USPS sucks.

[beccaiscool]

We had to file our taxes via snail mail this year as we qualify for the First Time Home Buyers credit. We fill out all the forms, write everything down, sign it, put a stamp on it, and send it on it's way via USPS. First Class. This was on the 27th of January

Comments

[strangelittlex]

The best you can do is hope it shows up and in the meantime start filling out your tax forms again. It's not traceable, the USPS really can't do anything for you.

There's really no way to send your taxes electronically?

[strangelittlex]

Gotcha. I didn't know if the mortgage company just sent a statement that you had to plug in (like a W2) or what.

[princessselene]

My husband and I bought our house in October 2008 and were able to file our taxes electronically just fine. There wasn't any additional paperwork that had to go along with it from the mortgage company. Hmm. Odd.

[hallwayjulie]

How would they pay for you to track it? If you just sent it regular mail, there's no way to track it, period. You should have sent it certified.

[yamikuronue]

I believe the OP was wanting them to pay for the second copy they now have to send to be tracked.

[alpacacock]

Yea, the OP wants them to pay to send out a second piece of mail, but also wants them to pay for the additional bells and whistles the OP should have purchased in the first place.

Smart scam.

[hallwayjulie]

Ah, gotcha.

[amandeeta]

If you don't send it certified, there's nothing they can do. If it's something important, suck up the $5-$15 and be glad knowing that it'll get there or that you can tell where it is. Some items need the extra protection and tax returns are DEFINITELY one of them.

There's probably a mail sorter in Podunk County, USA whose clapping his hands in glee because he stumbled upon the one uncertified tax return. He's probably gone nuts with your credit by this point. Definitely get a credit check and definitely pay for the monitoring.

It'll suck much, much more for you if not paying $5-$15 costs you thousands and a bad credit score.

[said_by_me]

There's probably a mail sorter in Podunk County, USA whose clapping his hands in glee because he stumbled upon the one uncertified tax return.

Or you know... it could have fallen behind a piece of equipment, misrouted or dropped in routing bin

[amandeeta]

I read an article a few years back about an expose on Post Offices which speculated that most lost mail was really stolen mail. Especially on mail that was treated "special", such as checks, W-2's, IRS returns and other documents that have sensitive information.

[said_by_me]

Huh

Having actually worked there... while that may happen sometimes, that is not the majority. At least not at the plant I worked at.

[foogati]

It's the U.S. Postal Service -- this is what they do, and they're notorious for it. It says right on their website that they guarantee nothing and it's not their fault if they lose something. And they lose a LOT.

Next time, use something that can be tracked (like Certified Mail with return receipt, $4.80 I think) or ditch USPS altogether and use UPS or FedEx. You shouldn't have to take extra precautions -- if a private business had even half the issues USPS has with losing customers' sensitive stuff and general customer
service, they would have folded ages ago. Seriously, who not only offers, but encourages customers to purchase insurance on packages they said in case *the company* loses or damages the item? That tells you three things: USPS loses/damages customers' shit way too much, they can't afford the insure themselves because of how highthe costs would be (which is directly related to the first one), and they should be avoided whenever humanly possible.

[cerulean_me]

Yeah, it's sooo terrible. You pay less than half a dollar to mail a letter, and more than 99% ot gets where it's going, on time. Soooo terrible!

[sarahcb1208]

and, for the most part, at the same time, by the same carrier day in and day out.

[andalusi]

No kidding. Private carriers charge a hell of a lot more for what the Post Office does for only the price of a First Class stamp.

[hedgemom]

Did you weigh the envelope to make sure it was only .44? Most Federal tax returns with supporting documentation and multiple schedules weigh more than one ounce, requiring extra postage.

Mostlikely it's being rejected for insufficient postage. IRS will not accept postage due envelopes. It will take 4-6 weeks to return to you if you put a return address on it. If you did not put a return address on it, have the inspector check the dead letter office. They hold things a month or more before they open them to look for an address.

It's about 5.00 to certify/return receipt a piece of mail. Might be good information for the future.

[amandeeta]

USPS should be able to find that though. Although you might have to specifically ask that they look in their system for a return to sender mail. But they usually know they've at least sent it back.

[hallwayjulie]

Do they really keep records of mail that's returned for insufficient postage? I'm honestly asking, I have no idea. It just seems weird that they could or would track regular mail that gets returned to sender.

[amergina]

I was going to say... I always double stamp my tax returns because the weight always seems to hover around one ounce and I don't want to take any chances. (Two stamps is over-paying, but it's more convenient than going to the PO for exact postage.) Never had a problem with the IRS not getting my forms.