The United States Postal Service (USPS) changed its process for postmarking first-class mail in December 2025, relegating the task to regional offices instead of local ones.
This means postmarks applied by USPS for first-class mail may be delayed by one or more days, potentially affecting year-end contributions sent by donors who itemize deductions and hope to count their donations toward the 2025 tax year.
Charitable contributions must be claimed in the year they are delivered, even if they are dated on or before December 31, notes Richard Hammar in the online Church & Clergy Tax Guide.
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But checks mailed to a church are deductible in the year the check is mailed and postmarked—even if they are received by the church early in the next year.
With the USPS’s change right before the end of 2025, many donors may not realize their checks still received 2026 postmarks.
Church leaders may want to alert donors regarding this development.
Looking ahead, leaders also should encourage donors to mail checks earlier, request a manual postmark at the local office, use certified mail (receipt requested), or possibly even use alternatives to USPS.
Key Resources:
- Chapter 8 of the online Church & Clergy Tax Guide (exclusively available to Advantage members) goes deeper into charitable contributions.
- The 2026 Tax Prep Guide for Churches & Clergy provides information for churches to help donors with charitable contributions.
