Filing a tax return on April 15? Dana Point post office closes at 5:30 p.m., Santa Ana offers extended hours to midnight

Dana Point residents have until 5:30 p.m. on April 15 to file tax returns at the post office on Del Prado, but those who come late can still beat the midnight deadline with a trek to Santa Ana.

“In Orange County they can go to the Santa Ana processing center at 3101 West Sunflower Avenue,” said Richard Maher, the spokesperson for the United States Postal Service in Southern California. “They will be accepting mail with stamps on it until midnight on April 15.” No other post office in Orange County offers extended hours this year.

Maher suggested buying stamps prior to driving to Santa Ana. The processing center has a stamp vending machine but Maher said buying stamps at another post office or supermarket will likely be quicker than attempting to park near the postal facility. The center on tax day annually attracts thousands of cars, police traffic control and even protestors speaking out against income taxes.

In the past the USPS has offered its customers extended hours throughout Orange County but the increasing trend of electronic filing has all but ended that tradition. According to an IRS report, citizens filed 148 million tax returns nationwide in 2008, and of that number only 40 percent were done by mail. Of those done by mail, Maher said many filers pay the standard 42 cent rate.

The end result: huge crowds at post offices without the big revenues produced during the holiday season when mailers send out packages or dozens of Christmas cards.