I heard that the IRS district offices in MA will be closed on 4/17 buying people of many states (all of which funnel into MA for processing) an extra day to file. Is this true? - Jinx 
It is true. April 17th is a holiday in MA (Patriot’s Day) and the 15th is a Saturday so the deadline does get pushed to the 18th for several states.
Remember, the IRS doesn’t really care when you file if they owe you money.
Well, Monday is Patriots Day in MA and most state offices are closed. I don’t think we get mail delivery either.
And Friday, the 14th is Good Friday, which has early closing in some places, including local government offices in my town.
But Saturday, April 15, is a normal day. Post offices are open. That’s supposed to be the deadline for mailing.
As far as I recall, it’s only when the 15th falls on a Sunday or holiday that the IRS gives an extra day.
If you’ll take a gander at Form 1040 Instructions (pdf) you will see that:
(p 12)
Also, on the IRS website (http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=118506,00.html)
So it seems under normal circumstances they give you until Monday if the 15th is a Saturday.
I filed in February and already got my state refund.
And since Patriot’s Day falls on Monday on an average of once every seven years, this is nothing new and has happened many times in the past.
Patriots Day is a Massachusetts holiday. The reason the rest of the states listed in aktep’s post get the extra day is that returns for those states are filed through the Andover, MA center.
But how often does Patriot’s Day, Tax Day, and Easter fall on the same weekend? That’s a lot of holiday.
Patriot’s Day is now always celebrated on a Monday – the third Monday in April. It affects “tax due” day for MA and the other states that file there whenever the 15th is on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday. So it does so on average 3 out of every 7 years.
Weekends, holidays, and other deadline changing factors aside, has there ever been a case where the IRS has assessed fines or penalties for a return being postmarked a day or two late? I think not.
I simply can’t imagine IRS employees taking the time to check postmarks on all the thousands of bags of mail they receive around this time of year.
You are probably correct on that. I am pretty certain I have even read an IRS official admit as such. The IRS doesn’t have time time argue about post office mishaps and things with taxpayers around this time. They simply want the bulk of the payments owed sent around April 15th. They probably have their own secret deadline for when things are really considered late.
And again, they don’t really care when you file if they owe you a refund.
If the amount due is very large, the return gets special processing. So, if you owed $50000 or something, they just might take the trouble of checking that Postmark. Otherwise, you’re pretty safe. The envelope you mail your return in is saved.
In the past, post offices were open 'til midnight on Tax Day, and many of them had postal workers standing at the curb to gather returns. Post Offices around here have announced they won’t be doing that this year. I don’t know if that’s nationwide.
I don’t know about 1040 returns in April, but they will check postmarks on other forms. A few years back my company had to file some miscellaneous form (8752, I think) which is normally due on January 15th. That year the 15th was a Saturday, so the deadline would normally be extended to Monday the 17th. But the 17th happened to be MLK Day, so it was extended to the 18th. The form was mailed and postmarked on the 18th. IRS subsequently claimed that it was late and started sending nastygrams. It took my accountant a year and a half of exchanging letters with them to convince them that (a) it had indeed been filed on time, (b) we had written proof that it had been filed on time, and (c) due to so-and-so circumstances and section XYZ of the tax code, we didn’t actually have to file it at all, we were just doing it for completeness. Ultimately it didn’t cost me anything, but it was a huge hassle.
It’s a good idea to send anything to the IRS via certified mail with return receipt, so you have written proof that it was sent on or before the deadline. This is particularly true if you’re mailing after the 15th because the deadline has been extended.
Why does a federal agency observe a state holiday?