Paper federal tax returns go to one of several IRS processing centers, and the correct address depends on the state you live in and whether you are enclosing a payment. The IRS keeps the current list on its “Where to File Paper Tax Returns With or Without a Payment” page, organized state by state for Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, and related forms.1Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Paper Tax Returns With or Without a Payment Verify the address there before you mail, because the destinations change periodically and sending your return to the wrong center can delay processing by several weeks.
How the IRS Splits Mailing Addresses
The IRS sorts destinations into two categories. Returns with a refund or no balance due go to an IRS service center for processing. Returns with a payment go to a lockbox address, where a banking partner handles the funds first. Both categories are further broken down by your state of residence, so a Texas filer sending a check does not use the same address as a Texas filer expecting a refund, and neither uses the address a New York filer uses.1Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Paper Tax Returns With or Without a Payment
If you are enclosing a check or money order, make it payable to “United States Treasury” and write your name, address, daytime phone number, Social Security number, the tax year, and “Form 1040” on the check itself. Include Form 1040-V, the payment voucher, and put the check, voucher, and return loose in the envelope. Do not staple or clip them together.2Internal Revenue Service. Pay by Check or Money Order
Addresses for Overseas, Territory, and Military Filers
If you live in a foreign country or a U.S. territory, or you use an APO, FPO, or DPO address, you file to a separate pair of addresses regardless of state:3Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad – Where and When to File and Pay
- Not enclosing a payment: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0215, USA
- Enclosing a payment: Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1303, Charlotte, NC 28201-1303, USA
These same two addresses apply if you file Form 2555 for the foreign earned income exclusion, Form 4563 for American Samoa residents, or if you are a dual-status alien.4Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040 Residents of American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands should also check IRS Publication 570 for territory-specific rules.
Street Addresses for FedEx, UPS, and DHL
The IRS accepts certain FedEx, UPS, and DHL services as equivalent to U.S. mail for meeting a filing deadline. Only specific service levels qualify. Approved options include FedEx Priority Overnight, FedEx Standard Overnight, UPS Next Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air, and several DHL Express tiers, among others. General ground shipping does not count.5Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
Private carriers cannot deliver to a P.O. box, so you cannot use the standard mailing addresses. Use the IRS submission processing center street address that corresponds to the city your state is assigned to:6Internal Revenue Service. Submission Processing Center Street Addresses for Private Delivery Service (PDS)
- 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
Match your state to the correct city using the IRS “Where to File” page, then use the street address above. When you send by private carrier, there is no separate address for returns with and without payments.
Proving You Filed on Time
The date you drop your return in the mail matters more than the date the IRS receives it. Under the “timely mailing treated as timely filing” rule, a return postmarked by the deadline counts as filed on time even if it arrives days or weeks later. To get that protection, the return has to be deposited in the mail with proper postage and correctly addressed.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7502 – Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing and Paying
USPS certified mail with a return receipt gives you a tracking number and written proof of the mailing date. If the IRS later says your return arrived late or never arrived, that receipt is your strongest evidence. Certified mail currently costs $5.30, and a hard-copy return receipt adds $4.40, on top of First-Class postage for a large envelope, which starts at $1.63. An approved private delivery service also gives you a dated tracking record you can use the same way. Either way, keep a copy of the envelope or label showing the address you used.
Where to Mail an Extension Request
If you cannot file by April 15, 2026, you can mail Form 4868 to get an automatic six-month extension, moving your filing deadline to October 15, 2026. The extension covers filing only. Any tax you owe is still due April 15, and interest runs on unpaid balances after that date.8Internal Revenue Service. Form 4868 – Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Form 4868 has its own state-by-state address chart, split by whether you are enclosing a payment. For example, filers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas who are not enclosing a payment mail to Austin, TX 73301-0045, while those enclosing a payment send to P.O. Box 1302, Charlotte, NC 28201-1302. The full chart is in the Form 4868 instructions.
Where to Mail an Amended Return
If you already sent in a return and need to correct it, you file Form 1040-X. You generally have to file the amendment on paper if your original return was filed on paper earlier in the same year, or if the return being amended is for tax year 2021 or earlier.9Internal Revenue Service. File an Amended Return
The address for Form 1040-X is not the same as the address for your original return, even for filers in the same state. An Alabama filer sends a standard 1040 to Austin, TX 73301-0002 but sends a 1040-X to Austin, TX 73301-0052.1Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Paper Tax Returns With or Without a Payment Look up the specific 1040-X address for your state on the IRS website rather than reusing the one from your original mailing.
Why the Right Address and Postmark Matter
Missing the filing deadline without an extension triggers two separate penalties. The failure-to-file penalty is 5 percent of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is late, up to 25 percent.10Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty The failure-to-pay penalty is a separate 0.5 percent of the unpaid tax for each month the balance is outstanding, also capped at 25 percent.11Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty
Both accrue at the same time if you file late and owe money. Because the filing penalty is ten times steeper than the payment penalty, mailing your return on time matters even if you cannot pay the full balance. A certified mail receipt or a tracking record from an approved private carrier is what protects you from a wrongful late-filing penalty if the IRS ever claims your return arrived after the deadline.