Income Tax Deadline Fast Facts

Filing Statistics: The IRS's fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.

Fiscal Year 2017 (Statistics published March 18, 2018) Individual Income Tax Returns Filed Total Receipts: 150,690,787

Total Individual Refunds Number: 119,853,012 Amount: $382,865,300

Where Do The Taxes Go? National Defense 16% Social Security 24% Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, marketplace subsidies, etc. 26% Safety Net Programs 9% Interest on Debt 6% Benefits for Veterans & Federal Retirees 8% Education 2% Transportation infrastructure 2% Science and medical research 2% Non-security international 1% All other 3%

Timeline: 1862 - During the Civil War, the IRS is born when President Abraham Lincoln and Congress create the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and enact an income tax to pay war expenses. The first income tax levies 3% on incomes between $600 and $10,000 and 5% on anything over $10,000. This income tax lasts until 1872.

1895 - The Supreme Court rules in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Co. that taxing incomes uniformly throughout the United States is unconstitutional.

1913 - The 16th Amendment is ratified by the states, giving Congress the authority to enact an income tax. Congress also introduces the first 1040 form and levies a 1% tax on personal incomes over $3,000 with 6% surtax on incomes of more than $500,000.

1918 - During World War I, to help finance the war, the highest rate of taxation on income is 77%. After the war, by 1929, the rate drops to 24%.

1954 - The tax filing deadline is moved from March 15 to April 15, to give taxpayers more time to prepare their returns.

January 3, 1996 - Congress enacts the Taxpayer Bill of Rights to ensure relief from overzealous collection efforts on the part of IRS personnel.