How to Fill Out and File Form 3115: Automatic Change Requests

To file Form 3115 for an automatic accounting method change, you identify the Designated Change Number (DCN) on the IRS List of Automatic Changes that matches your situation, complete the form with your Section 481(a) adjustment, attach the original to your timely-filed federal return for the year of change, and mail a signed duplicate to the IRS in Ogden, Utah. Done correctly, consent is granted when you file. There is no waiting period, no user fee, and no acknowledgement letter.¹

The rest of this guide walks through each step: finding your DCN, confirming you qualify, filling out the four parts of the form, calculating the catch-up adjustment, sending the duplicate copy to the right address, and handling two situations that trip filers up — being under audit and missing the deadline.

Find Your Designated Change Number

Everything on Form 3115 starts with the DCN. The IRS publishes a master revenue procedure that catalogs every accounting method change eligible for automatic consent. Each entry gives you a number, a description of the change, any special conditions, and the Section 481(a) treatment. You look up your situation, confirm the requirements, and enter that number on Part I of the form.¹

The list is updated periodically. Rev. Proc. 2024-23 consolidated the current automatic changes, and later revenue procedures (Rev. Proc. 2025-8, Rev. Proc. 2025-23, and Rev. Proc. 2025-28) have added or modified entries.²³ Check the most recent revenue procedure before you file. Using an outdated DCN, or missing a new condition attached to your DCN, is one of the fastest ways to have a filing rejected on examination.

If your change is not on the list, it’s a non-automatic change. Those go to the IRS National Office with a user fee (currently $13,225) and require a ruling before you can implement the change.⁴ The automatic route is the one this article covers.

Confirm You Qualify for Automatic Consent

Even when your change appears on the list, you have to clear a set of eligibility rules in Rev. Proc. 2015-13. All of the following must be true on the date you file Form 3115:⁵

The change is described in the current List of Automatic Changes and you meet every condition in the applicable section.
You are not involved during the year of change in a liquidation or reorganization that triggers Section 381(a).
The year of change is not the final year of your trade or business.
You have not made or requested an overall method change in any of the five tax years ending with the year of change.
You have not made or requested a change for the same item in any of the five tax years ending with the year of change.

If any of these disqualifies you, automatic consent is off the table and the non-automatic procedure is your only path.¹

Complete the Four Parts of Form 3115

Before you start, pull the records that relate to the method you’re changing: prior-year returns, depreciation schedules, inventory records, and any supporting workpapers. The form itself has four numbered parts plus schedules that apply to specific change types.

Part I: Automatic Change Information

Enter the DCN and confirm none of the eligibility restrictions apply. If you’re making more than one automatic change, you generally file a separate Form 3115 for each, unless the applicable revenue procedure specifically allows combining them.⁶

Part II: General Information

Name, taxpayer identification number, entity type, and your current overall accounting method (cash, accrual, or hybrid). If a consolidated group is filing, the common parent files on behalf of itself and any member making the change.

Part III: Method Change History

Report every accounting method change you made or requested in the past five years. The IRS uses this section to flag repeat changes to the same item, which can knock you out of automatic consent.

Part IV: Section 481(a) Adjustment

Enter the adjustment amount and show how you calculated it. A positive number increases taxable income; a negative number decreases it. Attach a computation or supporting schedule. If the return is later examined, the IRS will work from that schedule.

Depending on the change, you may also need Schedule A (inventory), Schedule B (depreciation), Schedule C (LIFO sub-methods), or Schedule D (long-term contracts and Section 263A). Attach any additional statements the revenue procedure requires for your specific DCN.

Calculate the Section 481(a) Adjustment

The Section 481(a) adjustment is the cumulative difference between what you reported under the old method and what you would have reported under the new method, measured as of the beginning of the year of change. It’s a catch-up figure. Because it exists, you don’t amend prior returns.⁷

The tax treatment depends on the sign:

A negative adjustment (new method reduces income) is taken in full in the year of change.
A positive adjustment (new method increases income) is spread ratably over four years: the year of change and the next three.⁷

If your business ceases before the four-year spread runs out, the remaining balance accelerates into the final year. Some DCNs use the cut-off method instead, meaning no 481(a) adjustment at all — you apply the new method prospectively. The revenue procedure entry for your DCN tells you which treatment applies.

File the Original and a Duplicate

Automatic changes require Form 3115 to be filed in duplicate.⁸

The original attaches to your timely-filed federal income tax return, including extensions, for the year of change. A signed copy goes separately to the IRS in Ogden. Use these addresses for the duplicate:

By U.S. Mail: Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201, Attn: M/S 6111.
By private delivery service: Internal Revenue Service, 1973 N. Rulon White Blvd., Ogden, UT 84201, Attn: M/S 6111.

Send the duplicate by certified mail or a tracked delivery service so you can prove it went out. The IRS does not issue a confirmation or acknowledgement for automatic changes. Consent is treated as granted when you file correctly, and if the IRS later decides you didn’t qualify, it can disallow the change on examination.¹

Filing While Under IRS Examination

You can file an automatic change while your return is under audit, but you generally lose audit protection. That means the examiner can adjust the same item for open years regardless of your method change. Two narrow windows preserve audit protection even during an exam:⁹

The three-month window. If you have been under examination for at least 12 consecutive months, you can file during the period beginning on the 15th day of the 7th month of your tax year and ending on the 15th day of the 10th month. The item you are changing must not be an issue under consideration.
The 120-day window. You can file during the 120-day period beginning the day after an examination ends, provided the item is not an issue under consideration.

An item becomes an “issue under consideration” when the examining agent gives you written notification — through an examination plan, information document request, or proposed adjustment — that specifically identifies that item. If the examiner later drops the issue without placing it in suspense, it is no longer under consideration.¹⁰

If You Miss the Deadline

The IRS generally will not grant an extension for Form 3115 except in unusual and compelling circumstances.¹ Relief runs through Regulations Section 301.9100-3, which requires a private letter ruling. You have to show you acted reasonably and in good faith and that the government will not be prejudiced. That ruling request carries its own user fee.

The narrower automatic 12-month extension under Regulations Section 301.9100-2 exists for certain regulatory elections (such as Section 444 and Section 754), but it does not broadly apply to Form 3115 method changes. Build the filing deadline into your return-preparation calendar so you never have to ask for relief.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 3115
2
Internal Revenue Service. Rev. Proc. 2024-23
3
Internal Revenue Service. Rev. Proc. 2025-28
4
Internal Revenue Service. Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-1
5
Internal Revenue Service. Rev. Proc. 2015-13
6
Internal Revenue Service. Form 3115 – Application for Change in Accounting Method
7
Internal Revenue Service. Examining Officers Guide – Changes in Accounting Methods – Section: IRC 481 and Cut-off Method
8
Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Form 3115 – Section: Automatic Change Requests
9
Internal Revenue Service. Examining Officers Guide – Changes in Accounting Methods – Section: Form 3115 Filed While Under Examination
10
Internal Revenue Service. Examining Officers Guide – Changes in Accounting Methods – Section: Issue Under Consideration