Forms

• Tax returns arrive in January, as do many other tax forms, including from employers, banks and investment brokers. These forms include 1099 bank interest statements, 1099 dividend payment statements and W-2 forms that list your earnings from an employer. The deadline for sending most of the documents and forms you need to complete your tax returns is the end of January.
  
  In some cases you may not receive a form in the mail. For example, the IRS only mails paper tax returns to taxpayers who filed through the mail in the previous tax year. Banks may not provide interest statements for customers whose interest earnings were below a certain level, which means taxpayers need to contact the bank to get the necessary information for entering in the tax return. Banks generally make this information by the same end-of-January deadline.
  
  

Filing

• Regardless of when you receive your tax return and related tax documents, the deadline for filing your federal income tax return is April 15th. States may use this date as a deadline or name their own tax deadline. The IRS extends the tax deadline when April 15th falls on a weekend or federal holiday.
  
  

Extensions and Exceptions

• Taxpayers can file for an extension in filing and paying their income taxes. The IRS and state agencies have the right to grant or deny extension requests, and extensions do not relieve taxpayers of tax liability. Oct. 15th serves as the general deadline for taxpayers who receive a six-month tax extension.
  
  Another deadline exception applies to taxpayers who must file quarterly instead of annually. This includes some self-employed taxpayers, as well as those who owed more than $1,000 on the prior tax year's income tax return. For these taxpayers, each quarter has its own deadline for receiving and filing a tax return.
  
  

Refunds

• According to Scholl, Chyo & Company, most taxpayers who request direct deposit of a refund into a bank account receive their refunds about a week after the IRS accepts their tax returns. Taxpayers who request a paper check refund must wait an additional week for the check to arrive in the mail. In both cases, taxpayers can check their refund's status on the IRS website within 72 hours of the IRS accepting the return.