Taxes are due April 18 — three days after the normal April 15 deadline — giving procrastinators a short reprieve to file income tax returns or an extension this year.

The big picture: The regular deadline falls on a weekend and Washington, D.C.'s Emancipation Day is Monday.

• By law, D.C. holidays affect tax deadlines for everyone the same way federal holidays do, the Internal Revenue Service says. The holiday marks the end of slavery in the nation's capital.
• More than 168 million individual tax returns are expected to be filed, with the vast majority of those coming before the tax deadline, the IRS said.

Meanwhile, April 18 is the last day to make contributions to a health savings account or a Roth/traditional individual retirement account for the 2022 tax year.

Tax deadline extended for disaster areas

For taxpayers who live in areas that had severe storms or disaster declarations, the IRS is offering tax relief with extended deadlines that apply to various individual and business tax returns and tax payments.

Extended deadlines include:

• May 15 for New York winter storm and snowstorm victims from late December 2022.
• July 31 is the deadline for storm victims in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.
• Oct. 16 for disaster-area taxpayers in most of California and parts of Alabama and Georgia.

Tax refunds smaller

Many Americans are getting smaller tax refunds this year as a few pandemic policies have expired and tax credits return to past levels, including the enhanced child tax credit and a lower Earned Income Tax Credit for taxpayers without children.

Why it matters: Many depend on their refunds to make ends meet, pay down debt or fund extras like vacations, Axios’ Emily Peck explains.

• But the refunds are shrinking at a time when rising prices are already making it harder to pay the bills with high inflation.

Filing taxes online with IRS Free File

Taxpayers who made $73,000 or less in 2022 can file their taxes electronically with the Free File program.

• Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of the federal tax forms, are also available on the IRS website for taxpayers at any income level.

IRS address for mailing tax returns

IRS mailing addresses vary by the state you live in and if you are mailing in a payment. Find a list of addresses here.

IRS Where's My Refund tool

Twenty-four hours after e-filing your 2022 tax return, you can check its status using the IRS Where's My Refund website. For paper returns, plan to wait about four weeks for an update.

• The IRS said the agency has been issuing nine out of 10 tax refunds in less than 21 days.
• Filing electronically and choosing direct deposit is the fastest way to get a refund, the agency said.

By the numbers: The IRS has received 101.3 million returns and processed 69.1 million refunds as of April 7.

• The average refund amount is $2,878 compared to last year’s average of $3,175 on April 8, a difference of 9.3%.
• Total refunds processed were $198.9 billion down from $222.3 billion this time last year, a 10.6% decrease.

Tax extension deadline

Details: Filing for an automatic tax extension by Tuesday, using Form 4868, gives taxpayers six more months or until Oct. 16 to file their returns for 2022.

• Individual tax filers, regardless of income, can use IRS Free File to electronically request an automatic tax-filing extension, the federal agency said.

Yes, but: There is no extension on payments so if you expect to owe money, it is recommended that you send a payment by April 18 to avoid interest and other penalties.

More from Axios:

• Runaway stamp inflation: Postage expected to increase again
• IRS changes for 2023 can boost paychecks, lower taxes
• IRS increases 401(k), IRA contribution limits for inflation