Can You Legally Leave an Illinois Mail Carrier a Gift for Christmas?

It's Christmas and it's that time of year when you're giving gifts to those who have been helping you throughout the year.

During the holidays the deliveries get even more frequent and the volume of packages getting dropped off is through the roof.

So what do you do at the end of the year for that USPS employee or UPS/Amazon delivery driver?

When it comes to postal employees, gifts are accepted up to a point says USPS.com:

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.

UPS drivers also can accept gifts. Mailbox Master says "The value of either a cash tip or gift should not exceed $20."

When it comes to Amazon drivers, a new feature called "Thank my driver" allows customers to tip year-round using Alexa.

So it sounds like gifts and tips are allowed for just about every major delivery driver which means if you're receiving packages this holiday season you should also plan on giving too.