Where to Mail Form 8332: Paper, E-File, and Amended Returns

Form 8332 does not have its own mailing address. Where to mail Form 8332 depends on how you file: if you paper-file, you attach it to the Form 1040 claiming the child and send the whole return to the IRS processing center for your state; if you e-file, you mail the signed Form 8332 separately with Form 8453 as a cover sheet to a single IRS address in Austin, Texas.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent

The right address depends on three things: whether you are paper-filing or e-filing, whether you are sending a payment, and whether the return is an original Form 1040 or an amended Form 1040-X. Each path has its own destination, and the ZIP codes look almost identical, so it is worth checking the exact line before you seal the envelope.

Mailing Form 8332 With a Paper Form 1040

When you paper-file, Form 8332 goes in the envelope as an attachment to your Form 1040 or 1040-SR. The address comes from the IRS “Where to File” tables and depends on your state and whether a payment is enclosed.2Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040

Returns Without a Payment

  • Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0002
  • Arkansas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0002
  • Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City, MO 64999-0002
  • Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201-0002

Returns With a Payment

  • Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas: Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1214, Charlotte, NC 28201-1214
  • All other states within the U.S.: Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 931000, Louisville, KY 40293-1000

These addresses change from time to time, so confirm the current line in the Form 1040 instructions or on the IRS website before mailing.2Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040 A misrouted return can sit for months before it reaches the right unit.

Mailing Form 8332 When You E-File

E-filing does not get you out of mailing Form 8332. If you file your return electronically, you send the signed paper Form 8332 to the IRS using Form 8453 (U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return) as a cover sheet.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent Many taxpayers miss this step because their software does not flag it clearly.

Check the Form 8332 box on the face of Form 8453, attach the signed Form 8332 behind it, and mail the package within three business days after the IRS accepts your e-filed return. Form 8453 goes to one address regardless of your state:3Internal Revenue Service. Form 8453, U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: Shipping and Receiving, 0254
Receipt and Control Branch
Austin, TX 73344-0254

Do not sign Form 8453 itself. Make sure the address printed on Form 8453 matches the address on your e-filed return. Missing the three-business-day window does not invalidate your return, but your dependency claim stays unsupported in the IRS system until the paperwork arrives.

Mailing Form 8332 With an Amended Return

If you are attaching Form 8332 to a Form 1040-X to fix a prior year or retroactively claim the child, the amended-return addresses are not the same as the original-return addresses. Using the Form 1040 address will send the envelope to the wrong unit.4Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040-X

  • Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City, MO 64999-0052
  • Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0052
  • Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201-0052

Notice the ZIP codes end in -0052 rather than -0002. That one digit routes the envelope to a different processing unit. A few states also shift centers between original and amended returns. North Carolina and South Carolina, for example, move from Austin on an original return to Kansas City on an amended one, so check the line even if you think you have it memorized.

Mailing a Revocation of a Previous Release

A custodial parent who already signed Form 8332 and wants to take the exemption back completes Part III of a new Form 8332. The revocation becomes effective no earlier than the tax year after the custodial parent gives written notice to the noncustodial parent or makes a reasonable effort to do so. A revocation delivered in 2025 lets the custodial parent reclaim the child starting with the 2026 tax year.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent

The custodial parent attaches the completed Part III to their own Form 1040 for each year they reclaim the child and uses the state-specific address from the paper-filing tables above. Keep a copy of the revocation and proof that the other parent was notified; the IRS can ask for both during an audit.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent

One Boundary Worth Knowing Before You Mail

If your divorce decree or separation agreement took effect after 2008, you cannot send pages from the decree in place of Form 8332. The IRS requires the signed form itself, and a dependency claim submitted with decree pages instead will be denied.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent Decrees executed on or before July 2, 2008, may still qualify as a substitute if they meet the written-declaration rules in effect when they were signed; IRS Publication 501 has the specifics.