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Tax season warning: your mail may not be postmarked on the same day you send it

In this new year, the U.S. Postal Service says your mail might not be postmarked on the same day that you send it off.

The U.S. Postal Service said on Jan. 2 that some time-sensitive mail might no longer receive a same-day postmark, the result of cost cuts to its transportation operations that may delay the arrival of posted letters at its processing facilities.

A post that day on the USPS website, "We have made adjustments to our transportation operations that will result in some mailpieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed." That means postmarks applied at processing facilities "will not necessarily match the date on which the customer's mailpiece was collected by a letter carrier or dropped off at a retail location." 

This could be a concern for individuals and businesses who use the postmark as proof that bill payments, taxes or voting ballots have been sent by specific deadlines. The post office maintains that postmarks were never intended for that purpose, but instead for their own internal use, such as canceling postage.

The USPS' 10-year reorganization plan to reduce costs and restore profitability helped trim a half billion dollars in operating expenses last year, but still still saw a shortfall of $9 billion. Increasing operating costs and dwindling volume of mail compounds the problem. 

The plan also includes an overhaul of the regional transportation system, designed to reduce the number of USPS vehicle trips for transporting mail from post offices to processing plants. That means trucks don't go out from each location as rapidly as years past.

The Postal Service offers certified mail or registered mail service at Post Office retail counters for purchase, which will provide a customer with a receipt and tracking information. 


(AP file photo Nam Y. Huh)
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