WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The 2012 due date for personal income tax filings will be Tuesday, April 17, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service said on Wednesday, delaying the deadline for a weekend and a holiday observed by the District of Columbia.

The traditional deadline for personal income taxes is April 15, but that will fall on a Sunday this year. Monday, April 16, is Emancipation Day, a D.C. holiday.

Last year, tax day fell on Monday, April 18 because D.C. observed Emancipation Day on Friday, April 15.

The IRS said it expects to receive more than 144 million individual tax returns this year, with most filed by the April 17 deadline.

(Reporting By Patrick Temple West. Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh.)