Photo: Tama2u (Shutterstock)
According to a recent survey from Empower, only 44% of Americans know when the deadline is for filing your 2022 taxes, so let me set the record straight: Tax day is April 18 this year—if you’re a procrastinator, 2023 is granting you a three-day reprieve.
The drop-dead date is April 18 instead of the usual April 15 because the 15th falls on a Saturday, and that Monday is Emancipation Day—a holiday celebrated in Washington DC to commemorate the end of slavery in the district. You have three extra days to contribute to your IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, Health Savings Account (HSA), and 401(k) for the 2022 tax year too, and April 18 is also the deadline for filing any extensions for your 2022 taxes.
Disaster extensions for 2022 federal income tax filing
If you live in an area that’s been hit hard by natural disasters, you may have even longer to file your federal taxes. Taxpayers in most of California and parts of Alabama and Georgia have until Oct. 16, 2023 to file their 2022 taxes. This covers individual income tax returns, various business returns that are normally due on March 15 and April 18, and returns of tax-exempt organizations, normally due on May 15. The extended filing deadlines also mean eligible taxpayers will also have until Oct. 16 to make 2022 contributions to their IRAs and health savings accounts.
If you aren’t sure whether you’re in a disaster area—it doesn’t cover entire states, just parts of them—check out the IRS’s Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page to look it up, or call 866-562-5227 between 7am and 10pm in your local time zone.
You don’t need to file any kind of paperwork if you reside in an affected area. The IRS has already identified you and the postponement will be applied automatically.
What to do if you can’t file your taxes on time
If you still can’t make the deadline for filing your taxes for whatever reason, you can file an IRS Form 4868 to extend the due date and save yourself the cost of late-filing penalties. But keep in mind, your taxes are still due on April 18, so the IRS expects you to pony up at least 80% of your estimated tax bill by that date.
If you’d like more details on the ins-and-outs of filing federal income tax extensions, check out this excellent Lifehacker article.
