Procrastinators need not worry on April 15 as the IRS has extended the federal income tax filing deadline to Monday, April 18.

The initial announcement of the change came back in January when the Internal Revenue Service issued a statement saying the deadline would be delayed in observation of Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in the District of Columbia, which this year falls on Friday, April 15, the normal filing deadline.

"By law, District of Columbia holidays impact tax deadlines in the same way that federal holidays do; therefore, all taxpayers will have three extra days to file this year,"  IRS official said in a statement on their website.

Additionally, any taxpayer who wishes to request a filing extension will now have until Oct. 17, 2011 to file their 2010 tax returns.

The IRS  has said they expect to receive more than 140 million income tax returns this year, and that they expect most of those to be filed on time, by the April 18 deadline.

Read more at SanMarinoPatch

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