USPS postmark change

Dear Editor,

On Christmas Eve, the Trump administration quietly changed the rules that formally define what a postmark is and when it is applied. Under the new rule, the official postmark date reflects the first date the mail was automatically processed, not the date it was dropped in a mailbox OR AT THE POST OFFICE. 

This makes a huge difference when mailing important items, such as:  tax returns/payments, voting ballots, and bills.

The IRS treats the postmark date as the filing date for paper returns. The same rule applies to mail-in voting. Many banks, credit card companies, and/or utility companies also count this same postmark as their deadline. 

So will your vote count? Will you be changed a late fee?

Before this change, you could trust that your local post office would date stamp a piece of mail on the day it was received. NOW it’s sent to a centralized processing facility where it’s scanned (possibly days from when this piece of mail initially arrived at the local post office).

So, now what?                                                                                                                         You have 2 options.                                                                                                           1. Mail your tax return, ballot, and/or bill payment very early                               (possibly 7 – 10 days) before the deadline. (Hopefully that will be enough time.)                                                                                                      

2. Take that piece of mail to the counter at your post office and ask for a manual (local) postmark. Manual postmarks will be applied FREE. 

I had no idea this change had been made. You?

Eileen Z. Fitzsimons

Town of Dodgeville