IRS Form 8822: Change of Address Filing, Mailing, and Follow-Up

IRS Form 8822, the Change of Address form, is how individual taxpayers tell the Internal Revenue Service where to send future correspondence after a move. Complete the one-page form with your old and new addresses, check the boxes for the return types it covers, sign it, and mail it to the service center that handles your former state. The IRS generally takes four to six weeks to process the update.¹

Getting this filed matters because of how the IRS treats mail. Any notice sent to your “last known address” is legally valid whether you receive it or not, including a notice of deficiency proposing additional tax.² Miss the 90-day window to petition Tax Court because the letter went to your old apartment, and the tax is assessed automatically. Filing Form 8822 promptly keeps that door open.¹

Who Should Use Form 8822

Form 8822 is for individuals who file personal returns: Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, and related forms. It also handles address changes for gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns (Forms 706, 709, and related).³

It is not the right form for a business. If you need to update an address tied to an Employer Identification Number or change the responsible party for an entity, use Form 8822-B instead.⁴ If both a personal and a business address are changing, file the two forms separately.⁵

Filling Out the Form

The form is one page. A few fields are worth walking through.¹

Check the Right Return-Type Boxes

At the top, check the boxes for the returns this change should apply to. Line 1 covers individual income tax returns. Line 2 covers gift, estate, or generation-skipping transfer tax returns. Different IRS units handle different return types, so checking the wrong box, or none at all, can slow the update.

Names and Social Security Numbers

Enter your full name and SSN on lines 3a and 3b. If your last return was a joint return, put your spouse’s name and SSN on lines 4a and 4b exactly as they appeared on that return. Line 5a is where to list any prior name if yours has changed since you last filed.

Old Address and New Address

Line 6a is your prior mailing address, meaning the one the IRS currently has on file. It should match the address on your most recently processed return. Line 7 is the new address for future correspondence. Both lines accept P.O. boxes and foreign addresses.

Signatures

If your most recent return was a joint return, both spouses must sign. One signature is enough only if the signer holds a power of attorney for the other spouse; attach a copy of the authorization if so. There is one important exception, covered next.

The Separate-Residence Box for Former Joint Filers

If you filed jointly with a spouse but are now living apart because of separation or divorce, check the box on line 1 indicating you are establishing a separate residence. With that box checked, only your signature is required.

This step carries a real legal benefit. Once the IRS knows the two spouses have separate residences, it must send a duplicate copy of any joint notice of deficiency to each spouse at each address by certified or registered mail.² Skip it during a divorce, and a notice sent only to your ex-spouse’s address still counts as valid delivery to you.

Where to Mail It

There is no single IRS address for Form 8822. Routing depends on which boxes you checked and the state of your old address. Do not attach the form to a tax return; mail the two separately.¹

If you checked line 2 for gift, estate, or transfer tax returns, mail the form to: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Kansas City, MO 64999-0023.

If you checked only line 1 for individual income tax returns, use the center for your old state:

Kansas City, MO 64999-0023: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin
Austin, TX 73301-0023: Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas
Ogden, UT 84201-0023: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming
Austin, TX 73301-0023: foreign countries, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and APO/FPO addresses

Bona fide residents of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands file with their territorial tax agencies rather than the IRS.¹

Regular USPS mail works. For proof of delivery, the IRS accepts specific service levels from DHL Express, FedEx, and UPS, so check the IRS list of designated private delivery services before paying for a courier.⁶

Other Ways to Change Your Address

Form 8822 is not your only option. The IRS also updates addresses through:⁷

Your next tax return. Entering the new address when you file updates your record. This only helps if you are filing soon; if a move happens mid-year, Form 8822 updates things now.
A phone call to the IRS. Have your full name, SSN or ITIN, and both addresses ready; expect identity-verification questions.
A signed written statement mailed to the service center for your area, showing your full name, old address, new address, and SSN.

A USPS change-of-address filing alone is not reliable. The IRS may pick up your new address from the Postal Service’s National Change of Address database, but the agency warns that not all post offices forward government checks, so notify the IRS directly as well.⁷ The online IRS account cannot be used to change your address either; that system points you back to Form 8822 or the alternatives above.⁸

After You File

Plan on four to six weeks of processing.¹ Watch mail at both addresses during that window if you can. USPS mail forwarding set up before you file can bridge the gap for any IRS letters that go out in the meantime.

If a refund is on the way and you have already moved, do not wait. File the return with your new address on it and send Form 8822 separately. The return handles the current filing; the form updates your general correspondence record.

If Your Refund Check Was Returned Undeliverable

When a refund check bounces back to the IRS, submit Form 8822 to fix the address on file, and file a USPS change of address so any remaining forwarded mail reaches you.⁹

Once the IRS has your updated address, it sends a CP237A notice about the undeposited check. After you receive that notice, call 1-800-829-0115 to claim the refund. A reissued check usually arrives within 30 days of that call.⁹

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8822 Change of Address
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6212 – Notice of Deficiency
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822, Change of Address
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8822-B – Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
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Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
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Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes
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Internal Revenue Service. Online Account for Individuals – Frequently Asked Questions
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USAGov. Undelivered and Unclaimed Tax Refund Checks