Tax Day 2024 – Let’s Celebrate with Some History!

Perhaps the most anticipated day of the year for accountants, including holidays, has finally arrived. Congratulations, it’s Tax Day! You can finally take a breath, relax those tired shoulders, and start to remember what it’s like to have days where you do more than eat, sleep, and prepare tax returns. As you’re wrapping up and putting the finishing touches on those final returns you’re not extending, here are some fun facts about Tax Day to help celebrate this momentous day of the year.

Tax Day Is Finally April 15 This Year

While the general public thinks of Tax Day being April 15, accountants know that the filing due date varies from year to year. In fact, it has been five years since Tax Day fell on April 15, way back in 2019 for the 2018 tax return filing season. Since then, 2020 and 2021 had a July 15 and May 17 deadline, respectively, resulting from accommodations for the pandemic.  2022 and 2023 both had April 18 deadlines attributed to the observance of Emancipation Day.

History Of Tax Day

Tax Day for the federal income tax in the United States first fell on March 1, 1913. Just five years later in 1918, the deadline was changed to March 15. It wasn’t until 1955 when April 15 became Tax Day, and it remains as such to this day barring conflicts with weekends, holidays, or, as we observed in 2020 and 2021, extenuating circumstances. 

Other Events That Happened on April 15

While April 15 Tax Days mark the end of long tax seasons for practitioners, other events happened on those days too. Here are some of interest:

• 4/15/1892 – The General Electric Company (GE) is formed
• 4/15/1912 – The RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic Ocean
• 4/15/1923 – Insulin, a medication used to help diabetics manage their blood sugar, is made generally available
• 4/15/1955 – Ray Kroc opens his first franchised McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois
• 4/15/2016 – Disney releases a live-action remake of its 1967 animated classic, The Jungle Book

You’ve made it through the 2024 tax filing season. Take some days off, visit with friends and family, and enjoy some much needed and well-deserved rest. Happy Tax Day!

By Chris Korban, CPA
Tax Materials Specialist, U of I Tax School

Sources

DC Emancipation Day (DC.gov)

Tax Day 2024 in the United States (timeanddate.com)

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