Tax Day: Post Offices Won't All Be Open Late On April 17

Don't Show Up To A Closed Post Office On Tax Day

If you plan on mailing in your taxes minutes before midnight on Tuesday, you might want to reconsider your plans.

Most post offices are not staying open late on Tax Day this year, according to the U.S. Postal Service website and news reports. While post offices have historically extended their hours on Tax Day, USPS officials say that staying open late is obsolete and too expensive.

The USPS has been grappling with a budget shortfall and plans to close up to 3,700 post offices, according to NPR.

No post offices in the New York City area, the Los Angeles area or the Houston area will be staying open later than usual on Tax Day, according to the USPS website. New York's main post office will be open until 10 p.m. as usual.

This is the first year that no central Ohio post offices will be open late on tax day this year, according to the Columbus Dispatch. A USPS spokesman told the Dispatch that "it's not really cost effective" to keep post offices open late.

This is also the first year that no post office in the Bay Area will be open until midnight on Tax Day, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The main branches in San Jose and Oakland will close at 10:30 p.m., which is later than usual.

Post offices in St. Louis will not stay open late on tax day, according to Fox 2 Now.

Many people still use the post office to file their tax returns at the last minute. Deadly car crashes spike 6 percent on tax day, according to a study by the University of Toronto, perhaps due to drivers rushing to file their tax forms on time.

Late tax filers will be charged 0.5 percent of unpaid taxes per month, plus interest, which is currently 3 percent per year, according to Reuters.

If you're filing your taxes online, you'll have until midnight on Tuesday, April 17. You can submit your taxes online here.

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