
Every year on April 15, millions of Americans engage in a high-stakes race against the tax clock.
But have you ever wondered why we don’t file returns on January 1? Or when we started paying federal income tax to begin with?
The history of Tax Day is a strange timeline of moving days, postmark rules, and a specific holiday in Washington, D.C. that still catches taxpayers off guard. So before you file your return, take our trivia challenge to see how much you actually know about this important date in tax season 2026.
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