Medicare Cost Report Deadlines & Extensions
By costreporting.aiPublished
The Medicare cost report deadline is five months after the end of the provider's cost reporting period — set by regulation, not by an annual CMS announcement (42 CFR § 413.24(f)(2)). The exact date is the last day of the fifth month following fiscal-year end.
Computing your exact date
Take the fiscal-year-end month, add five months, and use the last day of that month. A calendar-year filer (period ending December 31) is due May 31. A federal-fiscal-year filer (period ending September 30) is due February 28 (or 29 in a leap year — the last day of the fifth month). costreporting.ai derives this from your fiscal-year-end at onboarding so the filing-due date is never hand-computed.
Common questions
When is the Medicare cost report due?
Five months after the end of the provider's cost reporting period (42 CFR § 413.24(f)(2)). A December 31 fiscal-year-end makes the report due May 31; a June 30 year-end makes it due November 30. The date is the last day of the fifth month, not a fixed calendar date.
Is there a Medicare cost report extension?
Only narrowly. The MAC may grant an extension for good cause due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the provider's control (e.g., a natural disaster) under 42 CFR § 413.24(f)(2)(ii). Routine workload or staffing is not good cause; an extension is the exception, not a planning tool.
What happens if the cost report is filed late?
Medicare may suspend interim payments until an acceptable cost report is filed. The report can also be rejected as unacceptable if incomplete or non-reconciling, which does not stop the clock — so a late, rejected filing compounds the exposure.
Does the deadline change year to year?
The rule (five months after period end) is stable; the calendar date moves only with the provider's fiscal year. There is no separate annual CMS deadline announcement to track — compute it from your own fiscal-year-end.