Post Office Gives the Boot to Extra Hours On Tax Due Date

No more mad midnight dash April 15 to the local post office for a postmark to satisfy the tax collector—the Internal Revenue Service.

With fewer people filing paper returns now, and dwindling revenue for the U.S. Postal Service, local post offices will no longer offer extended hours for procrastinators. Only the main post office at 1720 Market St. in St. Louis will provide curbside drop-off.

On top of that, the familiar April 15 deadline for filing federal and state tax returns is April 18 this year.

It's three days later thanks to a holiday celebrated in the District of Columbia—Emancipation Day. It marks the day President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862, making free persons of about 3,100 in the district. 

Under the tax law, District of Columbia holidays are federal holidays, which prompted the IRS to move the deadline to April 18. Typically, the holiday is recognized on April 16, but when it falls on a Saturday, like this year, it is observed the preceding Friday.

Linda Poor, a franchise owner of Liberty Tax Service offices in South County, Fenton and Arnold said that while some of her customers knew about the extended deadline, many didn’t know the reason for it.

“Everybody’s procrastinating,” she said. “We’ll know for sure how many people actually know about the extended deadline next Saturday and Monday.”

The IRS estimates that up to 25 percent of all taxpayers who file wait to file until the last two weeks of tax season and about seven percent request six-month extensions to file. 

Taxpayers seeking extensions can file Form 4868 electronically through IRS e-file, ask their tax preparer to file the form (for a fee) or mail a paper copy to the IRS.

“Normally it costs between $50 and $60 to file an extension through a tax preparer, but since everybody is in tough shape this year financially, we’re providing the service free,” Poor said.

She added that the IRS is encouraging taxpayers to file electronically. In fact, she said, if customers request their taxes be filed in paper, as opposed to electronically, her preparers have to answer a series of questions as to why.

“The IRS is really discouraging paper filing because for every return mailed, it has to have one of its employees key in all the information,” she said. “It’s more cost effective for the IRS if the forms are e-filed, and it, like every other business, is looking to save money. But some people just don’t feel comfortable with filing on the computer.”

Michael Devine, an IRS spokesman for Missouri and Kansas, said that as of April 1, some 90 percent of all returns filed in Missouri have been e-filed.

“E-filing is the best way to file, and it’s the most accurate,” he said. “You won’t miss a credit if you e-file, and if you use direct deposit, you’ll get your refund in 10 days or less.”

Valerie Hughes, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service in St. Louis, confirmed that all area post offices would maintain regular business hours on April 18. The only exception is the main post office, which will have workers stationed on the street picking up the returns so people don’t have to get out of their cars.

“We haven’t had extended hours at our local post offices the last couple of years because fewer people are mailing their returns, and the postal service is facing financial difficulties,” she said.

Poor noted that all three of her offices are offering a 35-percent discount on tax preparation for mentioning that they saw this article on Patch.com. The offices are located at:

• 809 Lemay Ferry Road in South St. Louis County
• 340 Skinker Lane in Fenton
• 922 Jeffco Blvd. in Arnold

For more information on e-filing your returns with the IRS, click here.

Patch Editor Jean Whitney contributed to this article.