There is a little background as to how the Ides (around the middle) of March ties directly into why we pay our taxes on March 15th and April 15th each year in the United States.
In Caesar’s day, the Ides of March was the date on the calendar when ALL tax debts with the emperor and the state must be settled. When the income tax was enacted by Congress in 1912, the first due date for all tax settlements was March 1st, 1913. It was changed to the Ides of March in 1918 for both personal and corporate income taxes and remained this way until 1955.
The reason for the change to April 15th for the personal income tax deadline was due to the fact that in the early 50’s the United States Tax Code began to get a bit more complicated (imagine that!), and the accounting profession asked for and received some relief from Congress of more time to file personal income taxes. April 15th, 1955 was the first date personal income taxes were due and has remained for the past 67 years.
March 15th remains the due date for Subchapter S Corps, and Partnerships (Form 1065). Regular C. Corps with a calendar year end are due on April 15th. Now you can share your trivia knowledge with your friends as to why April 15th is “Tax Settlement Day” for personal tax returns and how it ties back to ancient Rome.
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