On Christmas Eve, the United States Postal Service quietly changed the way they postmark mail — and yes, it can affect you sooner than you think.

Here’s the key update: your mail may no longer be postmarked at the local post office where you drop it off. Instead, USPS is now postmarking many pieces of mail once they reach the regional processing facility.

That may not sound like a big deal… until you realize how many important real estate and homeowner deadlines rely on the postmark date — not the day you thought you mailed it.

Why this matters for homeowners

Two big deadlines to keep on your radar:

Property Tax Payments
To be considered on time, your payment must have a January 31, 2026 postmark.

Property Tax Protest Forms
To meet the deadline, your protest must have a May 15, 2026 postmark.

With this new USPS change, dropping your envelope in the mail on the deadline day may not be enough if it doesn’t get processed regionally until the next day (or later). And unfortunately, the tax office won’t care that you meant well — they only care about what the postmark shows.

What you should do

If you’re mailing anything time-sensitive, especially anything related to your home or taxes:

Mail it early — don’t cut it close.
OR if you want to be extra safe, go inside your local post office and physically ask for a postmark at the counter.

Just a reminder: that option only works during post office business hours, not after-hours drop boxes.