Tax Deadline
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For decades, 15 April has been the date every American with a shoebox full of receipts circles on the calendar. This year, for anyone still licking stamps, it is the wrong one.

The Internal Revenue Service has not moved its deadline. However, changes at the United States Postal Service (USPS) are affecting how deadlines are effectively met. A change to how postmarks are applied, which was introduced last year, means paper tax returns dropped in a mailbox after 9 April may not carry a 15 April stamp by the time they are processed. This is six days earlier than the date most taxpayers have drilled into their heads; in other words, it is the new practical cutoff.

Oregon's Department of Revenue was among the first to put the warning in writing, advising filers to post state and federal returns no later than Thursday, 9 April. Other state agencies have followed the suit.

USPS no longer guarantees same-day postmarking, and the stamp now reflects the day an envelope is first processed at a regional facility, which in practice can be a day or two after it leaves the filer's hands. The IRS, meanwhile, still judges timeliness by the postmark. A return mailed on 15 April but stamped on 16 April is, in the agency's eyes, late. Penalties and interest follow.

Paper Filers Still Make Up a Surprising Slice of Tax Day

The cohort affected is shrinking, which is partly why the change has slipped under the radar. It is not, however, tiny. The IRS had logged 88.4 million returns by 27 March, of which roughly 1.6 million came in on paper, CNBC reported. Last year, the agency handled about 10.9 million paper returns against 165.8 million in total. A small percentage of a very large number, and one that skews heavily toward older filers and households without steady internet.

Oregon's electronic filing rate sits north of 94 percent, up from 86 percent a decade ago, the Herald and News reported. State officials expect the share to keep creeping up, but not fast enough to make the postmark problem go away by itself.

'As much as we wish it wasn't, it's normal for nearly half of returns to come in the last two weeks,' said Megan Denison, Oregon's personal tax and compliance administrator. 'There are always hundreds of thousands of returns filed in the final weeks, days, and, yes, hours before the deadline.'

That habit, broadly harmless in previous years, is the exact kind of behaviour the new postmark policy punishes.

How to Avoid 15 April Deadline if You Still Use Stamps

There are workarounds for anyone who cannot get an envelope in the box by 9 April. The simplest is to walk into a post office before the close of business on 15 April and ask the clerk for a hand-cancelled postmark. It is applied at the counter, with that day's date, and it satisfies the IRS.

Certified and registered mail remains the gold standard. Both carry IRS recognition as proof of timely filing, as do several private couriers, including FedEx and UPS. A certified receipt is scanned and dated when handed over, giving the filer something concrete to wave at an auditor months later if questions arise.

The alternative, as tax officials have been saying for years with mounting impatience, is to file electronically. E-filed returns are time-stamped instantly and bypass the postal system entirely. Refunds claimed through e-filing with direct deposit typically arrive within 21 days.

The penalty for missing the deadline without an extension can climb to 25 percent of the unpaid tax, plus interest that accrues until the balance clears. Form 4868 buys an automatic six-month extension to 15 October, though not a moment longer for actual payment. Any tax owed is still due on 15 April, whether the return itself is finished or not.

Oregon has also warned paper filers against using state drop boxes for federal returns. The Department of Revenue will date-stamp and forward the envelopes but cannot guarantee the IRS will treat them as filed on time.

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