How to Change Your IRS Address Online: Form 8822, Phone, or E-File

You cannot change your IRS address online through the IRS Individual Online Account. The only genuinely online way to update your mailing address with the IRS is to e-file a tax return showing the new address; otherwise you have to mail Form 8822, send a signed written statement, or call the IRS.¹ This trips up a lot of people who assume the online account works like a bank profile, and getting it wrong can be expensive.

Why the Address on File Matters

When the IRS decides you owe more tax, it sends a notice of deficiency by certified or registered mail to your last known address, which is the address on your most recently filed and processed return unless you’ve clearly told the IRS otherwise.² If that notice goes to an old address, it’s still legally valid.

From the date on that notice you have 90 days to file a petition with the U.S. Tax Court, or 150 days if you live outside the country, and the IRS cannot extend that deadline.³ Miss it because the letter sat at your old apartment, and you lose your chance to dispute the bill before paying it. Paper refund checks are the other common casualty: if a check is returned undeliverable, the IRS holds the money until you confirm a valid address.¹

What the IRS Online Account Can and Cannot Do

The IRS Individual Online Account lets you check balances, view payment history, pull transcripts, update your email, and set paper-notice preferences. It does not let you change your mailing address. The IRS FAQ for the online account says so directly: to change your mailing address you have to submit Form 8822 by mail or use one of the other accepted methods.⁴

The Business Tax Account portal has the same limitation for entities — you can view business information, but the profile isn’t where you edit the address on file.⁵

E-Filing a Return With the New Address

This is the closest thing to a true online update. When you e-file Form 1040 or 1040-SR, your tax software asks for your current mailing address on page one. If it differs from what the IRS has on file, your records update automatically once the return is accepted. No separate form, no phone call.¹

Two things to watch. If your software imports last year’s return, don’t let the address auto-populate with the old one; type in where you actually receive mail now, even if you moved after the tax year ended. And recognize the obvious limit: this method only helps once a year. Move in June and wait until April to file, and you have months where the IRS still has the old address.

The Three Offline Methods

Outside of filing season, one of these three is your route.

Form 8822 by Mail

Form 8822 is the IRS’s dedicated address-change form for individuals. Download it from irs.gov, fill it in, sign it, and mail it to the IRS processing center listed in the form’s instructions for the state your old address was in. It covers individual income tax returns and has a section for gift and estate tax returns. It cannot be e-filed.⁶⁷

A Signed Written Statement

You don’t have to use the form. The IRS accepts a signed letter that includes your full name, old address, new address, and Social Security number or ITIN. Mail it to the IRS address where you filed your last return.¹

A Phone Call

You can also call the IRS to change your address. Have your full name, old and new addresses, and Social Security number or ITIN ready, and expect additional identity-verification questions.¹ Outside of filing season, the phone is often the quickest offline option.

Information You’ll Need

Every method asks for the same core items: your full legal name, your old address exactly as it appeared on your last return, your new address, and your Social Security number, ITIN, or EIN.¹ Your name has to match Social Security Administration records.⁸ Use standard U.S. Postal Service formatting. For a move abroad, spell out the country name, and include the foreign province or county and the local postal code in that country’s format.⁶

How Long It Takes and How to Confirm

Address changes generally take four to six weeks to fully process after the IRS receives your request, and mail already in the pipeline may still land at your old address during that window.¹ Once the window has passed, log into your IRS online account to check that your records show the new address.

Changing your federal address does not update your state tax records. Most states run their own databases and require separate notice, so check with your state’s department of revenue.

USPS Forwarding Is Not a Substitute

The IRS does check the USPS National Change of Address database, so a postal forwarding request may update your record. It’s unreliable though. Not all post offices forward government checks, and the database match isn’t guaranteed.¹ Notify the IRS directly through one of the methods above, and use USPS forwarding as a backup.

Special Situations

Joint Filers

If you filed a joint return and are both moving to the same address, both names, Social Security numbers, and signatures should appear on the Form 8822 or written statement. If you filed jointly but now live at separate addresses, each spouse has to notify the IRS individually of their own new address. Once the IRS knows about the split, it can send duplicate originals of deficiency notices to each spouse.¹³

Business Addresses

Businesses use Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business. Any entity with an EIN can use it to update its mailing address or business location. If the responsible party has changed, filing Form 8822-B is mandatory and must be done within 60 days of the change.⁹

Deceased Taxpayer

A personal representative who needs IRS correspondence redirected to their own address should file Form 8822 to update the last known address on the deceased person’s account. On the final return, the representative enters their own name and address in the address field.¹⁰ Form 56 establishes the fiduciary relationship but does not change the address on file, so the safe practice is to file both.¹¹

Power of Attorney

Form 2848 does not change your last known address, and the instructions say so directly. If your tax professional holds a POA, you still need to file Form 8822 or 8822-B separately to move the address on file.¹²

1
Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes
2
eCFR. 26 CFR 301.6212-2 – Definition of Last Known Address
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6212 – Notice of Deficiency
4
Internal Revenue Service. Online Account for Individuals – Frequently Asked Questions
5
Internal Revenue Service. Business Tax Account
6
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822, Change of Address
7
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822, Change of Address
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Internal Revenue Service. Update My Information
9
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
10
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 356, Decedents
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56
12
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848