Politics & Government

Why Rush? State Taxes Due April 19, Feds April 18

Obscure D.C. holiday and Patriots Day gives Medfield taxpayers a few extra days to prepare taxes.

Medfield tax procrastinators, rejoice.

While you were preparing for a hurried next day-and-a-half locating W-2 forms and going through shoeboxes filled with last year's receipts and then a rush to the post office to make the April 15  federal and state income tax deadline, relax. You actually will have until Monday, April 18 to post or send in via the Internet your federal taxes and April 19 for your state form.

No, this is not a late April Fool's prank. In fact, you can thank an obscure holiday celebrated in Washington D.C. for these extra days of grace from filing our taxes.

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According to both IRS and Massachusetts Department of Revenue websites, in 2011, Emancipation Day, a holiday recognized in the District, will fall on Saturday, and will therefore be observed on the previous day, Friday April 15. 

Under Internal Revenue Code § 2503, holidays in the District of Columbia are legal holidays for purposes of determining due dates for taxes. Consequently, federal returns otherwise due on April 15 will be treated as timely filed if they are filed on April 18.

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In Massachusetts, state filings that would normally be due on April 15, under G.L. c. 62C, § 6(c) will be due on April 19 since Monday, April 18, is Patriot’s Day, a legal holiday in the Commonwealth. 

Massachusetts returns and payments normally due on April 15 will be treated as timely filed if they are filed on or before April 19.


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