If you woke up last night in a cold sweat realizing April 15th is fast approaching and you haven’t filed your taxes yet, we have some good news for you. Your tax return isn’t due until next Monday! Why did Uncle Sam cut us Americans some slack this year? You can thank a little known holiday, Emancipation Day, celebrating the abolition of slavery. This year it falls on a Saturday but will be officially observed in Washington, D.C. on Friday, April 15th, closing many federal buildings. As a result, the IRS pushed the income tax deadline to Monday, April 18th.
Haven’t filed yet? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The IRS estimates “20 to 25 percent of all taxpayers file in the final two weeks of the tax season.” The average individual spends upwards of 14 hours on his tax return, so an extra weekend should be plenty of time, right? Check out this clip from Video Answers for tips on how to prepare your tax return this year.
Angry that you had to cough up more cash to the government? Hey, at least America’s tax rate isn’t close to 50 percent like other countries!
Some more helpful answers to prepare you for Tax Day:
- What is the minimum yearly income needed to file taxes?
- What is the minimum income requirement in order to file an income tax return individually and not as a dependent?
- What is the penalty for not filing an income tax form even though you don’t owe any income tax?
- How long is a tax extension?
- And just because we all want to know: How can you legally escape taxes?
