April 15 is a day that many Americans dread, as it represents the traditional deadline day for individuals to file their state and federal income tax returns.
That isn’t always the case, however, and it isn’t this year either.
While most Americans will have filed their taxes prior to April 15 anyway, that isn’t the deadline for filing this year. Instead, the vast majority of Americans will have to file their taxes by Monday, April 18.
So why is Tax Day moved up this year?
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The answer has to do with a holiday observed in Washington, D.C. Emancipation Day, a holiday celebrating the freeing of slaves in the nation’s capital, is celebrated either on April 16, or in years when that date falls on a weekend, it is marked on the weekday closest to that date.
Federal employees are given the day off, including at the Internal Revenue Service.
This year, April 16 falls on a Saturday, meaning that the nearest weekday is on the 15th of the month. As a result, the deadline for tax filing is pushed forward to April 18.
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In 2023, the tax deadline day will once again move forward, as both April 15 and 16 will fall on a weekend. Employees in Washington, D.C. will have the day off on April 17, and therefore deadline day will once again fall on April 18.
According to the federal government, there are residents of two different states who will actually get until April 19 to file their taxes. Those residents would normally have to file on the 18th, but since that is the day that Patriots’ Day is observed in both states, their deadline will push forward to the 19th instead.
The next time that the tax deadline will fall on April 15 is in 2024, when the date will fall on a Monday. As a result, Emancipation Day will be celebrated on its usual date of April 16.
