There is no IRS form numbered 8852. If you are trying to report a change of business address or a change of responsible party to the IRS, the form you want is Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business. This guide covers who files it, when, and how.
Who Has to File Form 8822-B
Form 8822-B applies to any entity that has an Employer Identification Number (EIN) on file with the IRS, including businesses, partnerships, trusts, and tax-exempt organizations.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business For a change in responsible party, filing is mandatory. The IRS does not treat it as optional.2Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organizations Update
Small tax-exempt organizations with annual gross receipts normally at or below $50,000 can report an address change on the Form 990-N e-Postcard they already file each year.3Internal Revenue Service. Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations – Form 990-N (e-Postcard) A responsible party change still requires Form 8822-B. Larger exempt organizations can report address changes on Form 990 or 990-EZ, or file Form 8822-B or call the IRS Customer Service Center to update the address sooner, but they still need to report the change on their next annual return.4Internal Revenue Service. Change of Address – Exempt Organizations
What Changes Require the Form
Three types of changes trigger Form 8822-B: a change in your mailing address, a change in your physical location, and a change in the identity of your responsible party.5Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business An address change and a responsible party change can go on the same form. No need to submit two.
A legal name change is handled separately. If your entity is changing its name, you use different IRS procedures. Tax-exempt organizations can request an affirmation letter from the IRS EO Determinations Office showing the new name and confirming exempt status.6Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organizations – Reporting Changes to IRS
Who Counts as the Responsible Party
The IRS defines a responsible party as an individual who owns, controls, or exercises effective control over an entity and directly or indirectly manages its funds and assets.7Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees For a tax-exempt organization that generally means the principal officer: the president, treasurer, or whoever actually directs the finances.
The responsible party must be a person, not another entity. Someone who is entitled to receive property but has no authority to direct it does not qualify, and neither does a nominee who was given only limited authority when the entity was formed.7Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees
When the person in this role changes, you must file Form 8822-B within 60 days of the change.5Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business A change in the current responsible party’s own name or address also triggers a filing.
How to Complete and Submit the Form
What to Have Ready
Pull everything together before you start. A single wrong digit in your EIN will keep the IRS from matching the change to your record, and that kind of error is hard to fix later.
You will need your entity’s legal name exactly as it appears in IRS records, your nine-digit EIN, and any “doing business as” name. For an address change, have both the old and new addresses (street, city, state, ZIP) and the effective date. The form has checkboxes for mailing address, physical location, or both.
For a responsible party change, you need the previous responsible party’s full name and taxpayer identification number (SSN or ITIN), along with the new responsible party’s full name, title, address, SSN or ITIN, and the date they took the role.7Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees An ITIN works if the incoming person is not a U.S. citizen and has no SSN.
Signing
Form 8822-B is paper-only. There is no e-file option. An officer of the organization must sign it: the president, vice president, treasurer, or chief accounting officer.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business If someone else signs on the organization’s behalf, they need to attach Form 2848, Power of Attorney. Otherwise the IRS will not process it.
Where to Mail
The mailing address depends on where the entity’s principal office is located.8Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Form 8822-B
- Principal office in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Kansas City, MO 64999.
- Principal office in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Ogden, UT 84201.
Use certified mail or an IRS-designated private delivery service so you have written proof of the mailing date. The IRS accepts specific service tiers from DHL Express, FedEx, and UPS for the “timely mailing as timely filing” rule; standard ground shipping does not count.9Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS) Keep a copy of the form and the mailing receipt.
Processing
The IRS generally takes four to six weeks to process an address or responsible party change.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business Do not expect a confirmation letter; the IRS does not typically send one. If mail still goes to the old address after six weeks, call the IRS.
What Happens If You Do Not File
There is no standalone penalty for failing to file Form 8822-B itself.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business The damage is indirect. If the IRS has an old address for you, a notice of deficiency or demand for tax may never reach you. Penalties and interest keep accruing whether you saw the notice or not, and a bad address on file is not a defense.
For small exempt organizations, the stakes climb higher. Missing three consecutive annual 990-N filings triggers automatic loss of tax-exempt status, effective on the due date of the third missed return, with the organization added to a public list of revoked entities.10Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption Reinstatement requires a fresh application. An outdated mailing address is a common reason small organizations miss deadlines they did not know were coming.
State Filings Are Separate
Form 8822-B updates federal records only. Most states require a separate filing with the Secretary of State when a business or nonprofit changes its principal office address, registered agent, or other key organizational details, usually with board approval and a fee that varies by state. Falling out of good standing at the state level can disrupt fundraising, contracts, and operations, so treat the federal and state filings as two halves of the same job.