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Taxes for startup owners: a New York filing calendar and checklist
By Solomon Wiesen, editor. Updated October 2026. Editorial standards | How this site is funded
A calendar-year startup’s federal return is due March 15 if it files as a partnership or S corporation (Form 1065 or 1120-S) and April 15 if it’s a C corporation (Form 1120). Everything else on the calendar is payroll and estimated payments, plus the state and city filings that come with being in New York.
- Entity return: March 15 for a partnership, multi-member LLC or S corporation (Form 1065 or 1120-S); April 15 for a C corporation (Form 1120).
- Payroll and contractors: W-2s, 1099-NECs and the fourth-quarter 941 are due January 31; for 2026 payments, 1099-NEC starts at $2,000 per contractor.
- New York adds: IT-204-LL for LLCs by March 15, quarterly sales tax returns on the 20th, and a $9 biennial statement.
- NYC adds: 4% unincorporated business tax for LLCs and partnerships, and 8.85% corporate tax that also applies to S corporations.
How many filing dates land in each month
Statutory deadlines for a calendar-year New York startup with employees, contractors and a sales tax registration. March and June are the crowded months.
The dates below are the statutory ones for a calendar tax year, as of October 2026. When one lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the IRS tax calendar moves it to the next business day, and New York follows the same rule. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the January 31 filings for 2026 are due February 1.
Step zero: the EIN
You need an employer identification number before you can run payroll or file any return on this page. The IRS issues one free online, immediately, once the entity exists with the state. Sites that charge for an EIN are reselling a free form.
The calendar
| Date | What’s due | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| January 15 | Fourth estimated payment for the prior year (Form 1040-ES) | Owners of LLCs, partnerships and S corporations |
| January 31 | Forms W-2, Form 1099-NEC, fourth-quarter Form 941, Form 940, New York NYS-45 | Employers; anyone who paid contractors |
| March 1 | Delaware annual report and franchise tax | Delaware corporations |
| March 15 | Form 1065 or 1120-S with Schedule K-1s; New York Form IT-204-LL; New York State and City S corporation returns | Partnerships, multi-member LLCs, S corporations |
| March 20 | New York quarterly sales tax return; NYC commercial rent tax quarterly return | Sales tax vendors; Manhattan tenants over the rent threshold |
| April 15 | Form 1120; New York Form CT-3; NYC-2; NYC unincorporated business tax return; first estimated payment | C corporations; unincorporated businesses in the city; everyone paying estimates |
| April 30, July 31, October 31 | Form 941 and NYS-45 for the quarter just ended | Employers |
| June 1 | Delaware annual tax, $400 | Delaware LLCs and partnerships |
| June 15 | Second estimated payment | Individuals and corporations |
| June 20 | Sales tax return; commercial rent tax annual return | Sales tax vendors; Manhattan tenants |
| September 15 | Third estimated payment; extended Form 1065 and 1120-S | Everyone paying estimates; partnerships and S corporations on extension |
| September 20, December 20 | Sales tax and commercial rent tax quarterly returns | Sales tax vendors; Manhattan tenants |
| October 15 | Extended Form 1120 | C corporations |
| December 15 | Fourth corporate estimated payment | C corporations |
Federal: returns, extensions, estimates
Form 7004 buys an automatic six months on any of the three entity returns, but the instructions are blunt that it “does not extend the time to pay any tax due.” It has to be filed by the original due date.
Estimated tax kicks in at low numbers: a corporation that expects to owe $500 or more, or an owner who expects to owe $1,000 or more on a personal return. Paying the smaller of 90% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s keeps most owners clear of the underpayment penalty.
Payroll and contractors
Once you have an employee, Form 941 is due at the end of the month after each quarter, and W-2s go to employees and the Social Security Administration by January 31. Form 1099-NEC for contractors is due the same day, to the IRS and the contractor alike.
The 1099-NEC threshold changed for payments made in 2026: you report a contractor only at $2,000 or more, up from $600, and the instructions say the figure may be adjusted for inflation from 2027. I’d still collect each contractor’s taxpayer ID before the first payment; January is a bad time to chase it.
Delaware, if you incorporated there
A Delaware corporation files an annual report and pays franchise tax by March 1. The minimum is $175 under the authorized shares method or $400 under the assumed par value capital method, plus a $50 report fee; late filing costs $200 and 1.5% interest a month.
Check which method your bill uses. Under the authorized shares schedule ($250 for the first 10,000 shares, $85 for each additional 10,000), a startup with 10 million authorized shares is billed $85,165. Recalculate under assumed par value, where the floor is $400, and pay the lower figure; Delaware allows that. A Delaware LLC skips the report and pays a flat $400 by June 1.
New York State
An LLC with New York source income files Form IT-204-LL by March 15 and pays a fee: $25 for a single-member LLC treated as a disregarded entity, and $25 to $4,500 for a multi-member LLC, scaled to the prior year’s New York source gross income. Up to $100,000 it is $25; between $1 million and $5 million it is $1,500. No extension is available. An LLC that elected to be taxed as a corporation doesn’t file it.
Every LLC and corporation also files a biennial statement with the Department of State, every two years in the calendar month the entity was formed. It costs $9 and can be filed online. Miss it and the state lists you as past due, which shows on any certificate of status a lender or landlord asks you for.
If you sell anything taxable, register for a sales tax Certificate of Authority through New York Business Express at least 20 days before you start. Selling without one can cost up to $500 for the first day and $200 for each day after, capped at $10,000.
New York City
The city taxes business income on top of the state, and the entity type decides which tax.
Sole proprietors and partnerships, and LLCs taxed as either, pay the unincorporated business tax: 4% of taxable income allocated to the city. A credit cancels the tax when the tax is $3,400 or less, which works out to about the first $85,000 of taxable income, and phases out at $5,400. You still have to file once gross income passes $95,000.
C corporations pay the business corporation tax on Form NYC-2: 8.85% for most, 6.5% to 8.85% for small businesses depending on income, with a $25 minimum when city receipts are $100,000 or less. S corporations get no break, because the city does not recognize the S election. It charges them the general corporation tax, 8.85% of net income allocated to the city, due March 15.
The commercial rent tax applies only in Manhattan south of 96th Street, and only to tenants paying $250,000 or more a year in rent. The effective rate is 3.9% of base rent. A small business credit removes the tax entirely when total income is $5 million or less and rent is under $500,000, but you must file a return once rent passes $200,000 even if you owe nothing.
Read next
Before you price out a year of taxes, check the credits and incentives your company can claim. None of these deadlines is hard if the books are current, and the bookkeeping page covers setting up the software and accounts. If you collect sales tax and don’t want to file the returns yourself, the site lists firms that take over sales tax compliance. Beneficial ownership reporting is no longer a federal filing for US companies, and that page has what changed. If you’d rather hand the whole calendar to a professional, start with the accounting firms for startups in New York City.
Where to go next
Frequently asked questions
When is a startup’s tax return due?
For a calendar-year company, March 15 if it files as a partnership or S corporation (Form 1065 or 1120-S) and April 15 if it is a C corporation (Form 1120). Form 7004 extends the filing date by six months but not the time to pay.
What taxes does a New York City LLC pay?
An LLC taxed as a partnership or sole proprietorship pays the NYC unincorporated business tax of 4% on city income, with a credit that wipes out a tax of $3,400 or less, plus the New York State IT-204-LL filing fee of $25 to $4,500.
Do S corporations pay New York City corporate tax?
Yes. New York City does not recognize the S election and charges S corporations the general corporation tax of 8.85% of net income allocated to the city.
When do I have to issue a 1099-NEC?
By January 31 for each contractor paid at least the threshold during the year. For payments made in 2026, the threshold is $2,000, up from $600.
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