Effective January 24, 2021, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 703.1.6.11, to reflect a change in the price for low-cost items.
Under statutory restrictions, products that are mailed at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail® prices must meet at least one of three exceptions. A low-cost item is one of the exceptions referenced in the Internal Revenue Code. The value of a low-cost item — the actual cost to the authorized nonprofit organization — is determined each year by the Internal Revenue Service and adjusted for the cost of living. For 2021, the value of a low-cost item is $11.30 or less.
Although the Postal Service will not publish this revision in the DMM until January 24, 2021, the standard is effective January 1, 2021.
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 Rates
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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, 2021, the cost of such items cannot exceed $11.30. 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, 12-3-20
