No Tipping Your CNY Mail Carrier

After all the USPS goes through to deliver our mail, this sounds crazy, right? But, it's the truth, you cannot tip or give gift cards to your mail carrier. What a bummer for them!

This was news to us! Can you believe that your mail carrier can't accept a cash tip or gift card for Christmas? As a matter of fact, they can only accept a present valued at $20 or less.

Employee Tipping and Gift-Receiving Policy

All postal employees, including carriers, must comply with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. Under these federal regulations, carriers are permitted to accept a gift worth $20 or less from a customer per occasion, such as Christmas. However, cash and cash equivalents, such as checks or gift cards that can be exchanged for cash, must never be accepted in any amount. Furthermore, no employee may accept more than $50 worth of gifts from any one customer in any one calendar year period— Public Relations, Corporate Communications, 11-1-12

You can gift USPS employees baked goods like those homemade cookies! Town and Country magazine says you can also gift cards for merchandise or services valued up to $20 per interaction.
USPS Policy: Gifts cannot exceed $50 per the calendar year. Giving cash, VISA, MasterCard, or gift cards that may be used as cash are prohibited per USPS's Employee Tipping and Gift Receiving Policy.
UPS Policy: UPS does not have a limit; tipping is left to the customer's discretion.
FedEx Policy: Company policies discourage gift cash or gift cards. The driver will politely decline the holiday gratuity. If the customer is insistent, the driver may ultimately accept the gift.

Who do you tip for the holidays?