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Strengthening Our Communities: Tax Filing Deadlines

KUAR | By Kristin Higgins
Published May 27, 2020 at 3:46 PM CDT

Did you know April 15 was not always the federal income tax filing deadline?

For many years after the Sixteenth Amendment established a national income tax in 1913, Americans filed their taxes in March. A tax policy overhaul in 1954 pushed us forward a month to April 15. There have been minor allowances and extensions based on natural disasters or whether April 15 fell on the holidays or weekends.

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service has extended the tax filing and payment deadline to July 15. Arkansas also extended the state filing deadline for individual income taxes to July 15.

More than 84 million people have filed their 2019 taxes so far this year. You can find more information about tax deadlines and free resources at IRS.gov.
Kristin Higgins
Kristin Higgins loves to talk about policy and the issues you might find on an Arkansas ballot. Higgins joined the Public Policy Center at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture in 2012 after a decade working as a newspaper reporter covering city hall, county government and crime in Arkansas. That journalism background still influences Higgins philosophy on writing for the public. She likes to translate difficult policy into easier and more understandable terms for the general public. In her time at the Cooperative Extension Service, Higgins has helped transform one of the few Extension ballot issue education programs in the country to reach more people. The Public Policy Center provides Arkansans with neutral information about proposed constitutional amendments and state laws to help them make informed decisions on Election Day. Higgins has a Masters in Agricultural Education and Extension from the University of Arkansas and is president of Arkansas Press Women, a 70-year-old organization supporting professional communicators. Reach out to Kristin at khiggins@uaex.edu or call 501-671-2160.
See stories by Kristin Higgins