BALTIMORE, MD – It’s Tax Time again, and the Post Office is ready to assist customers with their tax mailing needs.  Taxpayers will have an extra weekend to file this year because of Emancipation Day, a Washington, DC holiday.  The deadline to file federal and state returns is Monday, April 18, instead of the usual April 15.

Post Offices in the Baltimore District (comprised of ZIP Codes beginning with 210-219) will offer normal full-service window operations on Tax Day, Monday, April 18. The only office with extended hours will be:

Baltimore Main Post Office, 900 E. Fayette Street, Baltimore MD  21233.  They will be open from   8:30 a.m. to 12 midnight.

Also open until midnight is the Tastee Freez Contract Postal Unit (CPU), 8356 Ocean Gateway, Easton MD  21601.  A full line of postal products and services are available at the Tastee Freez CPU including postage stamps, Express Mail Service, Priority Mail Service, Special Services and much more.

Tax Day Mailing Tips

• Taxpayers are urged to avoid the typical errors made when mailing their returns each year, which are: unsigned forms, not enough postage and depositing returns in collection boxes whose pickup time is past.
• If mailing from a street collection box, check the last pick-up time to make sure your return will be collected that day. The latest collection time in the Baltimore District will be 12 midnight at the Main Post Office, 900 E. Fayette Street.
• Use pre-addressed labels where possible. Write clearly. Take special care to ensure that handwritten envelopes are legible. Include a return address.
• Use First-Class postage --The Internal Revenue Service recognizes the First-Class letter postmark as proof a return was mailed on time.
• Affix sufficient postage. One ounce is 44 cents; 20 cents for each additional ounce--2 oz. 64 cents; 3 oz 84 cents.
• Double-check postage. Weigh any return that feels heavier than one ounce.
• Rule of thumb: up to 5 sheets of 20-lb. paper in a #10 envelope equals one ounce.
• The IRS does not accept postage due mail even if it has the April 18 postmark; tax returns bearing insufficient postage will be returned—meaning taxpayers will be penalized for filing late tax returns.
• For customers who send original receipts to tax agencies, registered mail is a good choice.
• Make certain bulky envelopes are securely sealed.
• Postal regulations require that stamped tax returns weighing 13 oz. or more must be mailed at a Post Office. They cannot be mailed in a collection box.
• Automated Postal Centers (APC), or self-service kiosks, are available 24/7 at various Baltimore Post Offices (locations at Postal Locator on usps.com), and an April 18 date stamp/postmark will be provided if the mail is deposited by the last pickup time posted on the Automated Postal Center on April 18. Certified/Return Receipt service is available.

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