{"id":401,"date":"2026-03-17T17:05:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/?p=401"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:05:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:05:21","slug":"usps-postmark-changes-could-affect-2026-tax-filings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/usps-postmark-changes-could-affect-2026-tax-filings\/","title":{"rendered":"USPS Postmark Changes Could Affect 2026 Tax Filings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">USPS Postmark Changes Could Affect 2026 Tax Filings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) is notifying taxpayers that recent United States Postal Service (USPS) postmark changes may affect timely filing for 2026 returns and payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s Changing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>USPS automated postmarks may\u00a0<strong>no longer reflect the dates<\/strong>\u00a0taxpayers drop off mail at their local post offices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This may affect\u00a0<strong>time\u2011sensitive documents<\/strong>, including tax returns and payments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Manual postmarks remain available\u00a0<strong>free of charge<\/strong>\u00a0at USPS retail counters upon request.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IDOR\u2019s Recommendations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mail early<\/strong>\u2014don\u2019t wait until April 15.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If mailing close to the deadline,\u00a0<strong>request a manual postmark<\/strong>\u00a0at the post office counter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whenever possible,\u00a0<strong>file and pay electronically<\/strong>\u00a0for the fastest and most reliable processing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Electronic Filing Benefits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ensures returns and payments are\u00a0<strong>received on time<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/links-2.govdelivery.com\/CL0\/https:%2F%2Ftax.illinois.gov%2Findividuals%2Ffree-tax-preparation-resources.html\/1\/0101019cf746a93f-280d9dfe-a20e-42fa-b306-f8eca9ee1e1d-000000\/Tdfj4sxYWiYf-XbJYx83i6aSYfB1WYDtNnNSMHz6oAM=448\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Free tax preparation<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is available for qualified individuals.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Taxpayers may also use\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/links-2.govdelivery.com\/CL0\/https:%2F%2Fmytax.illinois.gov\/1\/0101019cf746a93f-280d9dfe-a20e-42fa-b306-f8eca9ee1e1d-000000\/3Ug7lPwdW8eBvZnbI1Z1KdVyt_w_1Q4c2-eJUVWVvj4=448\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MyTax Illinois<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to file and pay electronically at no cost.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In\u2011Person Options<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Taxpayers who are not required to file electronically may\u00a0<strong>drop off returns or payments at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/links-2.govdelivery.com\/CL0\/https:%2F%2Ftax.illinois.gov%2Faboutidor%2Flocations.html\/1\/0101019cf746a93f-280d9dfe-a20e-42fa-b306-f8eca9ee1e1d-000000\/bB1h7xdHU8ts2_TLyJABpE4kkhvJ6qtSCJl5B7W0maQ=448\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">any IDOR office<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>IDOR staff will\u00a0<strong>date stamp documents<\/strong>, providing proof of receipt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plan Ahead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Review due dates at\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/links-2.govdelivery.com\/CL0\/https:%2F%2Ftax.illinois.gov%2F\/1\/0101019cf746a93f-280d9dfe-a20e-42fa-b306-f8eca9ee1e1d-000000\/k6zKrEsg_JPemKJ-VWtO6OwNhRyOBHU3HnNzRzhfsdI=448\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tax.illinois.gov<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allow\u00a0<strong>extra mailing time<\/strong>\u00a0if sending returns or payments by mail<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Request a\u00a0<strong>manual USPS postmark<\/strong>\u00a0if mailing near the deadline<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consider dropping off documents at an\u00a0<strong>IDOR office<\/strong>\u00a0for an official date stamp<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use\u00a0<strong>electronic filing<\/strong>\u00a0to avoid mailing delays entirely\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>USPS Postmark Changes Could Affect 2026 Tax Filings The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) is notifying taxpayers that recent United States Postal Service (USPS) postmark changes may affect timely filing for 2026 returns and payments. What\u2019s Changing IDOR\u2019s Recommendations Electronic Filing Benefits In\u2011Person Options Plan Ahead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":404,"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions\/404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weissthompson.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}