WASHINGTON, DC —It’s that time of year again and the Postal Service stands ready to serve customers waiting until the last minute to mail their tax returns. Many Post Offices will stay open late April 15; some as late as midnight. To find Post Offices with extended hours, customers can visit www.usps.com and click “locate a Post Office,” or call 1-800-ASK-USPS.   

“When mailing your taxes through the Postal Service, your return is considered filed if postmarked by  April 15,” said Consumer Advocate and Vice President Delores Killette. “And if your taxes need to be mailed to a Post Office Box, the Postal Service is the only carrier that can deliver for you.”

Killette also reminded customers to use adequate postage and double check the envelope if it feels like it may weigh more than one ounce. Tax returns bearing insufficient postage will be returned.

“Write clearly and always include return address information,” she added.

Customers can avoid the Post Office rush by dropping their returns in a blue Postal Service collection box, but they need to make sure the posted pick-up time occurs before midnight April 15. 

Mailing Options
Three mailing options apply a postmark to your return:

• Express Mail® Service
  Tax returns will be delivered to many locations the next day with a money back guarantee. Express Mail Service includes free online tracking and signature at delivery.
• Priority Mail® Service
  Tax returns are delivered in an average of two- to three-days. Delivery confirmation is available.
• First-Class Mail® Service
  First-Class Mail is a quick, reliable, and economical way to mail your return.

Proof of Mailing Services
Proof of Mailing services provides customers with peace of mind by proving their item was mail, delivered or both. 

• Certificate of Mailing™ Service
  Customers are provided with a receipt as evidence their tax return was mailed.
• Certified Mail™ Service
  A Certified Mail receipt proves customers mailed their tax return. By going online, customers can verify the date and time of delivery.
• Return Receipt
  This receipt verifies both mailing and delivery, returning a postcard to the customer signed by the person who received the tax return.

Buy Postage Online
Customers can also print shipping labels and buy postage online through the Postal Service’s Click-N-Ship® service to send tax returns via Express Mail or Priority Mail with free Delivery Confirmation.

Media interested in obtaining local news releases on this subject along with USPS Public Affairs and Communications contacts should access this link:
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/localnews.htm

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional on this issue, please go to http://about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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