Federal tax deadline is April 18 this year

WASHINGTON - Taxpayers get an extra three days to file their federal tax returns this year, and they can thank Abraham Lincoln and the nation's capital for the extra time.

The filing deadline is delayed until midnight Monday because the District of Columbia will observe Emancipation Day on Friday. By law, local holidays in the nation's capital affect tax deadlines the same way federal holidays would. States generally follow the federal deadline.

Emancipation Day marks the occasion when President 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 falls on Saturday this year, so the holiday is being observed April 15, the traditional tax filing deadline.