IRS Form 8822-B: Reporting Address and Responsible Party Changes

IRS Form 8822-B is the one-page form any entity with an Employer Identification Number uses to tell the IRS about a change to its mailing address, business location, or responsible party. A change in the responsible party must be reported within 60 days, and the form is the only accepted method for that update.¹ Address-only changes are technically voluntary, but skipping them means IRS notices go to the wrong place while penalties and interest keep running.²

When to File

Three events trigger a filing: your business mailing address changes, your physical business location changes, or the person who controls the entity’s finances changes.³ The form applies to every entity that has an EIN on file, active or not: corporations, partnerships, LLCs, nonprofits, trusts, and estates.²

For a responsible party change, the 60-day deadline is firm and Form 8822-B is the only route. For an address-only change, you have alternatives: filing a tax return that shows the new address, sending a signed written statement, or calling the IRS directly.⁴ None of those work for a responsible party update.

One boundary to note: if you run a sole proprietorship with an EIN, Form 8822-B handles the business side only. A change to your personal home address takes Form 8822 instead, and if both are changing you file both.²

Who Counts as the Responsible Party

The responsible party is the individual who controls the entity and manages its funds and assets, directly or indirectly. It has to be an actual person. The only exception is a government agency, which may list a government body.¹

Who fits the definition depends on the entity:

Corporation: the principal officer (president, CEO, treasurer, or similar)
Partnership: a general partner
Tax-exempt organization: the principal officer
Trust: the grantor, owner, or trustor
Estate: the executor, administrator, or personal representative

Watch for a common trap. If an attorney or accountant obtained your EIN as a third-party nominee, that person was probably listed as the responsible party at setup. When the actual owner or officer takes over, the change has to be reported on Form 8822-B within 60 days, and many new businesses drift out of compliance without realizing it.¹

What the Form Asks For

Form 8822-B is a single page, and the IRS will reject submissions where the details do not match its records. Have this ready:

The entity’s full legal name exactly as it appears on the EIN application or most recent return
The nine-digit EIN
The complete old mailing address on file
The updated mailing address, business location, or both
The entity type (corporation, partnership, nonprofit, trust, estate, or other)

If the responsible party is changing, the form also asks for the previous responsible party’s name and the new responsible party’s name with their Social Security Number, ITIN, or EIN.² A daytime phone number is optional but useful if the IRS needs to clarify anything.

Who Can Sign

The IRS limits signatures to people with real authority over the entity:

Officers such as the president, vice president, treasurer, or chief accounting officer
Owners or general partners
LLC member managers
Plan administrators
Fiduciaries, for trusts and estates

A CPA or attorney acting as a representative can also sign, but must attach a power of attorney, typically Form 2848. The IRS will not process a submission signed by an unauthorized third party, which catches out bookkeepers and office managers who handle the mailing but hold no formal authority.²

Where to Mail It

There is no e-file option. The form must go by mail, and the address depends on where your principal business is located.⁵

If your business is in Connecticut, Delaware, the 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, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin, send it to:

Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Kansas City, MO 64999

For all other states and any location outside the United States, send it to:

Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Ogden, UT 84201-0023

The IRS does not send a confirmation letter. Use certified mail with a return receipt so you have proof of the mailing date, which matters especially for the 60-day responsible party deadline. Keep a photocopy of the signed form with the mailing receipt.²

What Happens If You Don’t File

The IRS says there is no penalty for failing to file Form 8822-B itself. The practical consequences are another matter. If a notice of deficiency or a demand for payment goes to your old address or a former responsible party and never reaches you, you remain legally responsible for the underlying tax, and penalties and interest keep accruing as if you had received every notice.²

The failure-to-pay penalty alone runs 0.5% of the unpaid tax each month the balance remains outstanding, up to a maximum of 25%, with interest compounding on top.⁶ A tax bill you never see can grow substantially before it surfaces in a collection notice or a bank levy.

Confirming the Change Went Through

Processing generally takes four to six weeks from when the IRS receives the form.² Because no confirmation is mailed, follow-up is on you. The IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 handles EIN entity questions, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in your local time zone.⁷ Have your EIN and the mailing date ready. If nothing has been recorded after six weeks, a representative can tell you whether the form was received or whether it needs to be resubmitted.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
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Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes
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Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Form 8822-B
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6651 – Failure to File Tax Return or to Pay Tax
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Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers