When tax return or tax payment deadlines fall on a recognized holiday, the due date is pushed back to the next business day. This often happens with the Martin Luther King holiday, which falls near the January 15th due date for remitting fourth quarter estimated tax payments by individuals.
A lesser known holiday is Emancipation Day, which celebrates President Lincoln’s signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862.. The holiday, which recognizes the freeing of 3,000 slaves in the District of Columbia (preceding the Emancipation Proclamation by nine months), was recognized from 1866 to 1901, but forgotten until it was rediscovered in 2005.
Emancipation Day is a public holiday celebrated in the District of Columbia every April 16. In 2016, April 16 falls on a Saturday. When Emancipation Day falls on a Saturday, it is observed on the preceding day. Thus Emancipation Day will be observed on Friday, April 15, 2016. A section of the Internal Revenue Code provides that when a due date falls on a legal holiday observed in the District of Columbia, that due date is pushed forward to the next business day.
Accordingly, the due date for any tax filings normally due April 15, 2016 will be pushed back to Monday, April 18, 2016. This includes personal income tax returns (Form 1040), fiduciary income tax returns (Form 1041) and partnership income tax returns (Form 1065) filed for calendar year 2015. It also includes extension requests for these filers and first quarter 2016 estimated tax payments. Fiscal year taxpayers also obtain 3 additional days for any April 15, 2016 filing deadline.
Another holiday that impacts some filers is Patriots’ Day, observed in both Massachusetts and Maine, on Monday, April 18, 2016. Patriots’ Day is a civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. The Boston Marathon takes place each year on Patriots’ Day. Residents of these two states get an additional day for 2015 income tax filings to Tuesday, April 19, 2016.
Most states follow the same deadlines as the IRS regarding income tax filings. Many state taxing authorities have formally announced that they too will be pushing back their April 15, 2016 deadlines to Monday, April 18, 2016 due to the Emancipation Day holiday. To have a situation where state income tax filings are due earlier than Federal income tax filings would lead to widespread confusion, if not chaos.
Neil Becourtney, CPA
CohnReznick LLP
