Buy Those Forever Stamps Now: USPS Prices Increase Next Week
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The next time you mail a letter, it could cost you a little more. Beginning Sunday, the U.S. Postal Service will increase the price of Forever stamps from 78 cents to 82 cents.
The Postal Regulatory Commission approved the 4-cent hike in May, saying USPS continues to face significant challenges, including declining mail volumes, ongoing service issues and persistent financial pressures. The agency has repeatedly raised postage prices in recent years as it tries to offset operating costs after posting billions of dollars in losses in both fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
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Once Sunday's increase takes effect, the price of a Forever stamp will have risen from 58 cents to 82 cents since 2021: a roughly 41% increase. USPS held stamp prices steady at the start of 2026, but it did raise rates for several shipping services in January, including Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select.
If you already have Forever stamps, they never expire, regardless of future price increases. That means Forever stamps purchased in 2007, when they debuted at 41 cents, can still be used to mail a letter today.
Which USPS prices are increasing July 12?
Several USPS postage products will become more expensive Sunday, with the biggest change for most consumers being the increase of the Forever stamp. Other products will also see price hikes, including:
- Postage for 1-ounce metered letters: rising from 74 cents to 78 cents
- Postage for domestic postcards: 61 cents to 65 cents
- Postage for international postcards: $1.70 to $1.75
- Postage for 1-ounce international letters: $1.70 to $1.75
The additional-ounce price for letters will remain at 29 cents, according to the USPS. That rate was raised 1 cent to 29 cents last July.
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Will stamp prices keep rising?
USPS hasn't announced another stamp increase beyond July, but further hikes remain likely.
Earlier this year, Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers that first-class stamp prices may eventually need to reach 90 cents to 95 cents to help improve the agency's financial position. During the same congressional hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Steiner also warned that the USPS could run out of cash within 12 months.
Additionally, the regulatory commission released a financial analysis on May 21 that noted the USPS has operated in the red for the past decade.
"Losses sustained over the past 10 years have weakened the Postal Service’s financial position, resulting in a significant gap between assets and liabilities," the commission said in the report.