April 2026 · Taxes, Small Business

Tax Day 2026: The Deadlines and the New Deductions

What is due April 15, the extension that does not extend payment, and four deductions that did not exist last spring

April 15 is the individual deadline, and this year it comes with homework worth doing: the 2025 return is the first one filed under last July's tax law, and four brand-new deductions are waiting on it.[1]

What is due April 15

Form 1040: your 2025 return, plus payment of anything owed.[1]
Form 4868: the extension, which moves filing to October 15 but does not move the payment.[2]
Q1 estimated payment: the first 2026 installment for anyone paying quarterly, paid online or with a Form 1040-ES voucher.[3]
IRA and HSA contributions: 2025 contributions count until April 15: up to $7,000 in an IRA, $8,000 if you are 50 or older,[4] and $4,300 for self-only or $8,550 for family HSA coverage, plus $1,000 more if you are 55 or older.[5]
Arizona Form 140: the state return is due the same day, along with any state tax owed.[6]

Who needs what: everyone with a filing requirement files the 1040, Arizona residents add the 140, the extension is only for returns that will not be ready, the Q1 installment is for the self-employed and anyone else whose withholding will not cover what they owe, and the IRA and HSA deadline matters only if you still want to top up 2025.

The extension does not extend the payment

Last month's business extension was free with no strings attached. The personal one has a string: Form 4868 gives you until October 15 to file, but the tax itself is still due April 15, and interest plus a late-payment penalty run on any shortfall from that day.[2]

So the move is to estimate what you owe, pay that amount with the extension, and finish the paperwork when it is ready. Arizona rides along: the state honors your federal extension automatically, you just check the extension box on the return, and at least 90 percent of the state tax must still be paid by April 15 to avoid the extension underpayment penalty.[6]

Four deductions that did not exist last spring

All four come from last July's tax law, apply to 2025 through 2028, and are claimed on the new Schedule 1-A whether or not you itemize.[7]

Tips: workers in tipped jobs can deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips, phasing out above $150,000 of income, or $300,000 filing jointly.[8]
Overtime: the premium half of time-and-a-half pay is deductible up to $12,500, or $25,000 jointly, with the same phase-out.[8]
Seniors: anyone 65 or older gets an extra $6,000 deduction, $12,000 for a qualifying couple, phasing out above $75,000, or $150,000 jointly.[8]
Car loan interest: up to $10,000 of interest on a loan for a new, US-assembled personal vehicle. Used cars and leases do not qualify, and the phase-out starts at $100,000, or $200,000 jointly.[8]

If any of these fit you and the return already went out without them, an amended return is the fix, not a lost year.

The bottom line

Pay by April 15 even if you extend, make the Q1 payment, top up the IRA or HSA while it still counts for 2025, and check Schedule 1-A before you file.

If the new deductions make this year's return less obvious than usual, a free consultation is the surest way to maximize it.

Tax Day 2026: The Deadlines and the New Deductions

What is due April 15

The extension does not extend the payment

Four deductions that did not exist last spring

The bottom line

References