Now that you are set on making an S corp election, you may be unsure when the S corp deadline is. The deadline to file the Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, is more flexible than the IRS makes it seem. The IRS states the deadline to file is “no more than 2 months and 15 days after the beginning of the tax year the election is to take effect.” For most businesses, this means the deadline to make the S corp election is March 15th of the year you want to be taxed as an S corp. If you want your business to be taxed as an S corp for all of 2024, you would make the S corp election by March 15, 2024. If you have a new business, this means 2 months and 15 days from the day the business was incorporated. For example, if the business was incorporated on April 1, 2024, the S corp deadline is June 15, 2024. If you realize you’ve missed the deadline, don’t worry. You can still be taxed as an S corp for the full year to save on taxes. Your business needs to file the same Form 2553, and request relief for late elections. The IRS is fairly lenient when it comes to accepting late elections. This can also still be effective, retroactively, to January 1st of that year. I have filed Form 2553s for clients as late as December for the year clients want to be taxed as an S corp.