What Time Is Suitable To File A Return For You?

The first legal tax payment for the Americans was enforced in the 1860s when Abraham Lincoln was the president. As the civil war proved to be very expensive, the government decided to impose a legal requirement upon the citizens for paying income taxes.

At the beginning, 15 April was not the deadline for filing your returns. At the time it was set for 1 March. In 1918, the date was changed to 15 March. Finally in 1954, the date was fixed at 15 April, and since then it has been in force. Now, it’s been just over a 50 years and this date has not been changed again. But the possibility of revising this date again cannot be ruled out.

It’s a requirement for every individual taxpayer to file tax returns by 15 April or at least Form 4868 must be filled to take an extension. Legal as well as corporate firms are expected to file tax returns by 15 March, or at least they have to file for a date extension. This extension provides an extended amount of time to pay the taxes and file your returns but you have to pay some interest. Therefore, failing to prepare your taxes on time means that you will have to pay a penalty for your untimely behavior.

After World War 2, the individual taxpayer and the corporate world used to share the tax burden equally. But now, the individual taxpayer is more heavily burdened. Due to public outcry and general protests by the common people, the American government officially cancelled the income tax law in 1867, and during the period from 1868 to 1913, most of the government revenue was generated through selling of wine, beer, tobacco, and liquor.

It was an interesting period around 1918 when eventual taxation rules were formulated in America. Till then, it was the sale of alcoholic beverages which brought in the maximum government revenue. After the new constitutional amendment of 1919 passed by the Congress which made selling and manufacturing alcohol and alcoholic product in the country illegal, revenue generation became a major concern. They then came up with the idea of income tax. During Prohibition, the revenue agents worked hard to track down the bootleggers rather than tax evaders; the tax load started becoming heavier over time for the individual taxpayers.

“New Deal” era began with the passing of the “1942 Revenue Act”. Since then there have been phenomenal increases in the government expenses, power, and control; and now the big-budget American government is supported by the individual taxpayers. More then 10 per cent of the earnings of every individual is consumed by it and through the Social Security Administration, it can consume even more. There is no other relief mechanism in view at present.

With 4 main divisions, namely, the Wage and Investment, the Large and Mid-size Business, the Small Business Self-Employed, and the Government Entities and Tax Exempt, the IRS takes the responsibility of all tax regulations in the country. Each division has well-defined responsibilities as per their own specialty.