The new rate will go into effect on July 12, and will be the eighth price increase over the past five calendar years

A U.S. Postal Service first-class "forever" stamp is going up in price.

The U.S. Postal Service is raising the price of its first-class "forever" stamps this Sunday, July 12, jumping from 78 cents to 82 cents each.

But any first-class "forever" stamps purchased before this weekend's price hike will continue to be valid. These special non-denominated postage stamps will always cover a standard 1-ounce letter, even if stamp prices go up again.

The price increase was announced back in April as part of a wider effort by the U.S. Postal Service to counteract its growing financial losses while the agency is "in the midst of the severe financial crisis amid rising operational costs."

Unlike most other government agencies, the U.S. Postal Service does not receive tax dollars to support its normal operations, and instead relies on the revenue it generates from things like stamps and package deliveries.

For fiscal year 2025, the USPS reported a net loss of $2.7 billion, compared to its $900 million net loss in 2024. The agency blamed the financial distress on decreasing mail and package volumes while its labor and employee benefits costs have increased significantly.

The USPS has now increased the price of a first-class stamp eight times over the past five years, rising from 58 cents in 2021 to 82 cents this weekend, or a 41% increase.

When the postal service first started printing stamps and recording the price in 1885, it cost 2 cents for postage on a 1-ounce letter.

The price to mail a 1-ounce letter over the years.

Other postage-price increases that will take effect Sunday include the cost of mailing domestic postcards, rising to 65 cents from 61 cents, and the price of sending international postcards, rising to $1.75 from $1.70.

Here are all of the planned postage-price increases going into effect this weekend, according to the USPS:

 
Product                         Current prices  Planned prices 
Letters (1 ounce)               78 cents        82 cents 
Letters (metered 1 ounce)       74 cents        78 cents 
Domestic postcards              61 cents        65 cents 
International postcards         $1.70           $1.75 
International letter (1 ounce)  $1.70           $1.75 

And further price increases could be coming, too. Postmaster General David Steiner told Congress in March that first-class stamps should eventually be raised above 90 cents to help the USPS avoid financial turmoil.

"There are only three things that any company can do to improve financial performance - sell more products, raise prices or cut costs," he said. "But we are not looking at only one, we are looking at all three, because we cannot leave any stone unturned if we want to survive and continue to provide our vital public service."

So now might be a good time to stock up on first-class "forever" stamps before prices go up.

Some Americans who are getting married have even joked on Reddit that they may purchase 500 stamps before the price increase to cut down the cost of mailing out save-the-dates, wedding invitations and thank-you cards.

"500 stamps does sound crazy until you remember that in most cases 3 rounds of snail mail will go out - save the dates, invites, and thank yous. So for our wedding it added up to over 300 stamps total," one user wrote.

"Assuming they're forever stamps, buy a lot. You can always use them later, not for wedding-related things," another commenter added.

-Weston Blasi

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July 08, 2026 16:35 ET (20:35 GMT)

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