Tax Day

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Tax Day is the common term for the day on which tax returns (statements about income taxes) are due to the U.S. Federal Government and to the U.S. states from U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and certain nonresident aliens. More specifically, this is the last day on which tax returns can be mailed (as postmarked) to avoid penalties, with some exceptions. In the United States, Tax Day has usually been April 15 since 1955.

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[edit] Outline and History

The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave the United States Congress the legal authority to tax individuals' income in 1913. The filing deadline was March 1 in 1913 and was changed to March 15 in 1918 and again to April 15 in 1955.[citation needed] Today, the filing deadline remains April 15, but, in the event that it falls on a weekend or national holiday, it moves to the next business day.

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 occurs the tax deadline is extended by a day for the residents of Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. This is because the IRS processing center for these areas is located in Andover, Massachusetts.[1]

In 2007, Tax Day was on Tuesday, April 17, 2007 because April 15 fell on a Sunday and Monday, April 16 was Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. A storm and flooding affected the Northeast that year and certain states were granted additional time to file. In some cases, the deadline was extended to as late as June 25.[2] [3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Patriot's Day 2007 Gives Some Taxpayers Extra Tax Time, IR-2006-170. Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury (2006-11-08). Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
  2. ^ IRS Gives April 16 Storm Victims Additional 48 Hours to File Income Tax Returns. Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury (2007-16-04). Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  3. ^ IRS Grants Tax Relief for Certain Northeast Storm, Flooding Victims; Taxpayers Have Until June 25 to File Returns. Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

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