Nonprofit postal rates will increase 6.7 percent on May 14

The U.S. Postal Service will increase the price of a first-class stamp to 41 cents and hike the standard nonprofit mail rate by 6.7 percent effective on May 14. The USPS had requested an average 8.9 percent increase for standard nonprofit mail, but the Board of Governors adopted an average of 6.7 percent.

Click here for more information about nonprofit mail. Some of the new rate increases:

• Postcards – from 24 to 26 cents.
• Priority mail flat-rate envelopes – from $4.05 to $4.60.
• Express mail flat-rate envelope – from $14.40 to $16.25.
• One-pound parcel post packages – from $3.95 to $4.50.

The Postal Service encourages mailers to consider options to reduce postage costs. For example, if the contents of a first-class large envelope are folded and placed in a letter-sized envelope, postage can be as much as 39 cents less per piece.

A new “Forever Stamp,” which will sell at the new 41-cent first-class mail, one-ounce letter rate, will also become available. The value on these stamps will always be the one-ounce letter rate and they can be used for any future one-ounce letter mailing without extra postage, even if rates increase.