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Not enough postage will get your
return returned
By Kay
Bell • Bankrate.com
You cut it close, but you made the filing deadline.
Or did you?
If your return included a lot of supporting
documents, it probably needed more than one stamp. If you overlooked
that, you'll probably be seeing your 1040 again soon.
The Internal Revenue Service has no funds to
pay for postage due and you can bet that return-swamped agents aren't
going to pay the postal charge out of the goodness their own hearts.
If you don't put enough stamps -- or forget to put any -- on the
envelope, your return will be on its way back to you.
And that envelope
marked "Insufficient Postage, Return to Sender" is very
likely to cost you more than 39 cents.
In
the best-case scenario, that will mean a delayed refund and possibly
a late filing penalty. Worst case: a late-filed return and, if you
owe tax, associated penalties and interest.
So make sure the envelope has enough postage,
especially if you have a lot of forms. It's also a good idea to
make sure that the addresses -- both your return address and the
IRS processing center one -- are clear so the envelope won't go
astray in the mail.
The IRS considers your return delivered by the
U.S. Postal Service as long as when it is received it has an April
15 postmark on the envelope. If you want added assurance that your
tax return made it safely to the IRS, the post office offers verification
services for an extra charge.
Or you can send your return through an IRS-approved
overnight delivery service:
- DHL Worldwide Express
- Federal Express
- United Parcel Service
If you use one of these companies, the tax collector
deems your return as "timely filed" based on the date
entered on the address form by the delivery company when it picks
up your package.
Be sure to use the correct IRS delivery address
if you use an overnight service. These services do not deliver items
to P.O. boxes, such as the one on your preprinted tax return envelope.
In this case, call the private delivery service
of your choice for guidance. The companies may have the data in
their files or be equipped during tax season to accept the more
limited address (of city location only) found on the back page of
your tax form instruction book.
Freelance writer Kay Bell writes
Bankrate's tax stories from her home in Austin,
Texas, and blogs on tax topics at Don't
Mess with Taxes.
-- Updated April
10, 2007
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