Bet you didn’t know that a holiday only celebrated back east will result in you having an additional three days to file your federal income tax return.

Emancipation Day (celebrating Lincoln signing the Compensated Emancipation Act freeing over 3,000 slaves in the District of Columbia on April 16, 1862) is a holiday in DC, which makes it an IRS holiday as well.  Normally this doesn’t affect income tax filing, except when April 16 falls on a Saturday.  Then the Friday before (April 15) is the holiday, meaning taxes are not due until the following Monday on April 18, giving you three more days to put off filing your taxes.

Wait, there’s more.  If you live in Massachusetts or Maine you have a state holiday called Patriot’s Day on the third Monday in April celebrating the first series of battles against the British at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.  If the third Monday in April is tax day then it is extended one more day, so people living in Massachusetts and Maine have until April 19 this year to file their taxes.

 I hope you enjoyed your little history lesson on trying to figure out when you have to file your taxes.  And you thought the preparation was bad.

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