Check pickup times; mailboxes are not open late.

I can remember the days when news stations staked out post offices at night on Tax Day to record the guaranteed pandemonium. They very well may still do that tonight — I don’t know, I get my news from the Internet.

Yes, times have changed. A lot of people nowadays use the Internet or telephone to get their taxes to the IRS on time.

If it ain’t broke …

Many people still use the good old U.S. Postal Service to file their taxes. It’s dependable. You don’t run the risk of your computer crashing or your Internet connection failing. As long as that thing is postmarked today, you’re straight with Uncle Sam. You don’t want to have to take out personal loans to pay back the interest on your late tax payment.

However, because of these changing times and fewer people using the stamp-and-envelope method, not all post offices are open  until midnight on Tax Day anymore.

Get informed

Though some post offices will close at their normal time today, some of them are open  until midnight. So if you’re a traditionalist who loves the thrill of getting that envelope in the mail just in time, you can use the post office locator to find the closest one to you that is open.

Go to the United States Postal Service web site, put in  your zip code, and it will tell you which post offices in your area are open until midnight. Yes, I know, I am telling you to use the Internet so you can mail in your taxes the old-fashioned way. Welcome to Tax Day 2009.