Wichita County Tax Assessor-Collector Tommy Smyth warns that a change at the U.S. Postal Service could result in late fees or other consequences for unsuspecting citizens.
“I can assure you that there is going to be a very large segment of the public that has absolutely no idea this has changed,” Smyth said.
He said mail has historically been postmarked on the day the postal service received it but now will be postmarked when it goes through an automatic sorter — which may be days after it is dropped off.
He said time-sensitive mail should now be mailed several days before deadlines.
Documents like tax payments, legal filings, rent payments and other bills are at now at risk of late fees, penalties or delinquency if not mailed days in advance of the due date, USA Today reported Dec. 31.
Smyth said his office expects complaints from county residents who put their tax payments in the mail on Jan. 31 but will still miss the Feb. 1 deadline because of the new rule.
“All of this is statutorily-based per the Texas State Tax Code, and our office and none of the other 253 county tax offices will have room for any latitude,” he said. “Those who wait until the very end of January with mailing their tax payments will be placing their fate in the hands of the postal service.”
Smyth said it appears to him that the postal service did not make a concerted effort to advise the public of the change.
USA Today reported other changes in 2026 from the postal service include increased costs for some mailing fees, although the current price of 78 cents for a first-class stamp will remain the same.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Texans are at risk of unexpected tax penalties
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
