LOUISVILLE, KY — With the deadline for filing tax returns fast approaching, the U.S. Postal Service reminds last-minute tax filers to pay special attention to collection box pick-up times and Post Office retail hours.

Most Post Offices close at 5 p.m. and many collection box pick-up times are earlier. Post Office and collection box location, hours, and pick-up time information is available at 1-800-ASK-USPS or online at http://usps.whitepages.com/post_office.

Taxpayers have an extra weekend to file this year because of a District of Columbia holiday. The deadline for 2011 is Monday, April 18, instead of April 15.

Extended hours are available on April 18 at:

• Louisville Main Post Office, 1420 Gardiner Lane, full retail services until 7 p.m.
• Standiford Station, 4440 Crittenden Drive, full retail services until 9 p.m.

Here are some other tax tips:

• If depositing returns in a collection box on April 18, double-check the last scheduled pick-up time.
• Stamped packages weighing more than 13 ounces must be presented in person to a Post Office clerk to comply with FAA regulations.
• Some tax returns weigh more than the one-ounce rate of 44 cents. Please ensure you have affixed the correct amount of postage. Tax agencies will not pay postage due.
• Effective April 17, the additional ounce for First-Class Mail will increase to 20 cents. First-Class Mail letters (1 oz.) remain unchanged at 44 cents.
• It is very important that your envelope has a return address.
• In addition, we recommend customer’s use certified mail with a return receipt for proof of mailing and delivery.
• Tax forms are no longer available at Post Offices.

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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.