Important tax deadline March 1 for farmers, fishermen, says IRS

Farmers and fishermen have the ability to get special tax treatment from the IRS, but they’d better be working on it soon.

“The IRS wants to remind people that are in farming and fishing that they have an option on how they pay their taxes,” said IRS spokesman Michael Devine. “For those who do not want to make quarterly estimated payments, they have to file their form 1040 and pay all the taxes they owe by March 1.”

This option is just for those for whom at least two-thirds of their income comes from farming or fishing.

“If they don’t want to do that, if they want to file like everybody else on April 15, then they need to make estimated payments,” said Devine. “They should have made that first payment on January 15 to avoid a penalty.”

This is not a change in the tax law. This has been around for a very long time. If farmers, fishermen or anyone else needs to pay the IRS, it’s easy to do that online.

“The best one, and I have used it myself, is the IRS Direct Pay,” said Devine. “It’s secure. It’s easy. You can make a quick payment for free, either to pay estimated taxes or to just make a payment for your taxes when you file.”

IRS Direct Pay is available seven days a week and can be scheduled up to 30 days in advance.