IRS Extends Filing Deadline to April 18

This year, taxpayers will have until Monday, April 18, 2011 to file their 2010 tax returns and pay any taxes due. The IRS extended the usual April 15 by three days because Emancipation Day, a holiday observed by the District of Columbia, falls on Friday, April 15 this year. Taxpayers who file for extensions will have until October 17, 2011 to file their 2010 tax returns.

In addition, because of the year-end tax changes signed into law in December 2010, some people will have to wait until mid- or late February before they file their returns. The IRS needs to make changes to its systems before it can process certain types of returns. Taxpayers who can't file their returns until the IRS changes its systems include:

• taxpayers who claim itemized deductions on Form 1040 Schedule A
• taxpayers who claim higher education deductions on Form 8917, and
• teachers who claim a $250 deduction for classroom expenses.