Bay Area post offices open late for tax deadline

April 14, 2009 at 9:48 a.m.

As tax time arrives once again, the U.S. Postal Service is keeping some Bay Area offices open late Wednesday to accommodate last-minute filers.

Postal Service spokesman Jim Wigdel said he usually spends the evening of the federal tax deadline on the curb observing the crowds at the San Francisco processing plant.

There was a marked drop in cars last year, he said, as more people file online. The Internal Revenue Service expects 65 percent of filers to send their information over the Internet.

However major post offices still offer late-night hours and curbside service, he said, to process mail efficiently.

“We’ll have employees out there to sort the mail by hand and put federal and state returns in the right places,” he said of the curbside service.

The following post office facilities will offer special hours on April 15:

San Francisco’s post office and distribution center at 1300 Evans Ave. and the airport branch at 660 W. Field Road will both be open from 7 a.m. to midnight, with curbside drop off available after 4 p.m.

In Redwood City, the main post office at 1100 Broadway will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. with curbside drop-off from 8 p.m. through midnight.

San Jose’s main post office at 1750 Lundy Ave. will be open from 8:30 a.m. until midnight. The Willow Glen location, 1750 Meridian Ave., will stay open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

San Rafael has no curbside drop-off, but the post office at 40 Bellam Blvd. will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In the North Bay, the post office at 1150 N. McDowell Blvd. in Petaluma will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and offer curbside drop-off from 6 p.m. to midnight.

All other post offices will be open for normal hours. Wigdel said patrons should make sure they have affixed correct postage before mailing their tax documents. It costs 42 cents for the first ounce and 17 cents per additional ounce, according to the U.S. Postal Service. An ounce is generally four pages.