Tax Day Explained

Holiday Name:Tax Day
Type:national
Observedby:United States
Significance:Due date for federal individual income tax returns
Date:
  • April 15 (Monday through Thursday)
  • April 17 (Tuesday; April 15 is Sunday, and Monday is a holiday)
  • April 18 (Monday; April 15 is Friday, and Friday is a holiday)
  • April 18 (Tuesday; April 15 is Saturday, and Monday is a holiday)

In the United States, Tax Day is the day on which individual income tax returns are due to be submitted to the federal government.[1] Since 1955, Tax Day has typically fallen on or just after April 15. Tax Day was first introduced in 1913, when the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified.

The date is delayed if it conflicts with a weekend or public holiday such as Emancipation Day. Natural disasters or public health emergencies, most recently the COVID-19 pandemic, also delay Tax Day when they prevent filing taxes on time. State income agencies often delay their own submission deadlines to remain in common with that of the federal government. The federal government may set a different deadline for certain states, as it did when Patriots' Day conflicted. Many anti-tax protests have been deliberately organized on Tax Day, with the Tea Party protests being one of the most prominent.[2] [3]

History

Federal income tax was briefly introduced with the Revenue Act of 1861 to help fund the Civil War, and subsequently repealed, re-adopted, and held unconstitutional. The early taxes were based on assessments, not voluntary tax returns. Tax payment dates varied by act.[4]

The case of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. challenged the constitutionality of the Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act of 1894, which taxed incomes over $4,000 at the rate of two percent. The case was decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1895. The Supreme Court decided that the Act's unapportioned income taxes on interest, dividends, and rents were effectively direct taxes. The Act was therefore unconstitutional because it violated the Constitution's rule that direct taxes be apportioned among the states.[5] In 1913, eighteen years later, the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. This Amendment gave the United States Congress the legal authority to tax all incomes without regard to the apportionment requirement.[6]

The filing deadline for individuals was March 1 in 1913 (the first year of a federal income tax), and was changed to March 15 in 1918 and again to April 15 in 1955.[7] Today, the deadline remains April 15,[8] unless it conflicts with a weekend or holiday.[9]

Alignment with state and District of Columbia holidays

Emancipation Day is celebrated in Washington, D.C., on April 16 or the nearest weekday. Under the federal Tax Code holidays observed in the District of Columbia have an impact nationwide.[10] If April 15 falls on a Friday then Emancipation Day is observed in Washington, D.C., on April 15 (the nearest weekday to Saturday the 16th) and Tax Day becomes the following Monday, April 18.[11] [12] When April 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday then Emancipation Day is observed on the following Monday and tax returns are instead due on Tuesday.[13]

Tax Day occasionally falls on Patriots' Day, a civic holiday in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and state of Maine, or the preceding weekend. When this occurred for some time, the federal tax deadline was extended by a day for the residents of Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, because the IRS processing center for these areas was located in Andover, Massachusetts, and the unionized IRS employees got the day off.[14] In 2011 and 2015, Tax Day fell on Patriots' Day. However, federal filings were directed to Hartford, Connecticut, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Kansas City, Missouri,[15] and there was no further extension for Maine, Massachusetts, or other surrounding states' residents.[16] [17] [18] In 2019 and 2021, when Patriots Day was again observed on the tax filing deadline, residents of Maine and Massachusetts were given extra time to file as post offices in those states would be closed on normal deadline.[19] [20]

For both Emancipation Day and Patriots' Day, when April 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, tax returns are due the following Tuesday, April 18 or April 17 respectively.[21] [22] This means that when the tax filing deadline is not moved for other political reasons, tax day for any particular year is always on April 15 (years when this day is a Monday through Thursday), Tuesday April 17 (years when April 15 is a Sunday) or Monday or Tuesday April 18 (years when April 15 is either a Friday or Saturday). For residents of Maine and Massachusetts, tax day may fall on April 19 if the 15th was Emancipation Day and the 18th is Patriots Day.[23]

Changes in date

Tax Day may be delayed by natural disasters or public health emergencies. Such reliefs may be granted for the entire country or only for certain regions based on FEMA declarations.[24]

In 2007 a powerful storm and flooding affected the East Coast, and certain states were granted additional time to file. In some cases, the deadline was extended to as late as June 25.[25] [26] In 2023, natural disasters over the winter prompted the IRS to extend California's filing deadline to October 16, and later certain California counties were granted additional relief to November 16.

In 2020, due to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic filing for returns was extended to July 15.[27] [28] The tax deadline was again moved in 2021 due to tax code changes from the COVID-19 relief package from April 15 to May 17, 2021.[29]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Terrell . Ellen . February 2004 . December 2020 . Income Tax Day . Library of Congress . April 12, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230325094015/https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/april/tax-day . March 25, 2023 . live.
  2. Web site: 2009-04-19 . AFP: Anti-Obama 'tea party' protests mark US tax day . https://web.archive.org/web/20090419105652/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iVPKNWGZDbu2Xzq4C14mhJqCdXwQ . dead . 2009-04-19 . 2024-04-18 .
  3. Web site: 2023-05-04 . Fox teas up a tempest - POLITICO . https://web.archive.org/web/20230504131106/https://www.politico.com/story/2009/04/fox-teas-up-a-tempest-021275 . dead . 2023-05-04 . 2024-04-18 .
  4. See, for example, Revenue Act of 1861, section 50, Revenue Act of 1862 section 91.
  5. U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9.
  6. Web site: Common Interpretation: The Sixteenth Amendment. National Constitution Center. April 17, 2018.
  7. News: Why Is Tax Day April 15?. Fortune. April 15, 2002. March 11, 2010 . Jessica . Sung.
  8. Web site: Topic No. 301, When, How, and Where to File . October 20, 2023 . IRS . Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, United States Government . November 14, 2023 . If you're a calendar year filer and your tax year ends on December 31, the due date for filing your federal individual income tax return is generally April 15 of each year..
  9. Web site: Topic No. 301, When, How, and Where to File . October 20, 2023 . IRS . Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, United States Government . November 14, 2023 . If your due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date is moved to the next business day. For the 2022 tax return, the due date is April 18, 2023, because of the Emancipation Day holiday in Washington, D.C..
  10. Web site: 26 U.S. Code § 7503 - Time for performance of acts where last day falls on Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday . 2023-04-15 . LII / Legal Information Institute . en.
  11. Web site: Ellis. Blake. Tax day extended to April 18. . December 29, 2013.
  12. Web site: 2016 Tax Season Opens Jan. 19 for Nation's Taxpayers . U.S. Internal Revenue Service . April 7, 2016 . December 21, 2015. The filing deadline to submit 2015 tax returns is Monday, April 18, 2016, rather than the traditional April 15 date. Washington, D.C., will celebrate Emancipation Day on that Friday, which pushes the deadline to the following Monday for most of the nation..
  13. News: April 15 is always Tax Day, right? Well, not this year. Here's why. Iszler. Madison. News & Observer. April 14, 2017. April 15, 2017.
  14. Web site: Patriot's Day 2007 Gives Some Taxpayers Extra Tax Time, IR-2006-170. Internal Revenue Service. November 8, 2006. March 27, 2013.
  15. Web site: Massachusetts: Where to File Addresses for Individual Taxpayers. Internal Revenue Service. March 27, 2013.
  16. News: Who's paying taxes? Half of us . Why is the deadline today? (sidebar) . Stephen . Ohlemacher . Associated Press . Portland Press Herald . April 18, 2011 . April 18, 2011. No reference to Patriots' Day and deadline pegged at "midnight tonight."
  17. Web site: Tax Day 2011: Tax Deadlines for Tax Year 2010 . . n.d. . Internal Revenue Service . April 18, 2011. No reference to Patriots' Day and deadline pegged at April 18.
  18. Web site: 2015 Publication 509 . Internal Revenue Service . Department of the Treasury . December 12, 2021 . 6 November 2014 . A statewide legal holiday delays a due date for filing a return only if the IRS office where you are required to file is located in that state. A statewide legal holiday does not delay a due date for making a federal tax deposit..
  19. Web site: Here's What the Shutdown Means for Filing Your Taxes . Edelson . Harriet . January 8, 2019 . aarp.org . AARP . March 15, 2019 . For most taxpayers, Monday, April 15, 2019, is the filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in Maine and Massachusetts taxpayers who live in those states have until April 17, 2019, to file their returns, the IRS said..
  20. Web site: Patriots' Day Gives Certain Taxpayers Extra Day to File Return . . February 14, 2002 . accountingweb.com . AccountingWeb . March 15, 2019 . April 15 – known to most citizens as the day tax returns are due – is a state holiday in Maine and Massachusetts. The Patriots' Day holiday celebrates the battles that began our nation's fight for independence. The real Patriots' Day is April 19, but the day is officially celebrated in these two states on the nearest Monday, which this year is April 15...Residents of Massachusetts also file in Andover and are granted the tax holiday. Residents of Maine file in Philadelphia this year, but are granted the holiday because the Maine post offices will be closed on the 15th..
  21. Web site: Internal Revenue Bulletin: 2011-10. December 29, 2013. Internal Revenue Service.
  22. Web site: Roos. Dave. Why do Americans pay taxes on April 15?. December 29, 2013. How Stuff Works.
  23. Web site: 2022 Publication 509 . Internal Revenue Service . Department of the Treasury . December 12, 2021 . October 21, 2021 . Individuals who live in Maine and Massachusetts have until April 19, 2022, to file their 2021 Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR because April 15, 2022, is Emancipation Day and April 18, 2022, is Patriots’ Day..
  24. IR-2023-189: For California storm victims, IRS postpones tax-filing and tax-payment deadline to Nov. 16 . October 16, 2023 . Washington, D.C. . Internal Revenue Service . November 14, 2023.
  25. Web site: IRS Gives Northeast Storms Victims Until April 26 to File Tax Returns . Internal Revenue Service . April 18, 2007 . March 27, 2013 . IR-2007-92 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140416230420/http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Gives-Northeast-Storms-Victims-Until-April-26-to-File-Tax-Returns . April 16, 2014 . dead.
  26. Web site: IRS Grants Tax Relief for Certain Northeast Storm, Flooding Victims; Taxpayers Have Until June 25 to File Returns . April 26, 2007 . Internal Revenue Service . March 27, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150501105926/http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Grants-Tax-Relief-for-Certain-Northeast-Storm,-Flooding-Victims;-Taxpayers-Have-Until-June-25-to-File-Returns . May 1, 2015 . dead.
  27. Web site: Trump administration moves Tax Day to July 15. Politico. March 20, 2020. March 20, 2020. Brian Faler.
  28. Web site: IRS extends more tax deadlines to cover individuals, trusts, estates corporations and others . April 9, 2020 . Internal Revenue Service . April 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200411011917/https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-extends-more-tax-deadlines-to-cover-individuals-trusts-estates-corporations-and-others . 2020-04-11 . live.
  29. Web site: Tax Day for individuals extended to May 17: Treasury, IRS extend filing and payment deadline. IRS. March 17, 2021. March 18, 2021.

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