Honolulu – A total of 28 Post Offices across the state will offer late collection of mail from specially marked collection boxes on federal Tax Day, Tuesday, Apr. 17, to accommodate last-second filers of federal tax returns.
Taxpayers have an extra day to file this year. Taxpayers have until Apr. 17 to file their 2011 returns and pay any taxes due because Apr. 15 falls on a Sunday and Emancipation Day, a holiday in the District of Columbia, is observed this year on Monday, April 16.
New this year at Honolulu’s Airport (Main) Post Office is an express line, at the side will call window, for simple Tax Day transactions such as purchasing stamps and Certified Mail services. The express line will be open from noon to 8 p.m. on Tax Day only.
All Post Offices will be closing at their regular times. The Airport Post Office in Honolulu will be the last to close—at 8 p.m.--on that night and will be the best bet for last-second customers who need to purchase stamps or special services.
The 28 Post Offices listed below will have collection boxes and/or lobby drop slots labeled with special bright orange signs indicating Tax Mail Drop – Final Pick-Up Midnight. Tax forms with correct postage deposited in those specially designated boxes and slots by midnight will receive Apr. 17 postmarks. Collection boxes and Post Office lobby drops at all other Post Offices will be collected only at their regular posted times on April 17.
The locations of the 28 Post Offices offering late collections are:
Oahu
Airport (Main) Post Office
Downtown Post Office
Ewa Beach Post Office
Haleiwa Post Office
Hawaii Kai Post Office
Kailua Post Office
Kaneohe Post Office
Kapalama Post Office
Laie Post Office
Makiki Post Office
Mililani Post Office
Pearl City Post Office
Waialae Kahala Post Office
Waianae Post Office
Waikiki Post Office
Waipahu Post Office
Maui
Kahului Post Office
Kihei Post Office
Lahaina (Main) Post Office
Makawao Post Office
Pukalani Post Office
Wailuku Post Office
Hawaii
Hilo (Airport) Post Office
Kailua-Kona Post Office
Kamuela Post Office
Kauai
Lihue Main Post Office
Molokai
Kaunakakai Post Office
Lanai
Lanai City Post Office
The IRS reports that as of Mar. 30 more than 91 million tax returns had been received; 88 percent of all returns were filed electronically. Last year 78 percent of all returns were submitted electronically. According to the IRS, 20 to 25 percent of all taxpayers file in the final two weeks of the tax season.
Due to the declining numbers of citizens who submit hard-copy tax returns by mail, the Postal Service no longer provides curbside service to last-second filers of tax mail at its drive-by collection boxes.
The Postal Service provides the following friendly reminders regarding the mailing of tax returns:
- Not all boxes will be collected late - If you are mailing your return in a blue collection box or a drop slot at the post office, be sure to check the schedule for the last collection time. Except in specially marked boxes at designated locations (see above list), returns deposited AFTER the last collection time will NOT receive Apr. 17 postmarks.
- Beat the rush, mail early - Mail your tax returns early in the day. Post Offices typically become congested during lunch time and in the late afternoon and evening on the Tax Day deadline.
- Ensure proper postage - Be sure to check that adequate postage is applied to your tax return. First-Class postage for a one-ounce letter is 45 cents. Large envelopes and items weighing more than one ounce or greater than ¼-inch thick require additional postage; check with a postal clerk to determine correct postage, or check the Postal Service web site at www.usps.gov for a postage rate calculator. Tax agencies do not accept postage due mail; tax returns bearing insufficient postage will be returned—meaning taxpayers may be penalized for filing late tax returns.
- Proof of mailing/delivery - Mailers seeking proof of mailing and delivery should request “Certified Mail with Return Receipt” when mailing tax returns.
- Ensure proper addressing - Use pre-addressed labels where possible. Write clearly. Take special care to ensure that handwritten envelopes are legible. Include a return address. Make sure that bulky envelopes are securely sealed.
- Heavy packages require personal drop off - Mail with postage paid by postage stamps (as opposed to postage meter strips) that weighs more than 13 ounces must be presented in person to a clerk at a Post Office. Returns meeting this description that are deposited in collection boxes will be returned to their senders.
- Tax forms not available at Post Offices - Post Offices do not carry tax forms. Suggestion: Check out the IRS’s web site for downloadable forms.
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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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