Post office bracing for late filers rush

By Staff
Rebecca James, Franklin County Times
With the tax deadline looming, usually there are crazy lines of last minute filers rushing to the post office to get their return in at the last minute.
This isn't the case so far this year at Russellville Post Office, where it isn't really that much busier than usual.
"It's not too bad this year, not yet anyway," said Russellville Postmaster Earl Winchell. "We're starting to see a lot of people come in to get the tax forms, but it really isn't that busy."
Traffic at the post office has been down acorss the country as the tax deadline nears and many attribute that to the popularity of e-filing.
Most people file their tax returns electronically because it's convenient, despite lingering concerns about the security of their most sensitive financial information, according to a new Associated Press poll.
Some 54 percent of tax filers say their returns are sent electronically, and that number is rapidly growing.
Still, there are others who prefer to do it the old fashioned way, and post offices across Franklin County are bracing themselves for the flood of last minute filers.
"We haven't been too busy yet, but we're expecting it to be a lot busier Monday and Tuesday, at least that's the way it was last year," said post office employee Don Hall, "We're expecting Monday and Tuesday to be terrible."
Russellville Post Office will not be extending their hours to accommodate last minute returns. All returns must be postmarked by Tuesday, which is the extended deadline for tax returns.
The tax filing deadline is next Tuesday, April 17, because April 15 falls on a Sunday this year and April 16 is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in Washington. D.C.