The deadline to file your taxes is usually April 15, but taxpayers will have a few extra days to do so this year.
This year’s deadline for taxpayers to file tax returns or extensions has been moved to Tuesday, April 18, due to Emancipation Day, which falls on the weekday closest to April 16. Last year saw the same change as the holiday, which is observed in the District of Columbia, fell again on the usual filing deadline.
Despite Emancipation Day not being a federal holiday, the IRS noted in a press release, “By law, Washington, D.C., holidays impact tax deadlines for everyone in the same way federal holidays do.”
Emancipation Day is a holiday celebrating the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. This year will mark the 160th anniversary of the Emancipation Act of 1862, commemorating the day African Americans were declared free.
Taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts will have an additional day, until April 19, to file. The celebration of Patriots’ Day, a holiday observed in some states to commemorate the early battles of the Revolutionary War, falls on April 17.
The IRS will begin accepting and processing returns on January 23, 2023. Most taxpayers who are eligible for a refund will receive it within 21 days of filing electronically with direct deposit.
To make sure there are no errors with your return, the IRS is urging people to file electronically. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until October 16 to file.
In preparation for the 2023 tax season, during which the IRS is expecting to receive more than 168 million individual tax return filings, over 5,000 new telephone assistors have been hired and trained to field taxpayer inquiries.
According to Doug O’Donnell, the acting IRS commissioner, “While much work remains after several difficult years, we expect people to experience improvements this tax season. That’s just the start as we work to add new long-term transformation efforts that will make things even smoother in future years.”
However, as The Dallas Express recently reported, the $72 billion funding package allotted for the IRS is under threat of being canceled by a recent bill passed by the House of Representatives.
With this and the historically high level of calls currently received by the IRS in mind, taxpayers might want to use those extra days to ensure their filings are correct to avoid delays this tax season.