IRS Form 8822: Filing, Mailing, and Name Changes

IRS Form 8822 is the one-page form you file to tell the IRS your home mailing address has changed. It covers individual income tax returns in the 1040 series and, in a separate section, gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns.¹ You fill in your name, Social Security number, old address, and new address, sign it, and mail it to the IRS processing center assigned to your old state. There is no online version.

Getting this right matters more than it sounds. The IRS mails legally significant documents, including notices proposing extra tax and refund checks, to your “last known address,” which is the address on your most recently filed and processed return unless you give the IRS clear notice of a different one.² When the IRS mails a notice of deficiency there, the 90-day clock to petition Tax Court starts the day of mailing, whether you receive the letter or not.³ Miss it because the notice sat in an old mailbox and the IRS assesses the tax and starts collection.

How to Fill Out the Form

You need your full name, Social Security number, your old mailing address exactly as it appears on your most recent return, and your new mailing address. The form has two parts. Part I is for individual income tax returns (Forms 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR). Part II is for gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns (Forms 706, 709). Check the box for whichever part applies. You can check both.¹

Joint Filers and Separate Residences

If your most recent return was joint, your spouse generally has to sign the form too. One exception applies. If you are establishing a separate residence from the spouse you filed with, check the box on line 1 that says so, and only your signature is required. That tells the IRS to update your address alone, not your spouse’s.¹ If you and your spouse are moving together to the same new address, either of you can sign and both records update.

Representatives

A tax professional can sign Form 8822 for you, but they must attach a copy of their power of attorney. Form 2848 is the standard IRS power of attorney form. Filing Form 2848 on its own does not change your address; a separate Form 8822 still has to go in.⁴

Foreign and Military Addresses

For a foreign address, follow that country’s postal code format and spell the country name out in full, no abbreviations. If mail goes to you through a third party such as an accountant, enter “C/O” and that person’s name and address. Military personnel using APO or FPO addresses use the same Form 8822 and mail it to the Austin, TX service center.¹

Where to Mail Form 8822

The IRS does not accept Form 8822 electronically. You mail it to one of three processing centers, based on the state of the old address in your IRS records.⁵ If you checked the Part II box, the form always goes to Kansas City no matter your state.¹

For Part I filers, the breakdown is:

Kansas City, MO 64999-0023: 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, Wisconsin.
Austin, TX 73301-0023: Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, foreign addresses, APO/FPO addresses.
Ogden, UT 84201-0023: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming.

Double-check the instructions packaged with the form when you download it. The IRS periodically reassigns states to different centers. Sending the form to the wrong center will not invalidate the change, but it slows processing.¹

Allow four to six weeks after the IRS receives your form for the change to take full effect.⁶ Consider certified mail with a return receipt. Postage typically runs around $9 to $11, and the receipt gives you dated proof if a later dispute turns on whether the IRS had your correct address when it mailed a notice.

Other Ways to Change Your Address

Form 8822 is the cleanest method, but not the only one. Any of these will also work:

File a new tax return showing the new address. The IRS updates your last known address when it processes the return.⁷
Send a signed written statement with your full name, old address, new address, and Social Security number (or ITIN/EIN).⁷
Call or visit an IRS office. Expect to verify your identity and confirm the address currently on file.⁶

The IRS may also pick up a new address from the USPS National Change of Address database, but the agency’s own wording is “may,” not “will.”⁷ A forwarding order alone is a gamble. As of early 2026, the IRS does not offer an online portal for changing your mailing address.

Coordinating a Name Change

If the move coincides with a marriage, divorce, or other name change, make sure the name on your IRS records matches your Social Security card. Report the name change to the Social Security Administration before you file your next return or submit Form 8822. If the SSA has not processed it yet, keep using your former name on tax documents to avoid processing delays.⁸

If a Refund Was Mailed to the Old Address

If a refund check went out before your address change took effect, file Form 3911 (Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund) to start a refund trace. You mail or fax it to the Refund Inquiry Unit for your state; the addresses and fax numbers are in the Form 3911 instructions.⁹ If the check was cashed by someone else, the trace flags it and the IRS works with you on a replacement. Setting up direct deposit for future refunds sidesteps the problem entirely, since the money goes to your bank regardless of the mailing address on file.

Businesses Use a Different Form

Form 8822 is for individuals. Businesses and other entities with an Employer Identification Number use Form 8822-B (Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business), which covers business mailing address, physical location, and the identity of the entity’s “responsible party.”¹⁰ An entity with an EIN must report a change of responsible party within 60 days using Form 8822-B. There is no direct penalty for missing the deadline, but if the IRS lacks your current business address, deficiency notices and collection demands can go unanswered while penalties and interest keep running.¹¹

1
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Form 8822 – Change of Address
2
Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2010-16 – Definition of Last Known Address
3
Internal Revenue Service. Legislative Recommendations – The IRS Should Do More to Deliver Mail to Correct Addresses
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822, Change of Address
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Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 157, Change Your Address – How to Notify the IRS
7
Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes
8
Internal Revenue Service. Name Changes and Social Security Number Matching Issues
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund
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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. Form 8822-B Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business