Postal Service employees came to the aid of last-minute tax filers April 18, although most people went online to submit their returns.
USPS estimates it canceled 63.9 million First-Class Mail pieces, up slightly from last year’s number (63.7 million pieces) but down 38 percent from the number processed on Tax Day a decade ago. The Postal Service doesn’t break down First-Class Mail by type, so the number of returns processed isn’t available.
More than 5 million last-minute returns were expected to be filed this year, according to the IRS. Most returns were filed electronically, although some Post Offices offered extended hours and drive-through collection points.
“It’s still a busy time,” said Detroit Processing and Distribution Center Clerk Laura Watson.
Crowds were reported in cities such as Dallas, where the line of vehicles at the Main Post Office stretched more than half a mile at 10 p.m., the Dallas Morning News reported.
Traffic also was steady at Pennsylvania Post Offices.
“There are people who still do the whole thing by mail,” Eastern Area Communications Program Specialist Karen Mazurkiewicz told Lancaster Online. “So it is a busier day at the Post Office, just not what we saw a decade ago.”
