PITTSBURGH— With the deadline for filing income tax returns rapidly approaching, the Postal Service is notifying last minute filers to take notice of their local Post Office’s operating hours. Post Offices in the Western PA District (ZIP Codes 150-168 and 260) will operate at normal hours on Thursday, April 15. Customers depositing returns in collection boxes are advised to check the last pickup time posted on the collection receptacle.

Postal customers are advised to mail their returns or extension requests early in the day at any of the Post Offices, stations, branches or collection boxes in their community. However, tax filers using a collection box should make certain that the posted pick-up time has not passed to ensure returns will receive the April 15 postmark.

The Postal Service offers the following advice to tax filers:

• Try to mail as early in the day as possible.
• Take note of posted collection times and local Post Office hours.
• Always include your return address on your mailpiece.
• Be certain to weigh your returns or extension requests on a postal scale and affix the proper amount of postage. (This is especially true if you are filing extra forms or schedules this year. Tax agencies will not pay postage due, so short-paid tax filings must be returned for additional postage.)
• Apply sufficient postage. (Postage is 44-cents for the first ounce which is usually about four 8½ x 11” sheets; add 17 cents postage for each additional ounce.)
• Always use a complete mailing and return address.
• Tax returns must be postmarked no later than April 15.
• If mailing from a street collection box, check the last pick-up time to make sure your return will be collected later that day.
• Consider using Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation if you want to confirm your tax return is delivered. Delivery Confirmation is not available for First-Class envelopes.
• If using a First-Class envelope, use Certified Mail or Registered Mail for proof of delivery.
• For mailing tips and information on Delivery Confirmation, log onto www.usps.com.

Automated Postal Centers (APCs) are available at 26 Western PA District Post Offices. Using a debit or credit card, customers can use the APC to weigh and mail their tax returns or regular mail and packages 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, at most locations. (See attached list of offices with APCs.)

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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, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 26th in the 2008 Fortune 500.