To change your address with the IRS, file Form 8822 for an individual move or Form 8822-B for a business, mail a signed written statement with the same information, call the IRS and update the address by phone, or simply enter the new address on your next tax return. Whichever route you pick, allow four to six weeks for the change to take effect.1Internal Revenue Service. How Do I Notify the IRS My Address Has Changed?
Why It Matters to Update Promptly
Federal law lets the IRS send a Notice of Deficiency (the “90-day letter”) to your last known address by certified or registered mail, and that notice is legally delivered on the mailing date whether you open it or not.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6212 – Notice of Deficiency You have 90 days from that mailing date (150 days if the notice is addressed outside the United States) to petition the U.S. Tax Court. Miss the window because the letter went to an old address, and you generally lose the right to challenge the assessment before paying.
Refund checks are the smaller worry. The bigger risk is a notice you never see.
Information to Have Ready
Before you file, pull together:
- Your full legal name as it appears on your most recent return
- Your Social Security Number or ITIN (or your business’s EIN)
- Your old address, with the apartment or suite number exactly as it last appeared
- Your new address, with ZIP code or foreign postal code
If you filed jointly and you and your spouse are still living together, both of you must provide names, SSNs, and signatures on whatever form or letter you send.1Internal Revenue Service. How Do I Notify the IRS My Address Has Changed?
If Your Name Also Changed
Update your name with the Social Security Administration first, by calling 800-772-1213, before you notify the IRS.3Internal Revenue Service. Name Changes and Social Security Number Matching Issues If you have to file a return before SSA finishes processing the name change, use your former name on that return so the SSN and name match.
The Four Ways to Notify the IRS
File Form 8822
Form 8822, Change of Address, is the standard route for individuals. It’s a free download from IRS.gov and covers Forms 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, and estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns (Forms 706, 709, and similar filings).4Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822, Change of Address Check the boxes at the top for every return type the change should apply to, so the IRS updates all your accounts at once.
Mail the completed form to the service center listed in the instructions. The correct center is determined by your old address, not your new one, and the table on page two of the form maps former states to service centers.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822, Change of Address Send it by USPS certified mail if you want proof of the mailing date. The IRS does not send a confirmation once the change is processed, so a certified-mail receipt is the cleanest record you’ll have.1Internal Revenue Service. How Do I Notify the IRS My Address Has Changed?
Send a Signed Written Statement
You can skip the form and mail the IRS a signed letter instead. Include your full name, SSN (or ITIN or EIN), and both your old and new addresses.1Internal Revenue Service. How Do I Notify the IRS My Address Has Changed? Joint filers still living together should both sign and both include their SSNs. The letter carries the same weight as Form 8822.
Call the IRS
An IRS phone representative can update your address after verifying your identity with information such as your date of birth and details from a prior return.1Internal Revenue Service. How Do I Notify the IRS My Address Has Changed? For joint filers, the agent may need to verify both spouses. This is the fastest option, but it leaves no paper trail, so note the date, time, and the representative’s ID.
Use Your Next Tax Return
If you’re close to filing anyway, just put the new address on the return. Your records update once the IRS processes it.5Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 157, Change Your Address – How to Notify the IRS If your move happens months before your return is due, don’t wait; use one of the faster methods so nothing gets sent to the old address in the meantime.
If You’re Changing a Business Address
Businesses and other entities with an EIN use Form 8822-B, which also handles a change of business location or a change of the entity’s responsible party.6Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
If the responsible party changes, filing Form 8822-B is mandatory and must be submitted within 60 days of the change. That 60-day rule applies whether or not the entity is actively engaged in a trade or business.6Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
Separated Spouses
If you filed a joint return but you and your spouse have since established separate residences, check the box on line 1 of Form 8822. Only the spouse who is moving needs to sign; the other spouse’s signature is not required.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822, Change of Address Once the IRS knows there are two residences, any future Notice of Deficiency must go as a duplicate original to each spouse at their own last known address.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6212 – Notice of Deficiency Skip this step and the IRS can keep mailing a single notice to the old joint address, with both spouses treated as notified.
Moving Abroad
An international move still uses Form 8822. Line 7 has dedicated fields for the foreign country, province or county, and postal code. Write the country’s full name rather than an abbreviation.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822, Change of Address The Notice of Deficiency response window extends from 90 to 150 days when the notice is addressed outside the country, but that longer window is still no help if the address on file is wrong.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6212 – Notice of Deficiency
Filing Through a Tax Professional
A tax professional or other authorized representative can submit the address change for you, but they have to attach a copy of their power of attorney or a completed Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative. Without that, the IRS won’t process the request.1Internal Revenue Service. How Do I Notify the IRS My Address Has Changed?
A USPS Forwarding Order Is Not Enough
Filing a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service may cause the IRS to pick up your new address through the USPS National Change of Address database, but that update is not guaranteed.7Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes Not every post office forwards government checks either, so a refund could go undeliverable even with forwarding in place. Notify the IRS directly through one of the methods above even if you’ve already told the Postal Service.
How Long It Takes, and What About State Taxes
Plan on four to six weeks after the IRS receives your request.1Internal Revenue Service. How Do I Notify the IRS My Address Has Changed? The IRS does not send a confirmation once the change goes through, so check your IRS online account or watch for mail at the new address to confirm it worked.
One boundary worth naming: updating your address with the IRS only touches your federal tax records. If your state has an income tax, notify your state tax agency separately. The IRS doesn’t pass the change along.