Don’t look now but tax day – Thursday, April 15, this year – is just around the corner. If you’re one of the millions of taxpayers who owes Uncle Sam a few dollars and some change on your 2009 tax return, chances are you will visit your local Post Office in the coming days.

As in the past, the Postal Service will have workers on hand until midnight on April 15 to collect tax returns in front of Nashville’s Main Post Office, located at 525 Royal Parkway in Nashville. The retail office at this location is open until midnight to provide stamp sales and mailing assistance.

In addition, the Cookeville Main Post Office, located at 900 South Willow Ave, will be open until 9 p.m. to provide stamp sales and mailing assistance, with returns collected until midnight in the mail collection boxes in front of the South Willow Ave. location only.

With the deadline for filing tax returns rapidly approaching, the Postal Service encourages the public to mail their returns prior to April 15 to avoid the last-minute rush to the Post Office. Customers are cautioned to check the posted pick-up schedule where the mail is deposited to ensure their tax documents will be collected and postmarked by the April 15 deadline. Mail deposited after the last posted collection time will not be postmarked until the following day.

Here are some other tax tips:

• On April 15, mail early in the day at any Post Office, station, branch or collection box.
• Apply sufficient postage. (Postage is 44-cents for the first ounce letter size which is usually about four folded sheets; add 17 cents postage for each additional ounce. Larger sized envelopes require additional postage) Tax agencies will not pay postage due and short-paid returns will be returned to sender.
• Always use a complete mailing and return address.
• Before depositing your return into the mail, be sure the last pick-up time is AFTER the time you deposit your mail so your return will be collected that day.
• Customers who need retail window service are advised to get to the Post Office before closing time. Most Post Offices are open regular hours on April 15.
• If you use a non-IRS labeled envelope, make sure you print the proper IRS address.
  Customers who wish certification that their tax mail form is received by IRS, should mail it using Certified Mail Service/Return Receipt — available at your local Post Office.
• Customers with tax questions can contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040; or go to www.irs.gov.

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. 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.