1.    Returns must be in such form as the tax commissioner from time to time may prescribe and may include the requirement that a copy of the taxpayer’s federal income tax return or a portion thereof or information reflected thereon be attached to, furnished with, or included in the taxpayer’s state income tax return. The taxpayer’s state income tax return must contain a method for the taxpayer to identify the school district in which the taxpayer resides and must be filed with the tax commissioner’s office in Bismarck, North Dakota. The tax commissioner shall prepare blank forms for use in making returns and shall cause them to be distributed throughout this state, but failure to receive or secure a form does not relieve a taxpayer from making a return.

2.    Returns made on the basis of the calendar year must be filed on or before the fifteenth day of April following the close of the calendar year and returns made on the basis of a fiscal year must be filed on or before the fifteenth day of the fourth month following the close of the fiscal year. A return filed for a period of less than one year must be filed on or before April fifteenth, or on or before the date prescribed by the United States internal revenue service, whichever is later.

3.    Returns for cooperatives, domestic international sales corporations, and foreign sales corporations, however, made on the basis of the calendar year must be filed on or before the fifteenth day of September following the close of the calendar year and returns made on the basis of a fiscal year must be filed on or before the fifteenth day of the ninth month following the close of the fiscal year.

4.    Returns for exempt organizations required to report unrelated business taxable income under subsection 2 of section 57-38-09 made on the basis of the calendar year must be filed on or before the fifteenth day of May following the close of the calendar year and returns made on the basis of a fiscal year must be filed on or before the fifteenth day of the fifth month following the close of the fiscal year.

5.    A taxpayer actively serving in the armed forces or merchant marine, outside the boundaries of the United States, may defer the filing of an income tax return and the payment of the income tax until such time as the federal income tax return is required to be filed at which time the state income tax return, with payment of tax, will also be due. No interest or penalty accrues to the date of such filing.

6.    The tax commissioner may grant a reasonable extension of time for filing a return when, in the judgment of the tax commissioner, good cause exists.

7.    For a person that was subject to the tax under chapter 57-35.3 for the calendar year ending December 31, 2012, payment of the tax under this chapter is due six months after the due date of the return as required under this section. The provisions of subdivision a of subsection 1 of section 57-38-45 do not apply to the tax due under this subsection. This subsection applies to the first tax year beginning after December 31, 2012.

8.    A person that previously reported under chapter 57-35.3 on a calendar year basis and files its federal income tax return on a fiscal year basis must file a short period return for the period beginning January 1, 2013, and ending on the last day of the tax year in calendar year 2013.