What expense category is USPS?
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is a government agency providing domestic and international mail delivery, parcel shipping, and marketing mail services on a per-transaction basis.
USPS provides a wide range of postal and shipping services for businesses, including First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage, and flat-rate options. Businesses can access lower Commercial Pricing through Click-N-Ship, online postage tools, or a business account (vs. retail rates at post office counters). Services include free package pickup, free Priority Mail supplies, tracking, and USPS Marketing Mail for bulk direct mail campaigns starting at $0.227/piece. In an event expense context, USPS is used for mailing invitations, promotional materials, attendee packages, and event supplies. Pricing is fully per-transaction with no subscription required.
How businesses classify USPS
Tax details
- Retain USPS receipts or Click-N-Ship transaction records for all business shipments and note the business purpose (e.g., 'mailed event invitations to 500 attendees').
- USPS Marketing Mail campaigns are deductible as advertising expenses under IRC §162 — maintain the mailing list size and creative materials as supporting documentation.
- Use Click-N-Ship or a USPS business account to access Commercial Pricing — these tools also generate digital records that simplify expense tracking.
- Postage for mailing contracts, invoices, or legal documents to clients is a fully deductible operating expense; code these separately from shipping of physical goods.
- If you ship products to customers as part of your revenue operations, USPS shipping costs are deductible as a cost of doing business and should be tracked separately from general postage.
Business insights
Related expenses
For illustrative purposes only. Results shown are estimates and not guarantees. Based on internal metrics. Past performance does not guarantee future results, which may vary.