If you are among the millions making the annual trek to the Post Office over the next few days, I strongly suggest mailing either your tax returns or extensions by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. Having that receipt in hand will protect your refund or eliminate or minimize any penalties which the taxing authorities try to levy on you for late filing. These receipts do, in fact, hold up under audit.
The returns are required to be postmarked by April 17, 2007 this year. As long as you have a valid post mark, you will be OK. However, since the return will arrive after the deadline, you can protect yourself by using certified mail.
Since I personally find the Post Office forms more confusing than IRS forms, I have provided an example of how to complete the forms in the picture above. If you step into the lobby of a post office late on the night of the filing deadline, you will notice that most people are lost when it comes to completing these forms.
Since I personally find the Post Office forms more confusing than IRS forms, I have provided an example of how to complete the forms in the picture above. If you step into the lobby of a post office late on the night of the filing deadline, you will notice that most people are lost when it comes to completing these forms.
If you double click on the picture above, you should be able to enlarge it enough to see the detail. The form on the left shows the front of the certified mail form. On there, you put the address of the recipient on the left hand side, and check the box as shown for certified mail. At the bottom, put the article number of the letter being mailed. The article number comes from the left hand side of the certified mail receipt shown below in the middle. Just peel off the article number and transfer it to the front of the green card. Then turn the card over and put your return address on the back of the green card. This allows the post office to notify you that the package has been delivered and acknowledged by the recipient.
Please note that the addresses shown above are examples only, and they are not to be used for your personal mailing. I have included the specific addresses in each return or extension which has gone out. In recent years, the IRS has set up about a zillion different addresses for various tax forms. Addresses vary by the state in which you live, whether you have a refund or whether you owe money, whether your return was prepared by a professional or whether you prepared it yourself, etc., etc., etc. The variations never end, so please do not use the addresses shown above for your personal mailings.
