Alert for NC Corporations: Change in Filing Annual Reports
Beginning January 1, 2018, all North Carolina corporations must file their annual reports with the NC Secretary of State, and not with the Department of Revenue. All reports must be filed by April 15 of each year, and the annual report deadline will no longer be extended if the corporation’s tax returns are extended.
Many corporations traditionally had their accountants prepare and file their annual reports along with their state tax returns. Some tax return programs also prepared annual reports to be filed with corporate tax returns. These procedures will need to be changed.
The Business Registration Division of the NC Secretary of State prefers annual reports to be submitted online via their website. Annual reports can also be downloaded from the website and mailed in. Annual reports filed without a scannable bar code (such as generic forms provided by accountants or software programs) may be delayed in appearing on the Secretary of State website. Not being current with your annual reports could affect business transactions such as selling the business or being approved for a loan.
The best practice is therefor to submit the report online or to mail the report downloaded from the Secretary of State's website.
