For most states, quarterly sales tax returns are due the 20th of the month after each quarter closes. Q1 2026 is due April 20. California and a handful of other states run on a different schedule. Here are the dates, plus a reminder for each.
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The 20th-of-the-month pattern used by the majority of jurisdictions.
None of these dates land on a weekend, so no shifting applies in 2026 for the standard schedule. Confirm with your specific state portal — a few states publish their own calendar and occasionally grant an extension tied to a local holiday.
Not every state uses the 20th. These are the notable exceptions.
Q1 due April 30, 2026. Q2 due July 31, 2026. Q3 due November 2, 2026 (extended from October 31, a Saturday). Q4 due February 1, 2027 (extended from January 31, a Sunday).
Quarterly sales tax runs on non-calendar quarters: March–May (due June 20), June–August (due September 20), September–November (due December 20), December–February (due March 20).
Quarterly filers use the 20th pattern — April 20, July 20, October 20, January 20, 2027. Electronic filers sometimes get an extra day; consult the Florida DOR calendar to confirm.
Quarterly returns due the 20th of the month after quarter-end. Same pattern as Florida: April 20, July 20, October 20, and January 20, 2027.
Returns are due the 15th of the month after each quarter ends — five days earlier than most states. Q1 due April 15, 2026.
Due the 30th of the month following the quarter. Q1 due April 30, 2026 — coincides with California's deadline, a week after the 20th-of-month pattern.
Filing in multiple states? You're tracking more than one schedule at once. Our guide to remembering sales tax deadlines covers which systems scale across states and which quietly fail by quarter three.
The general rule is that the deadline moves to the next business day. For 2026, the standard 20th-of-month schedule avoids weekends entirely, but California's month-end schedule hits two: October 31, 2026 (Saturday) extends to November 2, 2026, and January 31, 2027 (Sunday) extends to February 1, 2027.
Don't assume — check. State portals sometimes fail to publish the extension clearly, and filing on the original weekend date is always safe. Filing two days early is safer still, since the penalty for filing one day late is identical to filing thirty days late in most states (a flat minimum applies either way). See the full sales tax penalty breakdown for the numbers.
Set one reminder per quarter, not a single annual one. Quarterly deadlines are independent events, each with their own data pull and reconciliation. A single "file taxes" reminder loses its urgency fast.
Step 1: Pick the quarter you're setting up — usually the next one coming.
Step 2: Set the reminder for five to seven business days before the deadline, not on it.
Step 3: Add a note in the reminder body with the state and the sales period covered.
Step 4: Repeat for each state you file in — each reminder runs independently.
Step 5: After filing, mark the reminder done. No follow-ups until next quarter.
The sales tax filing pillar has the full case for why a reminder that follows up beats a one-shot calendar alert, especially for businesses with zero returns to file.
For most states, Q1 2026 quarterly sales tax (January–March) is due April 20, 2026. California quarterly filers have until April 30, 2026. New York quarterly filers on the sales tax cycle file Q1 (March–May) by June 20, 2026.
Q2 (April–June) is due July 20, 2026 in most states. Q3 (July–September) is due October 20, 2026. Q4 (October–December) is due January 20, 2027. California quarterly due dates run a week later — the last day of the month following each quarter.
The deadline moves to the next business day. October 31, 2026 falls on a Saturday, so California quarterly filers get until November 2, 2026. Check your state portal for the confirmed extended date, since not all states publish this automatically.
Yes. The 20th of the month after quarter-end is the most common pattern, but California uses month-end, Maryland uses the 20th, Maine uses the 15th for some filers, and Massachusetts uses the 30th. New York uses a non-calendar quarter (March–May, June–August, etc.) that throws off anyone cross-referencing a federal calendar.
In almost all states, yes — you can file anytime after the quarter closes. Many businesses file within a few days of quarter-end to get ahead of portal slowdowns near the deadline. There is no penalty for filing early, only for filing late.
File as soon as possible. The penalty clock starts the day after the deadline, so each additional month adds cost. Most states charge a late filing penalty (5%–10% of tax due) plus a late payment penalty plus interest. A minimum penalty often applies even if no tax was owed.
Free. No account. Takes 30 seconds. You'll get an email a week before April 20, and follow-ups until you mark the return filed.
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