Tax-filing deadline extended

Taxpayers will get an extra weekend to wrestle with their tax return this year.

The tax-filing deadline is Monday, April 18, thanks to the Emancipation Day holiday celebrated on April 15 in the District of Columbia, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.

Holidays celebrated in Washington have the same effect as federal holidays on the tax-filing deadline, according to the IRS.

While some taxpayers like filing in January so they can get their refund as soon as possible, some of them will have to wait this year thanks to the late-breaking tax law Congress passed on Dec. 17.

Anyone who itemizes their deductions on Schedule A will have to wait until mid- to late February to file, because the IRS must reprogram its processing systems to account for the extension of key provisions, the tax agency said.

For taxpayers who are not affected by the delays, the IRS said it will start accepting e-filed and Free File returns on Jan. 14.