Thank D.C. Holiday Calendar for Extended Tax Filing Deadline

WASHINGTON -- Taxpayers got an extra three days to file their federal tax returns this year. They can thank the nation's capital for the extra time.

The filing deadline was delayed until midnight Monday because the District of Columbia observed Emancipation Day last Friday. By law, local holidays in the nation's capital impact tax deadlines the same way federal holidays would. States generally follow the federal deadline.

Emancipation Day marks the occasion when President Abraham Lincoln signed a law ending slavery in the District of Columbia. Lincoln signed it April 16, 1862, more than eight months before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which eventually led to all slaves being freed.

April 16 fell on Saturday this year, so the holiday was observed April 15, the traditional tax filing deadline.