LOS ANGELES, CA — The last day to file 2011 federal and state income tax returns is Tuesday, April 17, 2012. Tax filers are urged to plan well in advance of the deadline.
Select Postal Service facilities will be extending service on April 17 to accommodate last-minute filers who want the safety and security of using the U.S. Mail to send personal information on tax returns. In Los Angeles and Orange counties, the following locations will offer extended service as indicated:

All other Post Office retail lobbies in LA and Orange counties will adhere to their normal hours of service, and collection boxes and Post Office lobby drops will be collected at their regular posted times on April 17. Individual Post Office service hours are available by visiting usps.com, or calling 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777).

To help ensure a successful tax season for our customers we offer the following tax mailing tips:

• If you wait until April 17 to mail your taxes, be sure to check the collection time posted on mail drops to verify your envelopes will be collected and postmarked on time.
• Apply the proper postage, especially if including extra forms and schedules. The first ounce (about three sheets of paper) for a letter-size envelope is 45 cents. The first ounce for a larger flat-size envelope (bigger than 6 1/8 inches X 11 1/2 inches) is 90 cents. Additional ounces are 20 cents each up to 3.5 oz. on a letter-size piece, and 20 cents each up to 13 oz. on a flat-size mail piece.
• Make sure your envelope has the proper IRS or FTB address and ZIP Code.
• Print your return address in the upper left corner of your tax mail envelope.
• Customers who want proof their tax form has been mailed and is received should use Certified Mail /Return Receipt service, which is available at your local Post Office retail counter.

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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. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, Oxford Strategic Consulting. 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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