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New postal service rule could affect year-end tax documents and charitable donations for 2025
Effective December 24, 2025, the United States Postal Service (USPS) Postmarks and Postal Possession rule clarifies how postmarks are applied, which may affect how the timing of mailed charitable gifts is determined.
This could affect year-end charitable gifts.
Under this rule, machine-applied postmarks are now generated at regional USPS processing centers rather than at a local post office. Historically, a postmark served as proof of when a gift was mailed. With this change, the postmark date may be applied several days after mail is dropped off locally and is no longer a reliable indicator of the mailing date. As a result, this change could affect whether certain mailed gifts qualify for a 2025 income tax deduction.
Donors intending to make a 2025 charitable gift should visit a USPS counter and request one of the following:
- A Postage Validation Imprint (PVI)
- A Manual Postmark
- A Certificate of Mailing, Registered Mail or Certified Mail
Please note that self-service kiosks and third-party mailing services do not guarantee compliance for charitable contributions.
Additionally, we want to share the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation's year-end deadlines, which may be helpful::
- Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. - For online contributions.
- Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. - Postmarked date for check contributions.
If you have questions or need assistance, a member of our team is always happy to help.
Thank you for your partnership and for all you do to support charitable giving in our community.