If you’re rushing around trying to get your return filed today, relax. You have a few more days to get your tax return to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2017: Tax Day will be Tuesday, April 18, 2017, instead of April 15, 2017.
Traditionally, Tax Day is April 15 unless that date falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, in which case the due date for federal income tax returns gets pushed ahead to the next business day. In some years, the District of Columbia observes Emancipation Day on the same day as Tax Day, which affects the nation’s tax filing deadline – so the deadline gets moved.
In 2017, Tax Day falls on a Saturday. That means that Tax Day should get pushed ahead to Monday, April 17, 2017 – but it doesn’t. Emancipation Day falls on Monday, April 17, (as does Patriots Day, which can push deadlines out in some states) this year. Since that’s a legal holiday in the District of Columbia, the tax filing deadline will be pushed ahead for all individual taxpayers to Tuesday, April 18, 2017.
Good news, right?
Still don’t think you’ll be ready on time? Just file for an extension. It’s always better to file a complete, correct return on extension than a rushed, flawed return by April 18. Plus, you don’t need to tell anyone why you’re filing for extension – even the IRS – since the extension is granted automatically if you follow the rules. It doesn’t increase your chances of audit and there’s no penalty so long as you pay what you owe before April 18. Remember, an extension is an extension of the time to file, not the time to pay.
