April 15 Comes on April 18 This Year

Taxpayers nationwide will get a few days' grace this year to file their returns thanks to a little-known holiday in the nation's capital. And the head of the IRS promises 1,000 more customer services representatives will be available to ease waiting times on information lines. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Thursday that taxpayers will have until Monday, April 18 to file their returns. That's because Friday, April 15, is Emancipation Day, a public holiday in Washington DC. Taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts will have an additional day because of Patriot's Day.

Koskinen said $290 million approved by Congress last month to improve taxpayer services will ease some—but by no means all—of the problems with hang-ups when calling IRS information lines. Last year, fewer than half of all calls were connected to a staff person. Information is also available online. "Using our website, IRS.gov, remains the best and quickest way for people to get information," Koskinen said. Filing season opens Jan. 19. (More Tax Day stories.)