form 1042 is the annual withholding tax return for US-sourced income for foreign individuals. Form 1042-S reports retirement plan distributions and certain other payments made to nonresident aliens that are subject to income tax withholding.
If you requested a timely 30-day extension for the above forms, your extended filing deadline—and deadline to furnish Form 1042-S to recipients—is April 15. You can file electronically through the FIRE system.
Form 1120 and income taxes due for corporations
If you’re a C corporation that operates on a calendar year, your deadline to submit Form 1120 and the appropriate taxes to the IRS is April 15.
You can file your returns by mail or online, but the IRS recommends e-filing because it’s faster. Keep in mind that If your C corp has $10 million or more in assets and if you file 250 or more information returns per year (i.e., W-2s, 1099s), you’re required to file your taxes electronically.
April 15 is also the deadline for the second installment of your 2025 estimated tax (Kentucky and California businesses affected by natural disasters have until November 3 and October 15, respectively).
You can find Form 1120 e-filing guidelines and general instructions on the IRS website. If you need to request an automatic six-month extension on filing your taxes, file Form 7004 and make sure you deposit any estimated taxes.
Form 1120-F filing deadline
Foreign corporations use Form 1120-F to report their income, gains, losses, deductions, and credits and to calculate their US income tax liability. If you operate a foreign corporation, you must file Form 1120-F by April 15 if you:
- Were engaged in a trade or business in the United States, whether or not it had US source income from that trade or business, and whether or not income from such trade or business is exempt from US tax under a tax treaty
- Had income, gains, or losses treated as if they were effectively connected with the conduct of a US trade or business
- Were not engaged in a trade or business in the United States but had income from any US source
- Were, or had a branch that was, a qualified derivatives dealer (QDD)
You can learn more about the requirements and exceptions for who needs to file Form 1120-F, as well as the different filing deadlines, here.
Form 1041 filing deadline for calendar-year entities
Form 1041 is the US income tax return for estates and trusts. If you own an estate or trust that operates on a calendar year, your deadline to submit Form 1041—and pay any tax due—is April 15. See Form 1041 instructions.
Form 8813 quarterly payment voucher due for partnerships
If you operate a partnership, submit Form 8813 to pay any withheld tax due by April 15. Read more about Form 8813 from the IRS here.
State income taxes
Most states that levy income taxes require you to file your income tax returns by April 15. However, there are some exceptions. Louisiana’s deadline, for example, is May 15. States that have suffered natural disasters may also extend their filing deadlines for businesses in affected areas. California, for example, has postponed the state income deadlines for businesses in Los Angeles County to October 15, 2025.
Check out your state department of revenue for the most updated information on your state taxes and filing deadlines.
April 30, 2025
Form 941 filing deadline
Form 941, the employer’s quarterly federal tax return, is used to report any income taxes, Social Security taxes, or Medicare taxes withheld from your employees’ paychecks. If you have at least one employee, you’re required to file Form 941 and pay your share of payroll taxes every quarter—even if you don’t have any employees for part of the year.
The first Form 941 for 2025 and the accompanying payroll tax payment are due on April 30. However, if you made the full deposit for the quarter on time, you automatically get an additional 10 business days to file the form.
You can mail the document along with your payment voucher to the IRS. Your mailing address depends on the state your business is located in and whether or not your payment is enclosed, so make sure you review the tax form instructions for more information.
You can also e-file instead through the EFTPS.
Keep in mind that if your business is in one of the FEMA-designated disaster areas for 2025 (which currently includes Kentucky and Los Angeles County, California), you have an extended deadline.
Form 720 filing deadline
Form 720 is the quarterly federal excise tax return. If you manufacture or sell certain goods and services, you have to report and pay excise taxes to the IRS every quarter. You can see the full list of the goods and services that incur excise taxes on the document itself.
If your business deals with any of them, the first of your four payments for the 2025 tax year is due April 30. To e-file, use EFTPS. If you want to mail the tax form to the IRS, send the form, along with your check or money order payment and the Form 720-V payment voucher (found on the last page of Form 720), to the following address:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Ogden, UT 84201-0009
Form 2290 filing deadline for March
If you registered a heavy highway motor vehicle (with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more) that was first used in March 2025, you have to file Form 2290 by April 30—and pay the taxes on your vehicle.
To learn more about Form 2290, review the IRS’ instructions and information.
FUTA quarterly tax payment due
The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) says that you’re subject to FUTA tax on the wages you paid employees who aren’t household or agricultural employees if:
- You paid wages of $1,500 or more to employees in any calendar quarter during 2023 or 2024, or
- You had one or more employees for at least some part of a day in any 20 or more different weeks in 2023 or 20 or more different weeks in 2024. Count all full-time, part-time, and temporary employees.
If your FUTA tax liability is more than $500 for the calendar year, you must deposit at least one quarterly payment. If your FUTA tax liability is $500 or less in a quarter, you can carry it forward to the next quarter.
That means if your FUTA tax liability through March 2025 is more than $500, you need to make your first quarterly payment by April 30.
If you owe $500 or more, you have to make electronic fund transfers using the EFTPS. Refer to Publication 966 for electronic federal tax payment system information, and Publication 15 for more information on deposit rules.
Form 730 filing deadline for March
Form 730, the monthly tax return for wagers, is due by April 30 for March wagers. You need to file if you accepted wagers during March 2025 and meet the below criteria:
- are in the business of accepting wagers
- conduct a wagering pool or lottery
- are required to be registered and received wagers for or on behalf of another person but did not report that person’s name and address
Payroll taxes for states and locals
Unemployment insurance tax and tax returns for states: Unemployment taxes are due every quarter, usually at the end of the month following the end of the quarter (i.e. April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31). Check with your state’s unemployment insurance tax collectors to find out when your unemployment taxes are due for Q1 of 2025.
Check out our state by state guide to unemployment taxes to find out your state’s rates and deadlines.
State income tax withholding: Most states require you to withhold income tax from each employee’s paychecks and pay it to the state at regular intervals, usually at the end of each calendar quarter.
The states without income tax are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. If you have employees outside of the states listed above, chances are you owe payroll taxes to these state agencies.
Local taxes: A handful of states also impose local payroll taxes. You might owe local payroll taxes if you have employees working in any of the following states: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana (collected by the state), Kentucky, Maryland (collected by the state), New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
HR compliance deadlines
April 1, 2025
Required minimum distributions due for certain employees
If you offer company-sponsored retirement plans, your employees have to start withdrawing minimum amounts from these accounts each year once they reach 73 years of age. These required minimum distributions (RMDs) are due by December 31 each year, with one exception. The year a participant turns 72, the RMD deadline gets pushed to April 1 of the following year.
If you have any employees who turned 72 in 2023 (meaning they reached age 73 in 2024), your RMD for them is due April 1. Learn more about RMDs here.
April 15, 2025
Form 8928 filing deadline
If you offer group health plans to your employees, you’re required to self-report any failures to comply with federal group health plan mandates, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).
You need to report any compliance failures from 2024 using Form 8928. If you don’t correct those failures in a timely fashion, you can also use this document to report the corresponding excise taxes. Any taxes owed must be paid to the IRS at this time.
For more information, review the form instructions from the IRS.
First quarterly contribution for defined benefit pension plans due
If you have a defined benefit pension plan, you have to contribute to the plan on an annual basis if you don’t want to pay excise taxes. If your plan doesn’t meet the funding minimum by the end of the plan year, you have to make your annual contributions on a quarterly basis instead.
If your plan year ended on July 31, 2024, and it didn’t meet last year’s funding requirements, you’re required to make your minimum quarterly funding contribution by April 15.
Retirement plan employer contributions due for certain businesses
If you have a C corp (or an LLC taxed as a C corp), a single-member LLC, or a sole proprietorship, you must deposit your employer contribution to your retirement plan for the 2024 tax year by April 15 if you want to deduct that contribution from your taxable income.
If you’ve filed an extension for your tax return, you have until your new filing deadline or the date you file your return (whichever comes first) to make these deductible contributions.
April 30, 2025
Deadline to send annual funding notice to employees for defined benefit pension plans
If you have a single-employer or multi employer defined benefit pension plan, you need to provide an annual notice to all your plan participants detailing the plan’s funding status. This is due no later than 120 days after the close of the plan year; for 2025, the deadline is April 30.
If you have a small plan (fewer than 100 participants), you have to provide the funding notice by the IRS filing due date of the plan’s Form 5500.
