Post office employees try to keep lines short on tax day

It’s April 15 also known as tax day, which means a busy day for the post office.

The IRS estimates one in five people wait to file their taxes until the very last day.

Addie Ferrari said the lines weren’t too long when she went to file her taxes at the Palm Springs post office Wednesday morning.

“Just relaxing and mailing my taxes. Wait till the last day; I didn’t want to wait till the last hour, but I thought I’ll wait till the 15th. I hate to pay my taxes,” Ferrari said.

For some, there’s a simple reason why they wait to file.

“I guess I just don’t want to give them my money before I have to,” Ferrari said.

“I owed money, so I waited until the very last minute and I just mailed my check,” schoolteacher Lisa Selfors said.

But despite the procrastinators, post office employees are trying to keep lines short.

“Just as quick as possible. Get them their stamp on there and their round date and then get them. And mostly everyone is pretty good until the end of the day when they want it to be stamped immediately,” postal clerk David Lopez said.

That strategy seems to be working.

It took Selfors under five minutes to get in and out of the post office around lunchtime.

“I had everything ready. The only thing I had to do was fill out the check and pop it in the mail,” Selfors said.

Once 2 o’clock hit, it was a different story.

“It might take, you know, 10, 15, 20 minutes. So I have the kids to pick up in a little bit when they get out of school, so hopefully I get it all figured in,” Hobby Lobby employee Jason Jenains said.

But no matter the wait times, some say they won’t be doing things any differently next year.

“I will probably do the same thing. If I have to pay, I wait till the 15th,” Ferrari said.

If you haven’t filed your return, there are no valley post offices with extended hours.

The closest location to the desert is the San Bernardino Processing and Distribution Center.

It’s open until midnight for last-minute drop offs.

It’s located on the 1900 block on West Redlands Boulevard.

You can also e-file for an extension on sending in your return.

If you owe money, it won’t solve that problem, but you can get more time to finish your paperwork.

You can find that form and more information right here.