The IRS accepts private delivery service packages at only three physical locations: Austin, Kansas City, and Ogden. Which IRS private delivery service address you use depends on the form you’re filing and the state you live or do business in, and using the wrong carrier service can void the timely-filing protection entirely.
The Three PDS Street Addresses
FedEx, UPS, and DHL shipments to the IRS go to one of these submission processing centers, and nowhere else:
- Austin: Internal Revenue Submission Processing Center, 3651 S IH35, Austin, TX 78741
- Kansas City: Internal Revenue Submission Processing Center, 333 W. Pershing, Kansas City, MO 64108
- Ogden: Internal Revenue Submission Processing Center, 1973 Rulon White Blvd., Ogden, UT 84201
No other IRS office accepts PDS deliveries. A package dropped at any other IRS location may not be processed as timely received.1Internal Revenue Service. Submission Processing Center Street Addresses for Private Delivery Service (PDS)
One thing worth knowing if you usually mail through USPS: the “with payment” and “without payment” split doesn’t apply here. Returns with a check and returns without one go to the same street address.1Internal Revenue Service. Submission Processing Center Street Addresses for Private Delivery Service (PDS)
Which Address Matches Your Form
The form and your geographic location together decide which of the three centers gets your package. The IRS lists the assignment in the “Where To File” section of each form’s instructions and keeps an online directory organized by form number.2Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Tax Returns – Addresses Listed by Return Type
For Form 1040 and 1040-SR, your state of residence controls. The IRS groups states into regions and routes each region to one of the three addresses.
Business returns work similarly but with more variables. Form 1120 corporate returns and Form 1065 partnership returns route by the business’s principal office location, and for partnerships, total assets can shift the destination as well.3Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 1065 Form 941 employment tax returns follow a regional split based on where the business operates.4Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 941
Check the current year. The IRS reassigns states between processing centers from time to time, so an address that worked last April may not be right this April. Pull the address from the current instructions for your specific form and tax year rather than a prior return or a third-party page.2Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Tax Returns – Addresses Listed by Return Type
Which Carrier Services Actually Qualify
Not every FedEx, UPS, or DHL shipment counts as a private delivery service filing. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 7502(f), the IRS designates specific services that are widely available, at least as reliable as USPS, and capable of electronically recording the date a package was handed over.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7502 – Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing and Paying The current list, from IRS Notice 2016-30 and the IRS website, is:6Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
DHL Express:
- DHL Express 9:00
- DHL Express 10:30
- DHL Express 12:00
- DHL Express Worldwide
- DHL Express Envelope
- DHL Import Express 10:30
- DHL Import Express 12:00
- DHL Import Express Worldwide
FedEx:
- FedEx First Overnight
- FedEx Priority Overnight
- FedEx Standard Overnight
- FedEx 2 Day
- FedEx International Next Flight Out
- FedEx International Priority
- FedEx International First
- FedEx International Economy
UPS:
- UPS Next Day Air Early A.M.
- UPS Next Day Air
- UPS Next Day Air Saver
- UPS 2nd Day Air
- UPS 2nd Day Air A.M.
- UPS Worldwide Express Plus
- UPS Worldwide Express
Anything not on this list is treated as ordinary mail. FedEx Ground, FedEx Express Saver, UPS SurePost, UPS Ground, and standard DHL packages all fall outside the rule, meaning the IRS goes by the date it physically receives the package, not the date you shipped it. The IRS can update the list, so verify it each filing season.6Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
How the Scan Date Becomes Your Filing Date
The reason to use an approved private delivery service is the timely mailing rule. Under Section 7502, the date a qualified carrier electronically records your package as received counts as your filing date, even if the IRS doesn’t physically get it for several more days.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7502 – Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing and Paying That electronic timestamp is functionally the equivalent of a USPS postmark. If your return is due April 15 and the carrier scans it into their system on April 15, you’ve filed on time even if the package arrives at the processing center on April 17.6Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
The catch is that the scan has to actually happen. Dropping a package in an unstaffed collection box, or printing a shipping label without physically handing the package over, may not generate the timestamped record. Hand the package directly to a carrier employee or take it to a staffed counter to make sure the scan occurs on the date you intend.
Keep the receipt and the tracking number. The carrier’s electronic record showing when you gave them the package is your primary defense if the IRS later claims you filed late, and the IRS itself advises taxpayers to ask the carrier for written proof of the mailing date.6Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
Deadlines That Fall on Weekends or Holidays
When a filing deadline lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you have until the next business day. That rule applies whether you’re shipping by USPS or PDS. A deadline of April 15 that falls on a Saturday shifts to Monday, April 17, and if that Monday is itself a holiday, it moves again to Tuesday.
What Happens If You Use the Wrong Service
Using a non-qualifying service on the deadline is one of the more expensive mistakes a taxpayer can make. Ship via FedEx Ground or FedEx Express Saver on April 15, have the IRS receive the package on April 17, and you’ve filed two days late. The timely mailing rule doesn’t apply.
The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is overdue, up to 25%. For returns filed more than 60 days late, a minimum penalty applies of $525 (for returns due after December 31, 2025) or 100% of the unpaid tax, whichever is less.7Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty
The stakes climb higher in Tax Court. Rule 22(c) incorporates the same Section 7502 framework for petitions. In 2024, the Tax Court dismissed a case outright because the taxpayer mailed the petition using FedEx Express Saver, a service not on the approved list. The petition was shipped on the deadline but arrived two days late. Because Express Saver doesn’t qualify, the court treated the arrival date as the filing date, found it lacked jurisdiction, and threw the case out. A shipping label selection cost the taxpayer the right to challenge the IRS in court.
Sending Payments the Same Way
The timely mailing rule covers payments too. If you owe tax and send a check by a qualified PDS, the carrier’s recorded date counts as your payment date under Section 7502,5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7502 – Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing and Paying and the payment goes to the same street address as the return.1Internal Revenue Service. Submission Processing Center Street Addresses for Private Delivery Service (PDS)
Late-payment penalties and interest run from the original due date, so if you’re paying by paper check close to a deadline, a qualifying carrier scan on or before that date is the only way to stop the clock. Paying electronically through IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS avoids the carrier question entirely, but if you’re already shipping a paper return, bundling the check with it under a qualified PDS covers both.