Relax Before Tax

Have your parents seemed grumpy the past few days? It might be because their federal and state taxes were due by midnight on Monday! Normally, taxes and tax forms must be sent in by midnight on April 15, unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. (Taxes are a percent of the money that people earn at the their jobs. The government uses this money to pay for many services, such as the military, health care, education, national parks, and so on.)

April 15 was a Friday this year. So why weren't taxes due then? Because it was Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C. (This holiday celebrates the day President Abraham Lincoln signed the act which ended slavery in Washington, D.C.)

So taxes were due by midnight on Monday, April 18, this year, instead of by midnight on Friday, April 15. How many extra minutes did people have to turn in their taxes and tax forms this year?

Comments

[classroom magazines]

People had 4,320 extra minutes to turn in their taxes and tax forms.