Where you mail your federal tax return depends on three things: the state you live in, which form you’re filing, and whether you’re sending a payment with it. The IRS routes paper Form 1040 and 1040-SR returns to processing centers in Austin, Kansas City, and Ogden when no payment is enclosed, and to lockbox addresses in Charlotte or Louisville when a check goes with the return. Sending the envelope to the wrong center can delay processing by weeks, so match your state to the correct address below before you seal it.1Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Paper Tax Returns With or Without a Payment
Form 1040 or 1040-SR With No Payment
If you don’t owe anything or you’re expecting a refund, mail your return to the processing center for your state. Each address begins with “Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service” and ends with the city, state, and ZIP shown below.2Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR
- Austin, TX 73301-0002 — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas
- Kansas City, MO 64999-0002 — Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
- Ogden, UT 84201-0002 — Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
The IRS occasionally shifts states between centers to balance workload. Confirm your state’s address each filing season on the IRS “Where to File” page before you mail.
Form 1040 or 1040-SR With a Payment
When you’re enclosing a check or money order, the envelope goes to a separate lockbox rather than a processing campus. This gets the payment deposited faster. Include Form 1040-V, the payment voucher, so the IRS can match your payment to your account.3Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1040-V, Payment Voucher for Individuals
- Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1214, Charlotte, NC 28201-1214 — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas
- Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 931000, Louisville, KY 40293-1000 — every other state and the District of Columbia
Both lockbox addresses are P.O. boxes, which only the U.S. Postal Service can deliver to. If you plan to use FedEx, UPS, or DHL, you need the street addresses in the private-carrier section further down.
Living Abroad, in a Territory, or on Military Assignment
If you live outside the 50 states, Form 1040 and 1040-SR go to a single address whether or not you’re paying:4Internal Revenue Service. International – Where to File Form 1040 Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Austin, TX 73301-0215 USA
That address covers taxpayers in foreign countries, filers with APO or FPO military addresses, dual-status aliens, and anyone claiming the foreign earned income exclusion. Residents of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have different filing obligations depending on the territory and should check IRS Publication 570 before mailing anywhere.5Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad – Where and When to File and Pay
Amended Returns on Form 1040-X
Corrections to a return you already filed go on Form 1040-X, and the same address applies whether or not you enclose a payment. The state groupings are close to the regular 1040 chart but not identical, so read the list carefully.6Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040-X
- Kansas City, MO 64999-0052 — Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
- Austin, TX 73301-0052 — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas
- Ogden, UT 84201-0052 — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
- Austin, TX 73301-0215 — foreign countries, U.S. territories, APO/FPO addresses, and dual-status aliens
Iowa and North Carolina, for instance, route to different centers on an amendment than they do on an original return. Compare against the 1040 chart before assuming.
Estimated Payments and Extension Requests
Quarterly estimated payments on Form 1040-ES use their own pair of lockbox addresses. The IRS issued corrected addresses for the 2026 tax year in February 2026, so use the current voucher rather than an older printed form:7Internal Revenue Service. Correction to the Mailing Addresses in the 2026 Form 1040-ES
- Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1300, Charlotte, NC 28201-1300 — Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
- Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 931100, Louisville, KY 40293-1100 — Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Extension requests on Form 4868 follow a similar state-by-state approach, but the groupings are again slightly different. Look up the 4868 table on the IRS site before mailing.8Internal Revenue Service. Form 4868 Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals An extension buys you more time to file, not more time to pay. If you owe and don’t pay by the original deadline, a late-payment penalty accrues even with a valid extension, and the late-filing penalty is steeper: 5% of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25%.9Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty
Shipping by FedEx, UPS, or DHL
Private carriers can’t deliver to P.O. boxes or to the departmental mail codes used for no-payment returns. Ship instead to the physical street address of the processing center your state normally uses:10Internal Revenue Service. Submission Processing Center Street Addresses for Private Delivery Service (PDS)
- Austin: 3651 S IH35, Austin, TX 78741
- Kansas City: 333 W. Pershing, Kansas City, MO 64108
- Ogden: 1973 Rulon White Blvd., Ogden, UT 84201
If your no-payment Form 1040 would normally go to Austin, TX 73301-0002, your FedEx or UPS shipment goes to 3651 S IH35, Austin, TX 78741.
Only Approved Service Levels Count as Timely
Federal tax law treats a private carrier’s recorded delivery date the same as a USPS postmark, but only if you use a service level the IRS has specifically approved.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7502 – Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing and Paying Cheaper ground and economy options from the same carriers don’t qualify. The current approved list includes DHL Express services (9:00, 10:30, 12:00, Worldwide, Envelope, and Import Express variants); FedEx First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, 2 Day, and several International tiers; and UPS Next Day Air (all variants), 2nd Day Air, 2nd Day Air A.M., Worldwide Express Plus, and Worldwide Express.12Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS) Use a non-designated service and arrive after the deadline, and you lose the “timely mailing equals timely filing” protection.
Proof That You Mailed on Time
If you’re mailing anywhere near the deadline, get proof. A certified or registered mail receipt from the U.S. Postal Service counts as direct evidence that your return reached the IRS.13Internal Revenue Service. USPS Delivery Confirmation – IRS The few extra dollars are cheap insurance.
Watch one trap. Stamps printed from online postage services, self-service kiosks, or private postage meters aren’t treated as postmarks; they show when you bought the postage, not when the Postal Service accepted the envelope. On deadline day, go to a post office counter for a hand-stamped postmark, or send the return certified.