In a time where we pay a lot of things online, we don’t think much about mail service anymore — until we need it.

Which is why it’s doubly important you know about a little Christmas present that affects mail. As of last Christmas Eve, mail is no longer postmarked when your area post office receives them (when you leave them out for pickup, or drop them in a blue box, or even at the box inside the post office.

To have a same-day postmark, you need to go in and wait in line and get the item hand cancelled, or use a service like certified mail.

Otherwise, it will be postmarked at the regional center, which could be days.

A quick summary: https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/blog/2025/12/8/usps-changes-to-postmark-date-system-taking-effect-december-24-2025

Why does this matter? Well, for those in fundraising, it matters A LOT. IRS rules for if a gift was counted in a year depended not on the date on the check, but the postmark date. If I put a donation in the mail today to my favorite charity, it almost certainly would not be postmarked until 1/2 or later, meaning it’s not tax-deductible in 2025. If you are an organization waiting on some big year-end gifts, you should reach out and let them know — and maybe even be open on NY Eve for people to drop off gifts.

More nefariously, this will have the potential to invalidate thousands, if not tens of thousands, of mail-in ballots for the mid-term elections.

But it has effects on taxes and such too. If you mail in your income or property taxes, or other important items, they will incur penalties if postmarked late.

We don’t often think about postmarks, but this has huge implications — and we should be pushing back. At the very least, you should be getting to know the staff at your local post office!