NEW YORK, NY –- With the deadline for filing tax returns rapidly approaching, the United States Postal Service reminds last-minute 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, Alternate Access locations that includes Self Service Shipping and Mailing Center (SSS&MC) having later business hours to send mail, and collection box location, hours, and pick-up time information is available at 1-800-ASK-USPS or online at www.usps.com.

Taxpayers can mail at the retail window services at the James A. Farley Main Post Office, 481 8th Ave in Manhattan until 12 midnight on April 15, Monday.  Postal officials will be available in the lobby.  Self Service Shipping and Mailing Center kiosks are also available 24/ 7 to ship packages and send mail.  SSS&MC kiosks offer special services such as Express Mail, Priority Mail, Certified Mail with return receipt, purchase postage and many other self service transactions.  All self service kiosk transactions provide a receipt that shows the date of the transaction.  These kiosks help speed up your visit to the post office – bypassing waiting in line at the retail window counter.

TIPS FOR MAILING TAX RETURNS:

• On April 15, mail early in the day at any Post Office, station, branch or collection box.
• If depositing returns in a collection box on Monday, April 15, double-check the pick-up schedule on the label. To ensure getting the April 15th postmark, deposit returns before 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.
• Make sure your return is signed and dated and all schedules and supporting documents are enclosed.
• Affix the appropriate postage, especially since the item may weigh more than an ounce. Have a postal sales and service associate weigh and rate the item for you. Tax agencies will not pay postage due and your short-paid return will be returned to sender – and you may miss the deadline (tip: 5 pages equals approximately one ounce).
• Furthermore, it is very important that your envelope has a return address. Short-paid items without a return address will be sent to the postal mail recovery office for determination of the sender, delaying its return.
• The USPS highly recommends getting the security of proof of mailing and proof of delivery of your tax returns -- use certified mail service with a return receipt, plus the applicable postage.
• Tax forms are no longer available at Post Offices. Check at local libraries or online at http://www.irs.gov/ (Federal forms) or http://www.tax.state.ny.us/forms/ (NYS forms).

Please remember that mail must be deposited before the last collection time at the post office collection box on April 15th to receive an April 15th postmark.

The Postal Service does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses; it relies entirely on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

# # #

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

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.

About The U.S. Postal Service
A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation: 152 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 more than 31,000 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 42nd in the 2012 Fortune 500. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for seven years and the fourth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

Follow the Postal Service on www.twitter.com/USPSstamps and at www.facebook.com/USPSSTAMPS.