With each New Year comes an inevitable change to the federal tax code, prompting individuals, businesses, and accounting firms alike to reassess how their returns will be filled and filed. 2015-2016 brings us a host of changes, even an adjustment to the traditional tax deadline of April 15th.
Filing Deadline
Due to Emancipation Day, the official tax-filing deadline has been moved from Friday, April 15th to Monday, April 18th. Emancipation Day is a holiday celebrated by the city of Washington D.C. to commemorate the day in 1862 on which President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, freeing approximately 3,100 slaves in the District. This holiday is typically celebrated on April 16th, which falls on a Saturday, and therefore will be observed on the Friday prior. And because the IRS treats D.C. holidays as federal holidays, Americans have three more days to file their taxes, according to the Washington Post.
For those living in both Maine and Massachusetts, Patriot’s Day, which commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord, pushes the deadline back yet another day to April 19th.
Health Insurance Penalty
If you are lacking healthcare insurance coverage, you’ll also be lacking a few hundred dollars after completing your taxes. The individual shared responsibility payment, or penalty, has been on a steadily increasing trajectory since 2014 when the Affordable Care Act became law of the land. In 2016 you will pay either $695 per adult, or 2.5% of your household income with a maximum of $2,085, whichever is higher.
PATH Act of 2015
The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 is a bipartisan bill that was designed to help hardworking Americans keep more of their income. With objectives of “reining in the IRS,” preventing abuse and tax fraud, growing the economy, and facilitating comprehensive tax reform, PATH halts tax increases for a multitude of Americans while offering certainty by making a number of temporary tax provisions permanent.
For more information on the specific provisions affected by the bill, you can view a copy of it here.