Tax deadline, again, collides with holiday

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WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- The countdown to the deadline for U.S. tax returns has been extended this year, due to a collision with a holiday.

Tax day is normally April 15. This year, however, that falls on a Sunday and Monday is a holiday in the nation's capital, CNNMoney reported Saturday.

April 16 is Emancipation Day, the day slaves were freed with a law that only applied to Washington, D.C.

This may sound familiar. In 2011, the tax deadline was April 18, as April 16 fell on a Saturday, so Emancipation Day was celebrated on Friday the 15th. That bumped the deadline past the weekend to Monday the 18th.

The deadline for filing taxes applies to everyone, but there is no penalty for filing late for taxpayers who don't owe the IRS.

Taxpayers who do owe the IRS are charged a 5 percent late filing fee for every month past the deadline to a maximum of 25 percent, CNNMoney reported.