Effective January 9, 2022, 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 maximum allowed value of low-cost items for that type of product to be mailable at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail® prices, as long as all other required conditions are met.
Under section 703.1.6.11, which is based on statutory restrictions, three types of products or items are mailable at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail prices. A low-cost item (as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) is one of those products.
Each year, the Internal Revenue Service determines the allowed value of a low-cost item and adjusts it for cost of living. For 2022, the allowed value of a low-cost item is $11.70 or less. The value of a low-cost item is the item’s cost to the authorized nonprofit organization mailing the item or on whose behalf the item is mailed.
Although the Postal Service will not publish this revision in the DMM until January 9, 2022, the standard is effective January 1, 2022.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
* * * * *
700 Special Standards
703 Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail and Other Unique Eligibility
1.0 Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail
* * * * *
1.6 Eligible and Ineligible Matter
* * * * *
1.6.11 Products Mailable at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail Prices
* * * * *
[Revise the text of 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 allowed value of low-cost items is adjusted for cost of living. Effective January 1, 2022, the cost of such items must not exceed $11.70. This cost is the cost to the authorized organization that mails the items or on whose behalf the items are mailed.
* * * * *
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,
Product Solutions, 12-16-21
