Effective January 26, 2020, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 703.1.6.11, to modify the price for low-cost items mailable at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail® prices.
Under statutory restrictions in the DMM, to be mailed at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail prices, products must meet at least one of three tax exceptions referenced in the Internal Revenue Code. A low-cost item as defined in the Internal Revenue Code is one of the exceptions. Each year the Internal Revenue Service determines the value of a low-cost item — the actual cost, adjusted for cost of living, to the authorized nonprofit organization. For 2020, the value of a low-cost item is $11.20 or less.
Although the Postal Service will not publish this revision in the DMM until January 26, 2020, the standard is effective January 1, 2020.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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700 Special Standards
703 Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail and Other Unique Eligibility
1.0 Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail
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1.6 Eligible and Ineligible Matter
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1.6.11 Products Mailable at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail Prices
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[Revise item a. to read as follows:]
a. Low-cost items within the meaning of 26 USC 513(h)(2), Internal Revenue Code. At the beginning of each calendar year, the value of low-cost items is adjusted for cost of living. Effective January 1, 2020, the cost of such items cannot exceed $11.20. This cost is the cost to the authorized organization that mails the items or on whose behalf the items are mailed.
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The Postal Service will incorporate this revision into the next edition of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification, Marketing, 12-5-19
