Where to Mail Form 2553 [State by State]

Only two IRS campuses process this form for the entire country. Kansas City handles eastern and midwestern filers, while Ogden handles western and southern filers.

Each campus accepts the form by mail or by fax. There is no electronic filing channel for a standalone Form 2553.

The state assignments have changed before and can change again. The most recent reshuffle took effect in June 2019.

The routing rule turns on the corporation's principal business, office, or agency. That is a physical location test, not a legal formation test. Where the entity was organized has no bearing on the answer. Neither does where the shareholders happen to live.

This distinction trips up owners who formed entities in filing friendly states. A company organized in Delaware but operating from Phoenix files with Ogden. A company organized in Nevada but operating from Atlanta files with Kansas City. Follow the desk, not the certificate.

Entities with locations in several states use the principal office. That is normally where the books and senior management sit. Pick the location you would identify on the entity's tax return. Consistency between the form and the return prevents avoidable questions.

The table below lists every state and the District of Columbia. Both campuses use a short form address with no street line. Assignments change periodically, so they should be verified before sending on the day you file. Practitioner summaries of the routing are also noted by practitioners in current filing guides.

Two placements surprise people who assume a clean geographic split. Missouri files with Ogden even though the Kansas City campus sits inside the state. Tennessee files with Kansas City despite its southern location. Read the table rather than guessing from the map.

Most tax professionals fax rather than mail, and the reason is evidentiary. A transmission confirmation creates a timestamped record on the day you send. Mailed submissions rely on postmark evidence you must purchase separately. Faxed filings also tend to reach a reviewer sooner.

• Include a cover sheet with the legal entity name, EIN, and callback number
• Send every page of Form 2553 that applies, including any late election statement
• Confirm the shareholder consent column is signed before transmitting anything
• Keep the transmission confirmation with the entity's permanent records
• Retain the signed original document, since the IRS keeps only the copy
• Use certified mail with return receipt if you file by post instead
• Calendar a follow up date roughly sixty days after you send

Mailing remains fully acceptable when you prefer a postal paper trail. Proof of mailing and return receipt services are purchased separately at the counter. Certified mail establishes the mailing date for timeliness purposes. Regular first class mail leaves you with nothing to prove.

Private carriers cannot deliver to the short form Treasury addresses. Those addresses have no street line and work only through the Postal Service. Approved private delivery services require the campus street addresses instead. Kansas City receives deliveries at 333 West Pershing Road, and Ogden at 1973 Rulon White Boulevard.

Only carriers on the published approved list preserve the timely mailing rule. Delivery by an unapproved carrier counts on the date the IRS receives it. That distinction matters when you file close to a deadline. Verify carrier eligibility before relying on a delivery date.

Entities operating outside the fifty states route to Ogden. That includes foreign principal offices and United States territories. The same fax number and mailing address apply. International filers should fax whenever possible given transit times.

Processing generally runs about sixty days from receipt. Faxed submissions often move faster than mailed ones during filing season. Acceptance arrives as Notice CP261 confirming the effective date and tax year. Store that notice permanently, because lenders and payroll providers will request it.

Denials arrive as Notice CP264 and explain the specific defect. You may prepare and submit a corrected form immediately with no waiting period. Referrals to the national office arrive as Notice CP266. Those cases take longer and require filing as a C corporation until resolved.

If nothing arrives after sixty days, call the business tax line. Have the EIN, the transmission confirmation, and the requested effective date available. Do not assume silence means acceptance. Following up early preserves your options if the filing never landed.

Mailing Form 2553 handles the federal election, but a few states do not stop there. Most states recognize your federal S election automatically once it is accepted. A small number require a separate state filing before they will treat you as an S corporation. Missing that state step can leave you taxed as a C corporation at the state level.

New York is the clearest example still standing today. A federal S corporation is not automatically a New York S corporation. You must file Form CT-6 with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Skip it, and New York taxes the entity under the general corporate franchise tax instead.

The New York deadline mirrors the federal one but runs on its own track. For an existing corporation, CT-6 is due by March 15 for a calendar year election. A newly formed corporation files by the fifteenth day of the third month after incorporating. There is no relief comparable to the federal late election procedure, so the New York deadline is unforgiving.

New Jersey used to belong on this list and no longer does. For tax periods beginning after December 22, 2022, a federal S corporation is automatically a New Jersey S corporation. The old CBT-2553 election is now historical for those periods. New Jersey even lets an entity opt out of state S treatment, which reverses the former default entirely.

Arkansas made the same shift earlier, dropping its separate Form 1103 requirement effective August 2017. Both changes mean older guidance naming three or four separate-election states is now out of date. Always verify the current rule, because state conformity changes more often than the federal law does.

New York accepts the CT-6 by fax or by mail, much like the federal form. Fax the completed election to 518-435-8605, which is the faster route. If you cannot fax, mail it to the address below. Keep your confirmation, since approval arrives separately from the state.

The table pairs each separate-election state with its form and filing address. New York is the only state with a live separate-election address today. New Jersey and Arkansas are listed to show they no longer require one. For every other state, your federal filing is the only election you make.

A separate note applies to New York City and a handful of other jurisdictions. New York City taxes S corporations as C corporations regardless of any election. The District of Columbia and a few states impose entity level taxes on S corporations too. Recognizing the federal election is not the same as leaving the entity untaxed.

Two practical points close this out. Filing Form 2553 correctly is necessary everywhere but sufficient almost everywhere except New York. If you operate in New York, calendar the CT-6 deadline the same week you file your federal election. Then confirm your specific state, since the rules shift and a missed state step is expensive.

Two campuses handle every Form 2553 in the country. Kansas City covers twenty three states plus the District of Columbia, and Ogden covers the other twenty seven. Your principal business location controls the routing, not your state of formation. Missouri and Tennessee are the two placements worth double checking.

Fax when you can, because the confirmation page is your evidence. Use certified mail if you file by post, and never rely on regular mail. Remember that private carriers need the campus street addresses instead. Then watch for CP261, and follow up if it has not arrived within sixty days.