Tax Filing Deadline 2018: Here’s Why You Have Two Extra Days To File Your Taxes This Year

When is the last day you can file your taxes this year? If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you will be relieved to find out you will get a little extra time to submit your return.

Here’s what you need to know about the tax filing deadline, as well as some information about filing an extension and when to expect your refund.

Normally, April 15 is the deadline for submitting your tax return to the Internal Revenue Service, but the 2018 tax filing season is two days later this year. While it’s great news for procrastinators, the April 17 tax filing deadline will be here before you know it.

If you plan to file a paper return instead of e-filing online, expect to stand in a long line at the post office with other taxpayers who want to make sure their tax return is postmarked before midnight on the 17th of this month.

Why is the IRS extending the deadline by two days this year?

According to the official Internal Revenue Service website, it’s a combination of two factors. The normal tax filing deadline is April 15, but this year, it falls on a Sunday. Normally, the tax day would be moved to the next day, but there’s a legal holiday observed on Monday, April 16 that is pushing the deadline to April 17.

Emancipation Day is only observed in the District of Columbia, but the IRS states that because it is a legal holiday, tax laws state that the filing deadline must move to the following business day — Tuesday, April 17.

Need more time to file?

If you can’t make the April 17 tax return deadline, most taxpayers can file for an extension.

According to CNN Money, you will need to fill out form 4868 to let the IRS know that you will submit your tax return by October 15, 2018. It’s important to note that if you owe money, you must pay your taxes by the April 17 deadline.

The form can be mailed to the IRS, but it’s faster to submit the extension form online using a free online tax filing service listed on the Internal Revenue Service website including TaxAct, Turbo Tax, and Free Tax USA.

Check your refund status

If you expect a refund, the IRS still expects that refunds will go out “in less than 21 days,” with direct deposit the fastest way to get your money.

Taxpayers can check the status of their refund by using the Internal Revenue Service’s Where’s My Refund? ?online tool or the IRS2Go mobile app once the tax return has been accepted.