To update your EIN information with the IRS, you file Form 8822-B for an address or responsible party change, and you handle a business name change either by checking the name-change box on your next tax return or by mailing a signed letter to the IRS office where you file. Your EIN stays the same through all of these updates. The forms are short, but the deadlines and the fallout from stale records are worth understanding before you mail anything.
First, Confirm You Need an Update and Not a New EIN
Changing your business address, your business name, or the person listed as responsible party does not require a new EIN. You keep the number you have and update the records attached to it.1Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
A new EIN is a different situation. Sole proprietors need one when they incorporate, form a partnership, or declare bankruptcy. Corporations need one after receiving a new charter from the secretary of state, merging into a new corporation, or converting to a partnership or sole proprietorship. Partnerships need one when they incorporate or dissolve and re-form. An LLC that terminates and reorganizes as a new corporation or partnership also needs a fresh number.2Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN If nothing about your entity structure is changing, you’re doing an update.
Before you start, have your nine-digit EIN, your current legal business name as it appears on your latest return, and the old information you’re replacing. The IRS matches old details against new ones to confirm the request is legitimate, and mismatches get rejected.
Changing Your Business Address
File Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business. The form asks for your old mailing address, your new one, and the effective date. If your physical location changed but your mailing address did not, there’s a separate section on the same form for that; complete whichever applies, or both.3Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
You can also report an address change by putting the new address on your next tax return. If your return isn’t due for months, though, sending Form 8822-B now gets IRS correspondence to the right place sooner.4Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes
Only certain people can sign. For a corporation, that’s an officer such as the president, vice president, CEO, CFO, secretary, or treasurer. For a partnership, a partner signs. Sole proprietors sign for themselves or use an authorized representative.5Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Changing Your Business Name
The IRS uses different mechanisms for a name change depending on your entity type. There is no universal name-change form.
Corporations and S Corporations
If you haven’t filed the current year’s return yet, check the name-change box when you do. On Form 1120, that’s Page 1, Line E, Box 3. On Form 1120-S, it’s Page 1, Line H, Box 2. If you’ve already filed for the year, send a letter to the IRS address where you sent that return. The letter must state the old name, the new name, and be signed by a corporate officer.5Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Partnerships
Check the name-change box on Form 1065, Page 1, Line G, Box 3 when filing the current-year return. If you’ve already filed, mail a signed letter to the IRS office where you filed. A partner must sign it.5Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Sole Proprietorships and Single-Member LLCs
There’s no checkbox on a sole proprietor return. Write to the IRS at the address where you file, explain the name change, and sign as the owner or authorized representative.5Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Multi-Member LLCs
Follow the process for how your LLC is taxed. If it files as a corporation, use the Form 1120 or 1120-S process. If it files as a partnership, use Form 1065.5Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Tax-Exempt Organizations
Nonprofits report name changes on their next annual return, such as Form 990 or 990-EZ. Organizations that file the e-Postcard (Form 990-N) can report the change by letter or fax to IRS Customer Account Services.6Internal Revenue Service. Change of Name – Exempt Organizations
Changing the Responsible Party
The responsible party is the person who owns or exercises effective control over the business and directly or indirectly manages its funds and assets.7Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees When that person changes, report it on Form 8822-B in the responsible party section. You’ll need the new individual’s full legal name and their Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.3Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
This update has a hard deadline. You must submit the change within 60 days of the new responsible party taking over.7Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees The IRS won’t charge a penalty for missing it, but the practical fallout from having the wrong person on file is real.
Where to Send Form 8822-B
Form 8822-B goes to one of two IRS service centers, based on where your business is located. Electronic filing isn’t available for this form.
- Kansas City: Businesses 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, West Virginia, and Wisconsin mail to: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Kansas City, MO 64999.
- Ogden: Businesses 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, and Wyoming mail to: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Ogden, UT 84201.
These addresses do change occasionally, so verify the current one on the IRS website before you mail.8Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Form 8822-B Use a delivery method with tracking. Processing generally takes four to six weeks, with delays common during peak tax season.3Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
Name-change letters (for entities that don’t check a box on a return) go to the IRS address where you filed your most recent return, not to the Form 8822-B addresses above.
Having a CPA or Attorney File for You
If a third party is handling the update, the IRS needs written authorization. That means Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative. The owner or an officer with authority to bind the entity signs Part I, and the representative signs Part II with their licensing jurisdiction and bar or certification number.
When Form 2848 is signed electronically in a remote transaction, the representative has to verify the signer’s identity through a government-issued photo ID, confirm the signer’s authority to sign for the business, and verify the entity’s name, EIN, and address against secondary documentation such as a tax notice or utility statement.
What Happens If You Let Your Records Go Stale
There’s no direct fine for skipping Form 8822-B. The form itself says so. The damage is indirect and can be severe.
When the IRS needs to tell you about a tax deficiency, it sends a statutory notice to your last known address, which is the address on your most recently filed and properly processed return or the address you’ve given through a change notification. If that address is outdated, the notice goes to the wrong place. You still have 90 days from the mailing date to petition Tax Court, and that clock runs whether you saw the letter or not.9Internal Revenue Service. 4.8.9 Statutory Notices of Deficiency
Miss that window and the IRS assesses the tax and starts collection. To challenge the amount in court after that, you have to pay the full tax first and then sue for a refund. Penalties and interest keep accruing on the unpaid balance the whole time.
For a stale responsible party record, the practical consequence is that the IRS may not be able to reach the person who can actually make decisions, which delays audits and slows correspondence.
Confirming the Change Went Through
The IRS doesn’t routinely mail a confirmation. Two ways to verify:1Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
- Call the business and specialty tax line at 800-829-4933 and request Letter 147C, which confirms your EIN and the information the IRS has on file. The line is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.10Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers
- Request an entity transcript, which prints the IRS’s records for your EIN and shows any processed changes.
If six weeks have passed since you mailed your form and nothing shows up on your account, call the business tax line to check on it. Have your tracking number ready so the agent can locate the submission.