The mystical date of April 15th has become so synonymous with “Tax Day” in this country that they are interchangable.  I have been seeing all kinds of people, including tax scholars and pros, say that 2005 tax returns are due on April 15 this year.  That is not true.

Ever since I have been in this business, IRS has had a policy of automatically extending tax filing deadlines if the statutory one falls on a weekend or a holiday.  Since April 15, 2006 is a Saturday, the normal deadline to file either the 1040 or the extension (4868) is on Monday, April 17. 

For some states in the eastern part of the country, they celebrate Patriots’ Day on the third Monday of April, which just happens to be April 17 this year.  This moves their tax deadline to Tuesday, April 18.  The affected states are: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.

This may seem like a minor technicality to some people. However, any tax pro can relate to the experience of having hundreds of clients panicking at not having their 1040 or 4868 done by April 15, when there are actually two or three more days until the actual deadline.  That extra breathing room is extremely valuable in the pressure cooker world of tax preparation.  

Also, one more reminder that the Form 4868 extension that you file by April 17 is for six months, moving the 2005 1040 deadline to October 16, 2006 because October 15 is a Sunday.  Even though we are including an explicit statement of this fact on the 4868s we are preparing, I’m sure we will be receiving a ton of panicky calls from clients around August 15 assuming that is the deadline.  Old habits do die hard. 

- posted by Kerry M. Kerstetter, MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA @ 3/20/2006 11:08:00 AM Send this post: