When are 2011 Taxes Due? Hint: It’s Not April 15, 2012
Believe it or not, it’s already time to start thinking about filing your 2011 income tax return. In the coming weeks, you should be receiving your W-2 form(s), a variety of 1099 forms, etc. And if you pay estimated taxes, your 4th quarter payment is due next week (on January 17th).
So… With that in mind, I thought I’d post a quick reminder as to when your 2011 federal income tax return is due. As you’re likely aware, the filing deadline is April 15th of each year. But when the deadline falls on a weekend, it’s pushed to the following Monday. And when the deadline falls on a federal holiday, it’s pushed to the next business.
This year, like last year, is a bit different. This time around, April 15th falls on a Sunday, and Monday is not a federal holiday. And yet, your taxes are due on Tuesday, April 17th. Why?
The funny date is due to a April 16th being Emancipation Day, which is a holiday in Washington, D.C. Emancipation Day marks the anniversary of the signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act by President Lincoln in 1862, which freed the slaves in the District of Columbia.
Emancipation Day has been an official public holiday in D.C. since 2005, and it’s been responsible for shifting the 2006 and 2010 tax filing deadlines (in 2007 and 2011, respectively).
Oh, and don’t forget that you technically get one more day than you might otherwise think this year — 2012 is a Leap Year, which means that February has an extra day. In other words, you have no excuse for missing the deadline this time around. 
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Modified on January 13th, 2012 - 4 Comments
Filed under: Taxes
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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January 9th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Good to know, thank you…do you know why we don’t celebrate emancipation day so officially in the rest of the US.
January 9th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Presumably because it’s a DC-specific thing. That’s the date when slaves were freed in DC, not nationally.
January 11th, 2012 at 12:16 am
“Emancipation,” eh? If only. Oh well. A couple days’ reprieve is good.
BTW, you’ve been pinged: http://bit.ly/yhJE31
April 9th, 2012 at 1:37 am
“And when the deadline falls on a federal holiday, it’s pushed to the next business.”
You mean pushed to the next business DAY??
Why am I the only one to notice this? Why does no one proofread anymore???