Politics & Government

Local Post Offices Keeping Normal Hours on Tax Day

Late night extended hours for last-minute IRS filings are pretty much a thing of the past, say U.S. Postal Service officials and local postal workers.

Don’t expect your local post office to be open late today for the April 18 deadline for filing your income taxes, local and national officials tell Patch.

“With the increasing number of online tax filings, there has been very little need to extend post office hours of operations widely,” said Joanne Veto, a national spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service.

That said, extended hours are ultimately a local decision, she added.

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Returns must be postmarked by Monday. The Bryn Mawr Post Office will be open until 5 p.m. today, and Gladwyne's post office will close at 4:30 p.m., as usual.

The U.S. Postal Service has lost many millions of dollars in revenues over the past decade, caused by a precipitous decline in the volume of first-class mail. And since the recession hit a few years ago, tens of thousands of postal workers have lost their jobs (or were not replaced when they left).

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The days of accommodating late night procrastinators, then, would seem to be long gone.

“We haven’t had extended hours here for about 10 years, maybe longer,” said Angelo Valucci, postmaster at the Ardmore post office.

“The main Post Office at 30th and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia will not have extended hours for April 18,” stated Cathy Yarosky, Philadelphia metro district spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service. “The lobby will be open until 9 p.m.  There will be no extended retail hours at any of our city offices.”

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