Tax day is Tuesday, bringing misery and fries

Tuesday is April 17, and you know what that means. Perhaps you don’t. This year, it means tax day.

It also means free curly fries at Arby’s, two-for-one sandwiches at Mickey D’s and the chance to polish off your fast food meal with two mini Cinnabons, gratis.

Just contemplating it may give you a pre-tax day stomachache.

As The Times reported Friday, with April 15 on a Sunday, taxpayers won a reprieve from the dreaded traditional filing day. Then, Monday is Emancipation Day, when Washington -- including the IRS -- takes a holiday to mark President Lincoln’s signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862.

Slaves in Washington, D.C., were freed that day, nine months before Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Nearly 100 million taxpayers already have filed this year. As the rest of us rush to get in our forms, businesses will be offering their usual plethora of Tax Day deals.

Arby’s has a tax relief sweepstakes that comes with a curly fries coupon. Cinnabon is advertising two free “Tax Bites” from 6 to 8 p.m. McDonald’s has some two-for-one sandwich deals as well as some 59-cent sandwiches. Panda Express has a free single serving of its Shanghai Angus Steak, and Sonic is touting half-price drinks all day Tuesday.

Many more deals can be found online. Buyer beware: Not all restaurants are participating, so call first, or be prepared for disappointment.

Once the forms are filed, some of us will have a refund to look forward to. The average refund this year, according to the IRS, will be about $3,000.

The Times’ Travel section offered tips Sunday for spending your refund -- including a suggestion for those whose refund is zero.

“Drown your sorrows with the Tax Collector, not an IRS guy but a cocktail served at Andre’s at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas.”

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