USPS Files Proposal for Stamp Price Increase in July 2026

The U.S. Postal Service has submitted a formal proposal to the Postal Regulatory Commission seeking approval for a significant stamp price increase effective July 13, 2026. This marks another chapter in the ongoing saga of rising postal costs that has reshaped consumer budgeting for decades. The proposed rate adjustment—increasing Forever stamps from the current 73 cents to 78 cents—represents approximately a 6.8% increase and reflects the postal agency’s mounting financial pressures.

The Proposed Rate Hike and Timeline

The proposed adjustment to Forever stamp pricing would represent the latest move in a long history of postal rate escalation. Since 2000, the USPS has adjusted Forever stamp prices on 19 separate occasions, yet the agency maintains these stamps remain relatively affordable compared to international postal systems. The last price change took effect in July 2024, when the cost climbed from 68 cents to 73 cents.

Initially, the postal service had paused rate adjustments in January 2026, citing earlier hikes for generating additional revenue and hoping that declining inflation would ease operational costs. However, that optimism proved premature, prompting leadership to seek the new increases now pending regulatory approval. According to USPS statements, these financial adjustments are essential to maintaining operational sustainability while advancing the agency’s decade-long Delivering for America modernization strategy. Industry analysts note that the July 2026 increase represents just one component of a broader five-year pricing schedule extending through 2027.

Extended Price Increases Across All Postage Categories

The stamp price increase is not an isolated adjustment. The USPS proposal encompasses a comprehensive restructuring of postage rates affecting multiple categories:

• First-class metered letters (1-ounce): rising from 69 cents to 74 cents
• Domestic postcards: climbing from 56 cents to 62 cents
• International postcards: adjusting from $1.65 to $1.70
• International letters (1-ounce): moving from $1.64 to $1.70
• Additional ounce surcharge: increasing from 28 cents to 29 cents

Among the scattered silver linings embedded in these increases, the USPS did announce one reduction: a 12% discount on postal insurance services, offering consumers modest relief elsewhere in the postage portfolio.

Financial Crisis Drives the Pricing Adjustments

The timing of this stamps price increase proposal coincides with a period of acute financial distress for the postal agency. In November 2024, USPS disclosed a staggering net loss of $9.5 billion for fiscal year 2024, a troubling deterioration from the $6.5 billion deficit recorded the previous year. These mounting losses have intensified scrutiny of the agency’s business model and operational efficiency.

The postal service’s financial turmoil has coincided with significant organizational upheaval. Former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stepped down from leadership in March 2025 amid suggestions from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk—who heads the newly established Department of Government Efficiency—that privatization might offer solutions to the agency’s structural challenges. Such proposals have sparked considerable legal and policy debate. The USPS has functioned as an independent government entity since its establishment in 1971, and any fundamental restructuring would involve complex constitutional and statutory considerations.

What Lies Ahead for the Postal Service

The rate increase announcement arrives at an inflection point for American postal infrastructure. Regulatory approval remains uncertain, though industry observers expect the commission to authorize the proposal given the demonstrated financial necessity. If approved, the July implementation would set the stage for the additional price adjustments scheduled through 2027, creating a volatile environment for consumers and businesses dependent on postal services.

The combination of rising stamps prices, workforce pressures, and leadership transitions suggests the USPS faces an extended period of operational recalibration. Whether these pricing measures prove sufficient to restore financial stability—or whether more fundamental structural reforms will be required—remains an open question as regulators and policymakers continue deliberating the postal service’s future.