there was an article yesterday in the cincinnati enquirer about how the post office is NOT going to be open late because they cannot afford it.

What a cute little kitten. Any chance it's going to Abu Dhabi?

People still mail their taxes? How quaint!

@captainpicard: None of the ones in the Charleston, SC area are going to be open late either. They're recommending people use the Automated Postal Center after hours.

@sean98125: For me to e-file would cost me more money because the rest of the family used up all the included ones already. Besides, I owe them, so another few days of snail mail and them OCR/processing doesn't make a difference on my side.

Is it sad the first thing I thought was "cat photo!"

As far as automated centers, the timed/date on the postage counts as a postmark?

I did my taxes using "Free File Fillable Forms" that I learned about from "The Consumerist". You guys rock.

Just FYI for most post offices, they postmark their mail the next day after their "truck" leaves. So my Post Office is open until 7pm, but after 5pm, it's post marked the next day. You might want to call ahead.

Free File Fillable Forms are the best!

In the DC Metro Area, only 4 offices will be staying open late -

Friendship Heights - 4005 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC (Open until 8:00pm)

National Capitol - 2 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington DC (Open until 11:58pm)

Capitol Heights - 9201 Edgeworth Drive, Capitol Heights, Md. (Open until 8:00pm)

Gaithersburg - 16501 Shady Grove Road, Gaithersburg, Md. (Open until 8:00pm)

Apparently no offices south of the Potomac are staying open late.

Courtesy of
[www.wusa9.com]

So we can start sending cats instead of checks payable to the IRS! Nice....

Is this the thread where we brag about having our refunds already and quietly judge everybody who has yet to file?

J/K. If you owe, it makes sense not to pay until you absolutely must.

Boston - South Boston Post Office - ALWAYS open 24/7

You missed this one last year too Consumerist.

If you haven't done your taxes yet (d'oh!) then you can either pay on some site to e-file like taxcut or turbotax - both expensive. OR you can do what I did last night and use the free taxcut federal e-file (if your taxes are simple w-2's, 1099-INT's, 1099-R's, etc).

Then google for free state return for your state as a lot of states have links to free tax return sites from their .gov pages.

I did all my filing for free yesterday, online, no mailing.

@MikeHerbst: You can e-file anytime, but still request they direct debit your checking account on april 15th. It's what I usually do if I owe- get the return in early, but pay on the last possible date.

Only site in Joplin, MO that is 24 hours. Everything else around town closes around 5-6.

3115 S MAIN ST
JOPLIN, MO 64804

@Bertmanintx: Yeah, but they sent me three tabby kittens and a scottish fold for my refund. Newegg.com only takes maine coons though :(

Massachusetts

Quic-Pic Contract Post Office
533 Chickering Road
North Andover, MA 01845

Open till 11:00pm tonight

@SittingOnTheColbert_GitEmSteveDave:

A few can and usually do "bend" that rule for days like today.

(pssst - if your return is one day late, the IRS won't care)

@pecan 3.14159265: What kind of sad soul would think "taxes!"?

Virginia:

Merrifield District Post Office
8409 Lee Highway
Merrifield, VA 22081-9998
Phone Number: (703) 698-6375

open 24 hours

@sean98125: Ha! Seriously. Maybe I just grew up in the "digital age," but I tried to do them by hand (pen and calculator) this year to see what it was like in the days before I turned 18 and got over the novelty of it all real quickly.

San Antonio:
Main Post Office,
10410 Perrin Beitel
Only accessible from the Northbound lanes

@sean98125: Sure. I think this will be the *one* actual paper check I write this year. I want that baby to float as long as possible. :-)

@SittingOnTheColbert_GitEmSteveDave: I thought if you did certified mail it still post marked that day?

@calquist: CPAs.

@jeffbone: I wonder how many stacks of tax papers I'm going to see on the metro from people who forgot them.

@Bertmanintx: Just don't send a picture of a spider.

I'll be at the post office today PROTESTING! haha

I used to work near the IRS cener in Andover, MA. Back then, New England residents mailed their returns to that facility. They had a big sign out front stating that they did not accept returns and that you must mail them to their location.

@wardawg: What about a picture of a spider with a cat...cat is payment, spider's just a fun distraction.

In northeast Ohio, Mentor's post office is open late to take tax returns.

[maps.google.com]

@Blinky987: I wonder about that too... Seems like it couldn't, though, bcs. there's nothing keeping you from printing out the postage on the 15th, then not actually mailing till much later. (I've done that with letters and the postage is still valid.)

@pecan 3.14159265: As long as the picture of the cat has 3 legs.

@Blinky987: I would assume that it would have to since metered postage does not receive a postmark. The IRS can't penalize you for not having a postmark...

@Tim Rebstock: """awesome"""

The Sacramento, CA area has only one PO open after-hours, the regional hub on Enterprise in West Sac.

The USPS claims that it is a budget issue and they can't afford to stay open at other locations. I would argue that it is indeed a budget issue, one that the Federal government is trying to solve by creating an opportunity for assessing lots of late filing penalties for the poor suckers that try to run to the neighborhood PO at 11:45pm tonight.

@jeffbone: You're complaining??? According to this list, there's not ONE staying open in ALL of New England. Oh well, up here, we either pay early or not at all.

@pecan 3.14159265:

Sadly, there was not a cake in the background.

@pb5000:

Yeah, they will postmark Certified mailings for that day. If you just drop the return into the blue box after the final pickup time, then the envelope will be postmarked the following day.

@pecan 3.14159265: I thought that, as well. I do enjoy this cats and stock photo theme they picked up.

@EarlNowak: I owed, but I did it already... Hooray, they cashed my checks!

Woo. I wonder if I should have made it out directly to the large bailed out company that is going to get it anyway.

@undefined: I bet you'd have to make the last pickup from that automated machine, I recall there being some sort of box nearby that was similar to a regular mailbox. To be safe, I don't think I would do this unless I could print the postage from the machine and then go over to the table to have it manually postmarked.

Or use a free e-File site...but I would expect them to be bogged down tonight.

@sean98125:

I didn't have enough money to do them online. I did it by hand. And mailed them. Yesterday.

@MikeHerbst: I just like making the government wait for a change.

Not that it accomplishes anything productive, just some passive aggressive vindictiveness in my mind, but it's what I do.

@Jesse: Well, this is what happens if I bring my envelopes up to the desk to have the postage applied by the clerk(I do that so I have a record of sending off my rebates), not just sticking them in the slots.