PORTLAND – Taxpayers in Maine will have three extra days to file their federal and state income tax returns this year.

The Internal Revenue Service has pushed back the deadline for federal tax returns to April 18 for people in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

The deadline was pushed back because April 15 falls on a Saturday and April 17 is Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts and Maine. Because of the holiday, the IRS service center in Andover, Mass., where the tax returns from the six states are processed, will be closed on April 17.

The deadline was last pushed back in 2002, said IRS spokeswoman Peggy Riley. Mainers will be given two extra days to file in 2007 because April 15 falls on a Sunday and Patriots Day falls the day after, she said.

Maine Revenue Services has pushed back the deadline for state tax returns as well. They have to be postmarked by midnight April 18.

The IRS said it expects to process about 624,000 tax returns from Maine taxpayers this year.

The agency said it has improved its online tools and electronic services and has launched a newly redesigned Web site.

The IRS is encouraging taxpayers to use its e-file services and to file taxes electronically. Last year, more than half of all U.S. taxpayers filed their tax returns electronically.

Taxpayers who file electronically and have their tax refunds deposited directly into their bank accounts can receive the funds in two weeks or less – or less than half the time needed for paper returns.