Fewer Post Offices Open Late Tonight for Tax Stragglers

For those whose Tax Day tradition is waiting until the last second to fill out their income tax forms and then mailing them, finding a post office open until the midnight filing deadline is going to be a little harder this year.

"Every year there are less," said Richard Maher, spokesperson for the United States Postal Service, about the smaller number of offices open late on Tax Day.

The closest latenight office is the Airport Station office, at 9020 Airport Blvd.,  near Los Angeles International Airport [see map.]

It will be collecting mail  and open for retail (selling stamps) until midnight tonight, the deadline for filing your federal and state income tax forms.

Traditionally, that deadline is April 15. However, April 16 is Emancipation Day, a federal holiday in Washington, DC. That day was a Saturday this year, so to give public employees their day off on Friday, the filing deadline was extended until today, with most states, including California, following suit.

in Brentwood is open today until 5 p.m., the regular closing hour.

Maher said that the reason fewer post offices are open late is that fewer people are sending the government paper tax forms.

"Over 60 percent file electronically," Maher said.

In addition, Tax Day is not a big revenue day for the Postal Service, Maher explained. During the Christmas holidays, patrons are buying lots of postage for numerous letters and packages. 

"On Tax Day, everyone's there with just two letters," Maher said.

Staying open adds to the cost of running the service, as well, what with employee overtime.

That doesn't mean that there won't be plenty of people rushing out at the last minute with their paper forms.

"We still have quite a lot of traffic on the last day," Maher said.

It's just going to be down at the Airport Station this year.

Residents can find their nearest post office at the USPS.com website here.