When to File Form 2553: Deadlines, Late Relief, and State Elections

The Form 2553 filing deadline is the 15th day of the third month of the tax year you want the S corporation election to cover, or any time during the tax year immediately before it. For a calendar-year corporation, that means March 15. File after that date and, absent late-election relief, the election will not take effect until the following tax year.

The Two Filing Windows

Federal law gives you two windows to file Form 2553 and have the election take effect for a given tax year.¹

The first window runs from the start of the tax year through the 15th day of the third month. For a calendar-year corporation, that closes on March 15. A form filed inside this window applies retroactively to the first day of that tax year.

The second window is the entire preceding tax year. File any time during the prior year and the election takes effect on the first day of the next tax year. This is the safer route because it avoids a last-minute scramble.

Timeliness is measured by postmark date if you mail the form, or by the date the IRS receives it if you fax. A calendar-year form postmarked March 16 is not timely for the current year. The IRS will instead treat it as an election for the following year.²

Deadline for a Newly Formed Corporation

A new corporation’s first tax year does not necessarily begin on January 1. It begins on the earliest of three dates: when the entity has its first shareholder, when it acquires assets, or when it begins doing business. The two-month-and-15-day clock runs from that date.²

The IRS counts a month from the numerical day the tax year starts to the day before the same numerical day in the following month. A corporation that begins business on June 15 has its first month end on July 14 and its second month end on August 14. The 15th day of the third month falls on August 29, and that is the filing deadline.³

If the entire first tax year is two and a half months or shorter, the election is still timely as long as it is filed within two months and 15 days of the first day of that year.¹

Deadline for an Existing C Corporation or LLC

An existing C corporation follows the same two windows, anchored to its own tax year rather than the calendar year. A C corporation with a fiscal year beginning October 1 that wants S status for the current year must file by December 15, the 15th day of its third month. It could also have filed at any point during the preceding fiscal year.²

S corporations are generally required to use a calendar year unless the corporation establishes a business purpose for a different fiscal year or qualifies under certain ownership-based rules. A C corporation on a non-calendar year may need to change its tax year as part of the conversion using Part II of Form 2553.

An LLC taxed as a partnership or disregarded entity can elect S corporation status by filing Form 2553 alone; it does not need to file Form 8832 first. Under Treasury regulations, an eligible entity that timely files Form 2553 is automatically deemed to have elected corporate classification, and both elections take effect at the same time.⁴ The deadlines are the same as for a corporation.

How and Where to File

Form 2553 can be filed by mail or fax. The IRS does not currently accept electronic filing for this form. Where you send it depends on the corporation’s principal business location:⁵

Eastern states (Connecticut through Wisconsin, including the District of Columbia): Mail to Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City, MO 64999, or fax to 855-887-7734.
Western states (Alabama through Wyoming, including Alaska and Hawaii): Mail to Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201, or fax to 855-214-7520.

Fax has a practical edge because the transmission confirmation gives you a timestamped record of timely filing. If you mail, use certified mail with return receipt so you have proof of the postmark date. The IRS does not send an automatic acknowledgment when it receives Form 2553. Without your own proof, you may not know the election was processed until you contact the agency or receive your CP261 acceptance notice.

When the Election Actually Takes Effect

The effective date follows directly from when you file:

Filed within the first two months and 15 days of the tax year: the election applies retroactively to the first day of that year. A calendar-year corporation that files on February 20 is treated as an S corporation from January 1.
Filed during the preceding tax year: the election takes effect on the first day of the next tax year. A calendar-year corporation filing in October 2025 becomes an S corporation on January 1, 2026.
Filed after the two-and-a-half-month window: the election is treated as made for the following tax year. A calendar-year corporation that files on April 1, 2026, becomes an S corporation on January 1, 2027.¹

There is a catch on the first scenario. Even a form filed inside the window gets pushed to the next year if the corporation failed any eligibility requirement on any day before the election was filed, or if any pre-election shareholder did not consent. A corporation that added an ineligible shareholder in January and removed them in February, then filed Form 2553 in March, will not get current-year S status.¹

If You Missed the Deadline

Revenue Procedure 2013-30 offers a simplified path to have a late Form 2553 treated as timely, and the IRS approves the vast majority of properly documented requests. All four of the following must be true:⁶

The entity intended to be classified as an S corporation and is otherwise eligible.
There was reasonable cause for the missed deadline, such as reliance on incorrect advice from a tax professional, an administrative oversight, or an honest mistake about the filing date.
The entity and all shareholders reported their income consistent with S corporation treatment from the intended effective date forward.
Less than three years and 75 days have passed since the intended effective date.

To request relief, file the completed Form 2553 with a signed statement explaining why the election was late. The statement should lay out when the corporation intended the election to take effect, what caused the delay, and when the error was discovered. Send the package to the same IRS service center used for a timely filing.⁵

The consistent-reporting requirement is the one that trips people up. If the corporation filed a C corporation return (Form 1120) for the year it intended to be an S corporation, that directly contradicts the intended S status. The IRS can still grant relief, but the case becomes harder to make and may require amended returns.

An LLC seeking late relief has extra hurdles. It must be an eligible entity, the only reason it did not already qualify as a corporation must be the missing Form 8832, and it must have filed all federal returns as an S corporation from the intended effective date forward.⁶

Beyond Three Years and 75 Days

Once more than three years and 75 days have passed since the intended effective date, the simplified process is no longer available. The remaining option is a private letter ruling under 26 USC 1362(b)(5), which authorizes the IRS to treat a late election as timely when there was reasonable cause.¹

Private letter rulings are expensive and slow. The IRS user fee for a ruling on a late election under Section 1362(b)(5) is $14,500 as of 2025, on top of professional fees for preparing the request. Processing takes months. This is a last resort.

State S Corporation Elections

Filing Form 2553 handles the federal election but not necessarily the state one. Some states require a separate S corporation election on their own form with their own deadlines; others recognize the federal election automatically. Check with your state’s department of revenue or franchise tax board before assuming that federal S status carries over, and if you operate in multiple states, confirm the requirements in each one.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1362 – Election; Revocation; Termination
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2553 – Section: When To Make the Election
3
The Tax Adviser. Filing a Timely S Election
4
Internal Revenue Service. Entities 3
5
Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 2553
6
Internal Revenue Service. Late Election Relief