INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The deadline (this year, Monday, April 18th) is fast approaching to get federal and state income tax returns in the mail.

In Indiana, Post Offices will maintain their regularly scheduled operating hours on April 18th.  To ensure cancellation on April 18th, postal customers must deposit tax returns at Post Offices prior to scheduled closing times or mail returns in local blue mailboxes prior to scheduled pick up times.

According to Kim Yates, Communications Programs Specialist with the U.S. Postal Service, mailers can go online at usps.com (click on Locate a Post Office) to verify operating hours of Post Offices for April 18th and to locate alternate sites to purchase stamps and conduct postal business.   Yates also offers the following mailing tips for last minute filers.

• Mail tax returns in local mailboxes.  This helps avoid the mad rush to the post office.  But, keep in mind that corner collection boxes have final pick up times – customers must ensure they mail prior to the final pick up times posted on the mailbox.
• Use First-Class postage.  The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recognizes the inexpensive First-Class letter postmark as proof that a return has been mailed on time.
• Write clearly.  Handwritten tax return envelopes must be legible.  And, don’t forget to seal the envelope and include your return address.
• Double check postage.  New prices for mailing letters, cards, oversized envelopes and packages will take effect on Sunday, April 18, 2011.  Although the cost to mail a one ounce First Class letter is still 44 cents, the cost for an additional ounce will increase from 17 cents to 20 cents.  Envelopes that exceed 6 1/8” x 11 1/2” or are more than 1/4” thick will require additional postage.  Please consult usps.com (click on ‘calculate postage’, top left) or visit your local post office to determine correct postage.  Tax agencies do not accept postage due mail and tax returns bearing insufficient postage will be returned – meaning taxpayers will be penalized for filing late tax returns.

“We recommend mailing your return as early in the day as possible to avoid that last-minute dash to the Post Office”, said Yates.  “Just deposit your tax return at your local Post Office or in a blue collection box before the last scheduled pick up time.  As long as you do, your tax return will be postmarked April 18, 2011.”

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

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 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 $67 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 29th in the 2010 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 six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.