Federal tax returns due April 18
The federal tax deadline has been extended to April 18 this year from the usual April 15. The flag is shown in a reflection on a window. (2010) Credit: AP
WASHINGTON -- Taxpayers will get an extra three days to file their federal tax returns this year, and they can thank the nation's capital for the extra time.
The filing deadline is extended because the District of Columbia will observe Emancipation Day on Friday, April 15. By law, local holidays in the nation's capital affect tax deadlines in the same way federal holidays would, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.
Taxpayers will have until midnight Monday, April 18, to file their 2010 returns. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Oct. 17 to file their returns.
Emancipation Day marks the occasion when President Abraham Lincoln signed into law a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia. Lincoln signed the bill on April 16, 1862, more than eight months before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which eventually led to all slaves being freed.
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