A new postal rule has significant impacts on how Year-End gifts will be processed this year and can make a big difference for your donors. Historically, letters have been postmarked when they were dropped off at your local post office, proving when a donation or other time-sensitive mailing had been received by the USPS. At Year End, a December 31st postmark allowed a gift to be recorded for the year it was mailed, even though it would have been received and processed in January of the following year.

However, in late 2025, a USPS regulation clarified that postmarks were to be applied at regional processing centers, not local post offices, which could be several days after a package is initially mailed.

What does this mean for Year-End giving? A gift mailed December 31st – or potentially even earlier – would receive a January postmark and be processed as a January contribution. This can shift the revenue from these gifts from December to January for your reporting. And, perhaps more importantly,  it means the donor’s gift may not be tax-deductible as they had hoped.

There are steps that donors can take to ensure their gift, mailed in late December, is dated correctly. They can request a “manual postmark” (or “local postmark”) to confirm the date the package is received by the post office. They can also purchase postage at the post office counter (not a kiosk), which will include the Postage Validation Imprint (PVI) with the date of the mailing. Donors can also send their gift by Certified or Registered mail, which will incur additional costs, or purchase a Certificate of Mailing, all of which confirm the date of mailing.

All of these require more effort, and in some cases expense, from the donor. Perhaps the easiest solution is to encourage donors to mail their gifts earlier and/or donate online. Organizations must clearly and regularly communicate these changes to their donors, potentially in e-newsletters, buckslips, or even dedicated communications to donors who have historically given late December gifts via mail. Communicating early and often will help ensure your donors don’t get an unpleasant surprise next January.