Don’t Let February Sneak Up on Your Business: Key Tax Deadlines You Can’t Miss (Federal + Texas)

Kristi Bob
Feb 2
3 min read

February has a funny way of showing up like: “Surprise! You were supposed to file something.” 😅

If you’re a small business owner, February is packed with paperwork deadlines—especially around payroll forms and information returns. Below is a simple, stress-reducing checklist of the most common federal and Texas deadlines that hit during February.

Friendly disclaimer: This post is for general information only and isn’t tax or legal advice. Deadlines can vary based on your situation (entity type, filing frequency, deposit schedule, disaster relief, etc.). When in doubt, confirm your requirements with a qualified tax professional or the official agencies.

Who could care?

This list matters if you:

Have employees (or ran payroll in 2025)
Paid contractors (especially nonemployee compensation)
File/pay federal payroll taxes
File Texas sales tax (monthly/quarterly/yearly depends on what the state assigned you)
Report Texas unemployment tax/wage reports

Federal deadlines in February 2026

Monday, February 2, 2026

(big one)

This date (today) is extra important because January 31, 2026 falls on a Saturday, so several end-of-January items bump into February.

Common February 2 items include:

Provide Form W-2 to employees (for 2025 wages).
Provide certain 1099 statements to recipients (for payments made in 2025, where this is the standard recipient deadline).
File W-2s with the Social Security Administration (typically transmitted with Form W-3).
File Form 1099-NEC with the IRS (nonemployee compensation paid in 2025).
File Form 941 for Q4 2025 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return) if applicable.
File Form 940 for 2025 (FUTA) if applicable.

If you’re thinking “I didn’t run payroll” — great! Then W-2/W-3/941/940 may not apply. But contractor 1099s still might.

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

(possible extension date)

If you deposited certain payroll taxes on time and in full, you may have until February 10 to file some payroll returns (depending on the form and your situation).

Examples of forms that can have this extended filing date in specific situations include:

Form 941 (Q4 2025)
Form 940 (2025 FUTA)
Form 945 (nonpayroll withholding)

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

If an employee previously claimed they were exempt from withholding and didn’t renew that claim for 2026, employers generally begin withholding again.

Texas deadlines in February 2026

Monday, February 2, 2026 — Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)

Texas unemployment tax reporting has its own rhythm. A couple of February items can apply:

Annual Domestic filers: February 2, 2026 is the due date to submit 2025 tax reports.
More broadly, quarterly wage reports and tax payments are due by the last day of the month after the quarter ends (so Q4 items often fall at the end of January—then shift when that date hits a weekend/holiday).

If you’re not sure whether you’re quarterly vs annual for TWC: that’s a great thing to verify once and then automate reminders forever.

Friday, February 20, 2026 — Texas Sales & Use Tax (Comptroller)

For many businesses, the “Texas deadline” that matters most in February is sales tax:

Monthly sales tax filers: reports are generally due on the 20th of the following month (so January sales → due February 20).

The Texas Comptroller also publishes an official due-date schedule (and notes that due dates can be adjusted for weekends/holidays https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/file-pay/due-dates.php).

“Wait—what about Texas franchise tax?”

Texas franchise tax reports are generally due May 15 (not February), but it’s worth putting on your radar early so it doesn’t ambush you later.

My simple “don’t panic” plan for February (with calendar download)

Here’s the clean way to stay ahead:

First business day of February: knock out W-2s / 1099s / payroll returns that apply
Mid-February: confirm any “special” recipient deadlines (like Feb 17 items)
By Feb 20: file Texas sales tax (if you’re monthly)
Put it on autopilot: recurring reminders + a monthly close process = way less stress
Pro Tip - plan a day or two in November/December to update All of 2026 important tax dates.

Download this one page February check list with calendar to help keep you on track...

Want me to track these for you?

If you’d rather not keep a mental spreadsheet of government due dates (no judgment — same), I can help you set up a simple monthly system to keep you compliant and organized.

📅 Book a consult here: https://calendly.com/kb-bs/new-client-meeting

— Kristi (KB Bookkeeping & Business Services)