D.C. holiday pushes IRS tax deadline to Monday

The tax deadline for American taxpayers this year is Monday, three days later than usual. This is the third straight year that the deadline has not been April 15. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

April 15 (UPI) — If you haven’t filed your taxes yet and panicked Friday at the sight of April 15 on the calendar, you can breathe easy — the tax deadline this year isn’t until next week.

The Internal Revenue Service moved Tax Day, which is almost always April 15 each year, again for 2022 for the third straight year. The deadline in 2020 and 2021 were both extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s push-back had nothing to do with COVID-19, and everything to do with a local holiday in the IRS’ hometown, Washington, D.C.

Federal offices in D.C. are closed on Friday for Emancipation Day, a local holiday since 2005. Emancipation Day, which celebrates the end of slavery in the district, officially falls on Saturday but the city holiday is Friday.

“By law, Washington, D.C., holidays impact tax deadlines for everyone in the same way federal holidays do,” the IRS said in a statement earlier this year.

“The due date is April 18, instead of April 15, because of the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia for everyone except taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts.”

The federal government said this week that it’s collected $2.1 trillion in taxes between last October and the end of March. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

For Maine and Massachusetts residents, the extension is even longer. They have until Tuesday, April 19, to file their returns for 2021. The reason is because both states will formally observe “Patriots Day” on Monday.

For Americans who still need more time to get their taxes in order, they can file for an automatic extension that pushes the deadline to Oct. 17. Taxpayers who go for the extension, however, still must pay any anticipated taxes by Monday if they want to avoid a late penalty.

“The IRS reminds people there are important steps they can take to help ensure their tax return and refund don’t face processing delays,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement in January.

“Filing electronically with direct deposit and avoiding a paper tax return is more important than ever this year. And we urge extra attention to those who received an Economic Impact Payment or an advance Child Tax Credit last year. People should make sure they report the correct amount on their tax return to avoid delays.”

Officials also remind taxpayers to pay attention to the deadline to file their state tax return, which can be different than the federal date. Most correspond with the federal deadline — but some, including Iowa, Virginia and Delaware, are different.

The U.S. Treasury said this week that it’s so far collected about $2.1 trillion in taxes. It’s the first time that the government has collected more than $2 trillion over a period of six months, from last October to the end of March.

In 2020, the tax deadline was pushed back to July 15 and last year it was delayed until May 17.

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