And from checking all local post offices from Lake Park to Moody Air Force Base, will have to get those returns to their local post offices far earlier than 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, April 17.

The U.S. Post Office offered the following information for tax deadline filers who plan to mail their returns on April 17: Each local post office location, its retail office hours planned for April 17, and the last time a person can mail a return on April 17 and still receive an April 17 postmark:

• Zip code 31601, downtown Valdosta post office at 401 N. Patterson St. On April 17, the retail office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The latest time to mail an income tax return at this location and receive an April 17 post mark will be 5:30 p.m.

• Zip code 31601, Clyattville. The Clyattville contract postal unit at 5360 Madison Hwy. on April 17 will have normal retail office hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The latest time to mail a tax return at the Clyattville post office and receive an April 17 postmark is 5 p.m.

• Zip code 31602, Northside post office at 3698 Inner Perimeter Rd. On April 17, the retail office hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The latest time to mail an income tax return and still receive an April 17 post mark is 6:30 p.m.

• Zip code 31699, Moody Air Force Base, 5293 Schrader St., on the base. The retail office hours on April 17 will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The latest time to mail a tax return and still receive an April 17 post mark is 4 p.m.

• Zip code 31636, Lake Park, 687 Lakes Blvd. The retail office hours on April 17 will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The latest time to mail a tax return and still receive an April 17 post mark is 5:45 p.m.

The U.S. Post Office does not give tax advice and suggests calling the IRS at 800-829-1040 or visiting the agency’s web site at www.irs.gov. Also, tax forms are not available at post offices.

Observations and tips from the pros

So they’ve waited until the last minute to file income taxes.

So what’s up with the late filers?

“Many they think they owe money, so they think that by waiting until the last minute to file, it helps them. But it doesn’t,” Jackson Hewitt’s Lillie Lopez said. “Even if you file an extension, the payment is due April 17. An extension will extend your time to file, which eliminates your ‘failure to pay’ penalty. If a person is unsure how much they should pay, we advise them to pay the amount they paid last year based on the previous year’s income.”

Tax preparers can estimate for you how much you should pay if you don’t have all your paperwork, Janet Lewis Douglass of Lewis Tax Service concurred.

“If you know you owe, or if you know you made more money, you should send in a payment for an estimated amount,” Lewis said. “If you pay in too much, you’ll get a refund. If you don’t pay in enough, you’ll get a penalty plus interest. Estimates are based on last year’s returns. If you owed $5,000 last year, we try to get them to pay that much this year.”