Alot of people are rushing around today to finish their tax forms and get the April 15 postmark. That brought up an interesting question in the office that we were unsure of the answer.

Does the postmark have to be U.S. postal service?

Hypothetical situation:

Let's say you are travelling to some far off place (ex. Siberia). You get the bright idea to take your tax return along and mail it from there hoping your check will take a long time to get to the IRS. Does the far off place's postmark count toward the filing date?

Just curious.

Author: PSUEngineerFool wrote:
"Let's say you are travelling to some far off place (ex. Siberia). You get the bright idea to take your
tax return along and mail it from there hoping your check will take a long time to get to the IRS.
Does the far off place's postmark count toward the filing date?"


I lived in Australia for a few years and I believe that the postmark counted. But I also sent it to an overseas address as I recall. But the most important thing to remember is that it is already the 16th in Australia and Siberia.

[[Alot of people are rushing around today to finish their tax forms and get the April 15 postmark.
That brought up an interesting question in the office that we were unsure of the answer.

Does the postmark have to be U.S. postal service? ]]

A return, document or payment required under the law to be filed or made by a certain date will generally be considered timely filed or made if it has a timely U. S. Post Office postmark or a timely date recording or date mark from a designated delivery service. The postmark or designated delivery service date marking is considered to be the date of delivery even though the return, document, or payment is received after the due date for filing or payment.

In effect, the US Postoffice Postmark controls. For you in foreign lands, a better method would be one of th private delivery services.

So far IRS has designated Airborne Express (Airborne), DHL Worldwide Express (DHL), Federal Express (FedEx), and United Parcel Service (UPS), but only with respect to specific delivery services. The approved delivery services are Airborne's Overnight Air Express Service, Next Afternoon Service, and Second Day Service, DHL's 'Same Day' Service and DHL USA Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, FedEx Standard Overnight, and FedEx 2Day, and UPS Next Day Air, UPS Next Day Air Saver, UPS 2nd Day Air, and UPS 2nd Day Air A.M.

TMF Taxes
Roy

SPECIAL NOTE: Remember that this response is not the "last word" on your situation. It is really only a starting point. Make sure to review the "Read This First" post
(http://www.fool.com/School/Taxes/TaxesDisclaimer.htm) for additional information. In addition, many of your questions may already be referenced in the Taxes Frequently Asked Questions area. In order to visit the Taxes FAQ area, go to the Fool's School area (http://www.fool.com/school.htm) and check out "Other Features" in the list box, OR you can jump directly to the Taxes FAQ area (http://www.fool.com/school/taxes/taxes.htm). Additionally, if any references were made to the IRS Web Site, you can get there by pointing your web browser to (http://www.irs.ustreas.gov).

[[Alot of people are rushing around today to finish their tax forms and get the April 15 postmark.
That brought up an interesting question in the office that we were unsure of the answer.

Does the postmark have to be U.S. postal service? ]]

A return, document or payment required under the law to be filed or made by a certain date will generally be considered timely filed or made if it has a timely U. S. Post Office postmark or a timely date recording or date mark from a designated delivery service. The postmark or designated delivery service date marking is considered to be the date of delivery even though the return, document, or payment is received after the due date for filing or payment.

In effect, the US Postoffice Postmark controls. For you in foreign lands, a better method would be one of th private delivery services.

So far IRS has designated Airborne Express (Airborne), DHL Worldwide Express (DHL), Federal Express (FedEx), and United Parcel Service (UPS), but only with respect to specific delivery services. The approved delivery services are Airborne's Overnight Air Express Service, Next Afternoon Service, and Second Day Service, DHL's 'Same Day' Service and DHL USA Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, FedEx Standard Overnight, and FedEx 2Day, and UPS Next Day Air, UPS Next Day Air Saver, UPS 2nd Day Air, and UPS 2nd Day Air A.M.

TMF Taxes
Roy

SPECIAL NOTE: Remember that this response is not the "last word" on your situation. It is really only a starting point. Make sure to review the "Read This First" post
(http://www.fool.com/School/Taxes/TaxesDisclaimer.htm) for additional information. In addition, many of your questions may already be referenced in the Taxes Frequently Asked Questions area. In order to visit the Taxes FAQ area, go to the Fool's School area (http://www.fool.com/school.htm) and check out "Other Features" in the list box, OR you can jump directly to the Taxes FAQ area (http://www.fool.com/school/taxes/taxes.htm). Additionally, if any references were made to the IRS Web Site, you can get there by pointing your web browser to (http://www.irs.ustreas.gov).