AP and staff reports

As the Albert Lea post office braces for a wave of a mail, an estimated 26 million filers are facing a midnight deadline for getting their income tax forms on the way to the Internal Revenue Service.

Monday, April 16, 2001

As the Albert Lea post office braces for a wave of a mail, an estimated 26 million filers are facing a midnight deadline for getting their income tax forms on the way to the Internal Revenue Service.

The tax agency advises tax procrastinators to take time to double-check their math and take care to use the correct tax amount from the tax table. One way to save possible headaches later on is to correctly list Social Security numbers, including those for dependents.

IRS spokesman Don Roberts estimated that some 37 million tax returns would be filed in the final two weeks before the deadline – 11 million last week and 26 million postmarked or electronically filed Monday. In all, about 130 million individual returns are expected this year.

In Albert Lea, the post office lobby will close at its regular time, 5:30 p.m., but mail dropped in the boxes directly outside the post office by midnight tonight will be postmarked April 16, said Bonnie Ravlin, acting postmaster.

The Albert Lea post office will add extra staff Tuesday morning to handle the increased mail volume, Ravlin said.

Many post offices elsewhere will be open until midnight to put a Monday cancellation mark on last-minute returns. The IRS accepts a postmark as proof the return was filed on time.

Taxpayers can request an automatic four-month extension for filing returns, but they must pay any estimated taxes on time. Otherwise, the IRS will assess a late-payment penalty and interest currently running at 8 percent.

Extensions can be obtained by phone by calling (888) 796-1074 – some information from the 1999 return is needed to verify identity – or with Form 4868.