Finance

What is Tax Day? A look into the final day for Americans to get their tax returns and payments to the IRS

Published

1 year ago

April 12, 2024

Judy Shelton and Grover Norquist discuss the amount of U.S. debt under President Biden and the impending increase in taxes after Trump-era tax cuts expire on “The Evening Edit.”

Tax Day is quickly nearing, meaning the clock is winding down for Americans to file their returns.

You can file your taxes electronically or by mail. Submitting electronically will make for the faster receipt of a refund and is the quickest way to get your information filed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you do file by mail, make sure your envelope is postmarked by the due date.

Make sure you have all your documentation together and submit it before the filing deadline to avoid any fees.

Tax Day traditionally falls on April 15. (iStock)

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Here’s everything you need to know about Tax Day.

What is Tax Day?
When is Tax Day?
When did Tax Day begin?
What do I do if I miss the tax deadline?

1. What is Tax Day?

Tax Day marks when taxes are due in the United States. Taxes must be filed and paid by this date.

If you don’t pay your taxes on time, you’ll receive a Failure to File penalty from the IRS. This penalty is 5% of unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that the return is late, according to the IRS, not exceeding 25% of unpaid taxes.

To avoid fees, make sure your return is filed and taxes are paid by Tax Day. (iStock)

2. When is Tax Day?

Typically, it falls on April 15, although it could fluctuate slightly from year to year. The main reason the date could change is if April 15 falls on a holiday or on a weekend.

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This year, April 15 is Tax Day for Americans, except for those in Maine or Massachusetts. Residents in those two states have a tax deadline of April 17, due to Patriots’ Day and Emancipation Day holidays, according to the IRS.

3. When did Tax Day begin?

The first time federal income tax was introduced to Americans was in 1862 by Abraham Lincoln, according to the IRS, in order to help pay for expenses associated with the Civil War. The first official Tax Day was in 1913 and had a March 1 due date, according to the Library of Congress.

In 1954, the filing deadline for individual tax returns was marked on April 15, according to the IRS, which has remained the modern deadline.

The push in the date helps tax filers by giving them extra time to gather financial information but also helps others in the tax filing process. Accountants receive additional time to help others file their taxes, and the IRS also has more time to work.

4. What do I do if I miss the tax deadline?

If you are unable to get your taxes filed by Tax Day, you can apply for a tax extension.

If you can’t get your taxes in by the deadline, you can file for an extension. (Daniel Acker / Bloomberg / File / Getty Images)

You must file your request by Tax Day in order to be granted an extension. You can request an extension through Oct. 15, according to the IRS.

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You can file an extension with Form 4868, according to the IRS. You can do this by mail, online or through a tax professional.

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Swiss government proposes tough new capital rules in major blow to UBS

Published

2 days ago

June 6, 2025

Business Finance News

A sign in German that reads “part of the UBS group” in Basel on May 5, 2025.

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

The Swiss government on Friday proposed strict new capital rules that would require banking giant UBS to hold an additional $26 billion in core capital, following its 2023 takeover of stricken rival Credit Suisse.

The measures would also mean that UBS will need to fully capitalize its foreign units and carry out fewer share buybacks.

“The rise in the going-concern requirement needs to be met with up to USD 26 billion of CET1 capital, to allow the AT1 bond holdings to be reduced by around USD 8 billion,” the government said in a Friday statement, referring to UBS’ holding of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds.

The Swiss National Bank said it supported the measures from the government as they will “significantly strengthen” UBS’ resilience.

“As well as reducing the likelihood of a large systemically important bank such as UBS getting into financial distress, this measure also increases a bank’s room for manoeuvre to stabilise itself in a crisis through its own efforts. This makes it less likely that UBS has to be bailed out by the government in the event of a crisis,” SNB said in a Friday statement.

‘Too big to fail’

UBS has been battling the specter of tighter capital rules since acquiring the country’s second-largest bank at a cut-price following years of strategic errors, mismanagement and scandals at Credit Suisse.

The shock demise of the banking giant also brought Swiss financial regulator FINMA under fire for its perceived scarce supervision of the bank and the ultimate timing of its intervention.

Swiss regulators argue that UBS must have stronger capital requirements to safeguard the national economy and financial system, given the bank’s balance topped $1.7 trillion in 2023, roughly double the projected Swiss economic output of last year. UBS insists it is not “too big to fail” and that the additional capital requirements — set to drain its cash liquidity — will impact the bank’s competitiveness.

At the heart of the standoff are pressing concerns over UBS’ ability to buffer any prospective losses at its foreign units, where it has, until now, had the duty to back 60% of capital with capital at the parent bank.

Higher capital requirements can whittle down a bank’s balance sheet and credit supply by bolstering a lender’s funding costs and choking off their willingness to lend — as well as waning their appetite for risk. For shareholders, of note will be the potential impact on discretionary funds available for distribution, including dividends, share buybacks and bonus payments.

“While winding down Credit Suisse’s legacy businesses should free up capital and reduce costs for UBS, much of these gains could be absorbed by stricter regulatory demands,” Johann Scholtz, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said in a note preceding the FINMA announcement.

“Such measures may place UBS’s capital requirements well above those faced by rivals in the United States, putting pressure on returns and reducing prospects for narrowing its long-term valuation gap. Even its long-standing premium rating relative to the European banking sector has recently evaporated.”