How Much Does A Postage Stamp Cost 2021 Current

How Much Does A Postage Stamp Cost - 2021

Effective January 24, 2021 the cost of sending a first class (1) ounce letter sent through the United States Post Office will stay at $0.55 for letters mailed within the United States. Any extra ounces will cost $.20 (five cents more than prior year).

These fees will continue to apply for an indeterminate period of time.

Note: prior to the 2021 announcement, the last stamp rise was on January 27, 2019 when the price went from $0.50 to $0.55 with extra ounces subject to a fee of $0.15 per added ounce that was a drop from $0.21.

Stamp Price History:
January 21,2018 - the post office bumped the fee from$0.49 to $0.50 for letters.
January 22, 2017 - the post office increased the fee from $0.47 to $0.49 (reversing the $0.2 price drop from $0.49 to $0.47 effective April 10, 2016). That same $0.49 was the amount that went into effect January 26, 2014 as the result of a $0.03 increase.

Letters destined for Canada and Mexico - a (1) ounce first class letters cost $1.20 - that apples to all international destinations.

To be sendable by the USPS: a letter must have dimensions of no less than 3-1/2 inches tall with a maximum of 6 1/8". The width shall be 5" to 11-1/2 inches. The thickness at least .007 inches which should be no more than 1/4" to be handled by the processing facilities.

As new increases reflect an effort by the UPS to raise needed funds, the rate at which the Post Office can take charges higher is based on an inflationary rate that comes from the CPI.

History

The most recent price adjustment is the result of the filing by the U.S. Postal Service of a notice of mailing services price adjustments with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).

During fiscal year 2020 the Postal Service reported a huge net loss of $9.2 bil, $363 mil more than 2019, which was $4.9 billion more than reported in 2018 ($3.9 billion loss.) For 2017 they reported losses of $2.7 billion. For the year 2016 the number was $2.8 billion.

- How stamps have changed since 1853, the first year stamps were put into use.

Tips

Some consumers buy extra forever stamps since they are claimed to send even when higher postage surpasses these rates in the years ahead. While postage continues to go up, there are still options like electronic mail, or a phone plan with generous or unlimited long distance/texting such as with some of the cell phone carriers. For mailing out bills, many companies have switched to the online payment option - that is, if you are comfortable with its measure of safety.