In case you didn’t know I thought I would let you know. If you are like me and you wait until the last minute then you might really appreciate having the extra day. I am talking about when the taxes are due this year (2017). The tax due date, April 15th, falls on a Saturday this year, so that would automatically make the due date Monday, April 17, 2017. But this year, there is a holiday to thank for the extra day. A holiday, what holiday you might ask? Well, I did, too. I initially saw the tax date on my tax forms (What? Oh, when I said I wait until the last minute I meant I wait until the last minute to prepare my paperwork to take to my tax person with whom I have a standing appointment. So SHE keeps me from being last minute to the government.) So the paperwork that I was having to deal with said that taxes were due on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. I didn’t understand why, I know the if-the-15th-falls-on-a-Saturday-or-Sunday-roll-to-Monday-rule, but the 15th is on a Saturday so I didn’t understand why there was an extra day to file. Well, it is Sunday that is a Holiday. So, that means, MONDAY is the “observed” holiday. With this holiday the closest business day is the “observed” holiday. So when it falls on a Sunday, it is observed on a Monday.
Holiday? What holiday do you say? It is DC Emancipation Day. The day Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District on April 16, 1862. It would be another nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation was signed freeing slaves in the confederate states. So this holiday, which was signed into law as a holiday in 2005, is a city holiday and not a federal holiday, so only the local government in Washington DC is closed.
According to an article on WhiteHouseHistory.org, the celebrations for this holiday have come and gone and come back again. And according to all the information I have found* on the internet, the celebrations and parade for this holiday took place on Saturday, April 8th. Some saying due to Easter also falling on Sunday, April 16, 2017.
I love how we move things around to make it work. That is what my mom used to do. We celebrated Christmas when we could all get together. We celebrated our birthdays when we could all get together. It didn’t really matter the day, it was more about the celebration.
Anyway . . . there is just a little information as to why tax day in the U.S. is being delayed a few days. But, really, you know if feels so good when they are done. So get them done. By now it is only a few days early, but it will still feel GREAT! Good luck!
Terre Pruitt's Blog 