WASHINGTON—Millions of taxpayers face a midnight deadline Monday to file their tax returns, while millions of others will ask for more time—a six-month extension. There was a three-day delay beyond the traditional April 15 deadline Friday was a legal holiday in the District of Columbia.
Some things to know about taxes:
Thank You, Emancipation Day
The traditional April 15 filing deadline was extended because of Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the nation’s capital. The holiday commemorates President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862. The act freed more than 3,000 enslaved people in the district and compensated their owners.
The Friday holiday moves the tax deadline to the next business day. In Massachusetts and Maine, taxpayers get one more day to file. The deadline there is Tuesday because Monday is a legal holiday, Patriots’ Day, in both states. The holiday commemorates the first battles of the Revolutionary War in 1775.
When the federal deadline is moved back, state and local deadlines also move back to match it.
