The mailing address for Form 843 depends on what your claim is for and, in some cases, what state you’re in. There is no single IRS address that handles every Form 843. If you received an IRS notice, mail the form to the return address printed on that notice. Otherwise, send it to the service center where you would file a current-year return for the tax the claim relates to.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 843 (12/2024) The form cannot be filed electronically, so the physical address matters: getting it wrong can add weeks or months to processing.
If You Received an IRS Notice
This is the simplest case and covers most Form 843 filers. When the IRS has assessed a penalty, interest, or tax and sent you a notice, mail your Form 843 to the return address on that notice.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 843 (Rev. December 2024) Skip the rest of the routing rules. The office that issued the notice is already handling your account and is the right destination for your response.
If You Are Not Responding to a Notice
Without a notice to point you to an address, the rule is to mail Form 843 to the IRS service center where you would file the current-year return for the tax involved. That means the underlying tax determines the address, and you’ll usually need to check the instructions for that other form to find the right service center for your state.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 843 (Rev. December 2024)
A few situations have their own dedicated addresses:
- Estate or gift tax refund claims go to Internal Revenue Service, Attn: E&G, Stop 824G, 7940 Kentucky Drive, Florence, KY 41042-2915.
- Form 8300 penalty claims go to Internal Revenue Service, Rosa Parks Federal Building, P.O. Box 32621, Detroit, MI 48232.
- Net interest rate of zero requests go to the service center where you filed your most recent return.
Employment Tax Penalty Claims
Employment tax abatement is one of the most common reasons Form 843 gets filed, and the address depends on where you are. The Form 941 instructions split the country into two groups.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. March 2026)
- States in the eastern half that normally mail Form 941 to Kansas City (including New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) send Form 843 penalty requests to the IRS in Cincinnati, OH 45999-0005.
- States in the western half that normally mail Form 941 to Ogden (including California, Texas, and Florida) send Form 843 to Ogden, UT 84201-0005.
Form 940 follows a similar Kansas City/Ogden split, but the state groupings aren’t identical to Form 941.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 940 (2025) Check the instructions for the specific employment tax form your claim relates to rather than assuming both forms route the same way.
Excise Tax Claims
Excise tax filings each have their own address, and the Form 843 follows the underlying return. Form 720, the Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return, is filed with the IRS in Ogden, UT 84201-0009.5Internal Revenue Service. Where to File – Forms Beginning With the Number 7 Form 2290 for the heavy highway vehicle use tax goes to Louisville, KY 40293-2500 with payment, or Ogden, UT 84201-0031 without payment.6Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 2290 If your Form 843 relates to one of these taxes, send it to the same service center that handles the underlying return.
Form 8849, the standalone claim for refund of excise taxes, routes by schedule: some schedules are processed in Cincinnati, others in Covington, KY. If your Form 843 relates to an excise tax overpayment, cross-reference the Form 843 instructions with the instructions for the specific excise form to confirm the address before mailing.
Mail It on Paper, and Keep Proof
The IRS does not accept Form 843 through e-file, Free File, or any other online channel. Print it, sign it, attach the supporting documents, and mail it. Because every claim is worked by hand, processing runs in months rather than weeks, and a misrouted package makes that longer.
Keep a full copy of what you mail. Certified mail with return receipt costs a few dollars and gives you a dated record that the IRS received the package, which matters if a deadline is close or a claim goes missing. The IRS has said that if you mail Form 843 to an address that has since changed, the form will be forwarded,1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 843 (12/2024) but forwarding adds weeks. Better to confirm the address up front by downloading the current Form 843 instructions from irs.gov alongside the instructions for the underlying return.
Try Calling First for Penalty Relief
Before you mail anything, know that the IRS handles some penalty relief requests over the phone. Call the toll-free number printed on your notice, explain which penalty you want removed and why, and the agent may approve relief during the call.7Internal Revenue Service. Penalty Relief This works particularly well for first-time abatement, where the agent can pull your compliance history immediately. If the agent can’t resolve it by phone, they’ll tell you to submit Form 843 in writing, and you’ll then use the routing rules above.
Watch the Filing Deadline
Mailing to the right address doesn’t help if the deadline has passed. For refund claims, you have three years from the date you filed the original return or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 6511 – Limitations on Credit or Refund If you never filed a return, the window is two years from the date the tax was paid. Penalty abatement claims based on erroneous written advice from the IRS use a different rule: file within the collection period for the penalty, or within the refund claim period if you already paid.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 843 (12/2024) File as soon as you identify the issue rather than crowding the deadline.
Form 843 Does Not Cover Income Tax Return Changes
One boundary worth flagging so you don’t send Form 843 to the wrong place, or at all. If your issue is with your income tax return itself, such as unreported deductions, an incorrect filing status, or changed income, the right form is Form 1040-X, not Form 843. The exception: if you only want a refund of penalties and interest you’ve already paid, without changing anything else on the return, Form 843 is correct.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-X Employers also cannot use Form 843 to request abatement of FICA tax, railroad retirement tax, or income tax withholding.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 843 (Rev. December 2024)