To change your business name with the IRS by letter, write a short signed notice to the IRS service center where you file your annual return, stating the old name, the new name, your EIN, your business address, the effective date, and the form you file. A sample letter to the IRS to change your business name appears below, along with the details that make it work: who has to sign, what to attach, and where to mail it.
A letter is the right method for sole proprietors, and it is the right method for corporations, partnerships, and multi-member LLCs that have already filed the current year’s return. If you haven’t filed yet, you can skip the letter and check the name-change box on the return instead. More on that below.
Register the New Name With Your State First
The IRS will not act on a name change until the new name is legally yours at the state level. Corporations and LLCs file articles of amendment (or a certificate of amendment) with the secretary of state. The Form 1120 instructions specifically require that a corporation “must also have amended its articles of incorporation and filed the amendment with the state in which it was incorporated” before claiming a name change on its federal return.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1120 Sole proprietors operating under a DBA update the fictitious name registration at the county or state level.
Get the state paperwork stamped and returned before you draft the IRS letter, and make sure the new name on the letter matches your state records character-for-character.
What to Put in the Letter
The IRS doesn’t publish a required template. It does need enough information to find your account and apply the change without follow-up. Include:
- Old business name, exactly as it appears on your most recent return
- New business name, exactly as registered with the state
- EIN, or SSN if you’re a sole proprietor filing under your SSN
- Current business mailing address
- Effective date of the state name change
- The tax return you file (Form 1040 with Schedule C, Form 1065, Form 1120, or Form 1120-S)
Corporations and partnerships should attach a copy of the articles of amendment filed with the state. It isn’t demanded of every entity type, but it heads off questions and speeds processing.
Sample Letter to the IRS to Change Your Business Name
Adapt the template below. Replace the bracketed fields with your information and keep the whole thing to one page.
[Your Name]
[Your Title — Owner, Partner, President, etc.]
[Business Address]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Date]
Internal Revenue Service
[IRS Service Center Address]
Re: Business Name Change Notification
EIN/SSN: [Your EIN or SSN]
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to notify the Internal Revenue Service that [Old Business Name], identified by EIN [XX-XXXXXXX], has changed its legal name to [New Business Name], effective [Date of State Registration].
The business files [Form Type] annually. Our mailing address remains [Business Address]. Enclosed is a copy of the articles of amendment filed with the [State] Secretary of State on [Date].
Please update your records accordingly. Please also send written confirmation that this name change has been recorded. If you need additional information, I can be reached at [Phone Number].
Sincerely,
[Signature]
[Printed Name]
[Title]
Enclosure: Articles of Amendment
Keep it factual. The IRS doesn’t need the story behind the rebrand, just the identifiers and the effective date.
Who Signs and Where to Send It
The signature has to come from someone with authority for the entity. For a sole proprietor, that’s the owner or an authorized representative. For a corporation, a corporate officer. For a partnership or multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership, a partner.2Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change A single-member LLC taxed as a disregarded entity follows the sole proprietor rule; a multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership follows the partnership rule.3Internal Revenue Service. Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Mail the letter to the IRS service center where you file your annual return. The correct address depends on your state and form. Corporations, partnerships, and multi-member LLCs can look it up on the IRS “Where to File Paper Tax Returns” page.4Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Paper Tax Returns With or Without a Payment Sole proprietors use the address in the Form 1040 filing instructions.5Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040 If your EIN was assigned recently and you haven’t yet filed a return, send the letter to the address where you would file.2Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Send it certified mail, return receipt requested. If the IRS later sends correspondence under the old name or questions whether you notified them, the receipt is your proof.
When You Can Skip the Letter
If you haven’t yet filed the current year’s return, corporations, S corporations, and partnerships can report the name change by checking a box on the return itself. The locations are:
- Form 1120: Page 1, Line E, Box 3
- Form 1120-S: Page 1, Line H, Box 2
- Form 1065: Page 1, Line G, Box 32Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Sole proprietors don’t have this option. Form 1040 and Schedule C have no name-change checkbox, so a letter is the only route.
Form 8822-B Does Not Change Your Business Name
A lot of online guides point to Form 8822-B for a business name change. That form is for updating a business mailing address, business location, or responsible party.6Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business There is no field on it for a new business name. If your name change also involves a new address or a new responsible party, file 8822-B for those changes separately, following its own mailing instructions.7Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business The name change itself still goes through the letter or the checkbox on your return.
You Keep the Same EIN
A name change on its own never requires a new Employer Identification Number.8Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN The existing EIN stays with the business, and banks, vendors, and future returns keep using it. Certain structural changes require a new EIN, such as a sole proprietor incorporating, or a partnership incorporating or dissolving and re-forming.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 5845, Do You Need a New Employer Identification Number? Those are separate events from a simple name change.
Getting Confirmation
The IRS does not automatically confirm that a name change has been recorded. If you want written acknowledgment, ask for it in the letter itself.2Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change The sample above includes that sentence.
You can also call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line and request Letter 147C, which restates the EIN assigned to your business. Once your name change has been processed, Letter 147C will show the new name and works as proof for banks and other institutions that want to see the IRS records match.10Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number