How to Change Your Address With the IRS: Form 8822, Mail, and Phone

To change your address with the IRS, you have four options: file Form 8822 by mail, write the new address on your next tax return, send the IRS a signed letter with your old and new addresses, or call or visit the IRS in person. Whichever route you take, the update typically takes four to six weeks to process.1Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes

Do this promptly. Federal law lets the IRS satisfy its duty to notify you of a tax deficiency simply by mailing the notice to your “last known address,” whether or not you actually receive it.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6212 Notice of Deficiency That address is the one on your most recently filed and properly processed return, unless you’ve clearly told the agency otherwise.3Internal Revenue Service. 4.8.9 Statutory Notices of Deficiency A Notice of Deficiency, sometimes called a 90-day letter, gives you exactly 90 days from the mailing date to petition the U.S. Tax Court (150 days if the notice is addressed outside the United States), and the Tax Court cannot extend that deadline for any reason.4United States Tax Court. Guidance for Petitioners Starting a Case If it goes to an old address and the 90 days lapse, the IRS can move to collect without ever giving you a chance to dispute the bill in court.

What to Have Ready

Any method the IRS accepts requires the same core details, so gather them before you start:

Filing Form 8822 by Mail

Form 8822 is the dedicated IRS form for individuals reporting an address change. Businesses and other entities with an EIN use Form 8822-B instead; both are downloadable PDFs on irs.gov.8Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822 Change of Address6Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B Change of Address or Responsible Party Business

Where you mail the completed form depends on your old home address. The IRS routes forms to three processing centers:

  • Kansas City, MO 64999-0023 for old addresses in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, or Wisconsin.
  • Austin, TX 73301-0023 for old addresses in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas, plus foreign addresses, APO/FPO addresses, and residents of American Samoa or Puerto Rico.
  • Ogden, UT 84201-0023 for old addresses in all remaining states and the District of Columbia.5IRS.gov. Form 8822 Change of Address

If you and your spouse filed jointly and are both moving to the same new address, one form covers both of you, but it must include both names, both Social Security Numbers, and both signatures.1Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes

If your new address is outside the United States, Form 8822 still works. Write out the full foreign country name without abbreviations, and use the destination country’s format for the province, county, and postal code.5IRS.gov. Form 8822 Change of Address

Sole proprietors, note: even if the same person owns both accounts, one form cannot cover both. You need Form 8822 for your individual account and Form 8822-B for the business.5IRS.gov. Form 8822 Change of Address

Updating Your Address on Your Next Return

If you’re moving close to filing season, just enter the new address on your Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR when you file. The IRS updates your record as it processes the return.1Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes This works when you don’t expect any IRS mail between the move and the time your return is processed. If you’re waiting on a notice or a refund in that gap, use one of the other methods.

Sending a Signed Written Statement

You can skip the form and mail a signed letter with your full name, old address, new address, and Social Security Number (or ITIN or EIN). Send it to the IRS processing center where you filed your last return.1Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes If you filed jointly and both spouses are moving, both should sign, and the letter should list both Social Security Numbers.

Calling or Visiting the IRS

For individuals, the main IRS number is 800-829-1040, open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Businesses call 800-829-4933 during the same hours.9Internal Revenue Service. Let Us Help You Other languages are available at 833-553-9895.

The representative will verify your identity first. Have the Social Security Numbers and birth dates for everyone named on the return, your filing status, your prior-year return, and any recent IRS letters within reach before you dial.7Internal Revenue Service. Be Ready to Verify Your Identity When Calling the IRS You can also handle the change in person at a local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center.

USPS Forwarding Does Not Update the IRS

Filing a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service is not a substitute. The IRS may pick up your new address through the USPS National Change of Address database, but there’s no guarantee, and the IRS specifically warns that not all post offices forward government checks.1Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes Standard USPS forwarding also expires: it runs 12 months, with paid extensions of up to 18 additional months.10USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address Once forwarding ends, mail returns to the sender for six months with a label showing your new address, but by then a 90-day deadline on an IRS notice may already have run.

Situations That Need an Extra Step

Separated Spouses Who Filed Jointly

If you filed a joint return but you and your spouse now live at different addresses, each of you should notify the IRS independently.1Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes A Form 8822 signed by only one spouse updates only that spouse’s address, so without separate notifications, mail meant for one of you could keep going to the other.

Estates and Fiduciaries

An executor, administrator, or other fiduciary handling a deceased taxpayer’s affairs must first file Form 56 (Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship) with the court appointment documents, such as letters testamentary, to establish authority. Form 56 by itself does not change the address on file. To actually update the address for the decedent or the estate, file Form 8822 or Form 8822-B separately.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56

Representatives Acting Under a Power of Attorney

A tax professional with a valid Form 2848 power of attorney can handle many IRS matters for you, but filing Form 2848 does not change your address, even when the representative’s address appears on the form. The representative still needs to file Form 8822 or 8822-B on your behalf. If that authority isn’t clearly covered by the general grant, it should be spelled out under the additional acts section of Form 2848.12Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative

Processing Time and Confirmation

Plan on four to six weeks from the day the IRS receives your request.1Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes During that window, mail already in the pipeline may still land at your old address.

For business accounts, the IRS sends two confirmation notices: CP148A to the new address confirming the change, and CP148B to the old address alerting that mail will no longer be sent there.13Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP148A Notice A CP148B arriving at an address you never left is a warning sign that someone else may have altered your business record.

If a refund check was already mailed to your old address, you may need to wait for the postal service to return it before the IRS reissues it.

State Tax Agencies Are Separate

Changing your address with the IRS only updates federal records. State tax agencies keep their own databases, so notify your state directly through its change-of-address form or online tax portal. If you’re moving to a different state, you may also need to register with the new state’s tax agency and check its filing requirements for the year of your move.