Last-second income tax filers can take some comfort with an extra day to pay up and some help from the U.S. Postal Service.
Eight Maui County post offices will offer late collection of mail service Tuesday from specifically marked collection boxes for the deadline to submit federal income taxes, the Postal Service announced.
Because the normal tax submission deadline of April 15 is today, a Sunday, taxpayers have until Tuesday to file their 2011 returns and pay any taxes due. Emancipation Day, a holiday in the District of Columbia, is observed Monday.
While Hawaii post offices will close at their regular times on Tuesday, more than two dozen statewide will have collection boxes and/or lobby drop slots labeled with special bright orange signs indicating "Tax Mail Drop - Final Pick-Up Midnight." Tax forms with correct postage deposited in those boxes or slots by midnight will receive April 17 postmarks.
The Maui County post offices offering the late pickup services are: the Kahului, Kihei, Lahaina (Main), Makawao, Pukalani, Wailuku, Kaunakakai and Lanai City offices.
The IRS reported that as of March 30 more than 91 million tax returns had been received; 88 percent of all returns were filed electronically. Last year, 78 percent of all returns were filed electronically.
IRS officials said that 20 to 25 percent of all taxpayers wait until the last two weeks before the filing deadline to submit their income tax returns.
