Form 2553 Fax Number: Where to Fax the S Corporation Election

The two fax numbers and where each one goes

The state is the one where the company’s principal business, office or agency is located, which is normally the address on the form, not the state of formation. A Delaware LLC run from Texas faxes to Ogden.

What to send

• A cover sheet with the company name, EIN, the words “Form 2553”, the number of pages, and a callback number. The IRS does not require one, but a fax that arrives without identification is the fax that goes missing.
• Every page of Form 2553, including the shareholder consent columns with each shareholder’s signature. Unsigned consents are the most common reason for a rejection letter.
• The late relief statement, if you are filing under Rev. Proc. 2013-30, with “FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30” written across the top of page one and the explanation on line I. The full Form 2553 guide covers what the statement has to say.
• Nothing else. Do not attach the articles of organization, the operating agreement, or a copy of the EIN notice; the center does not need them and extra pages slow the scan.

Proving the filing date

The deadline is 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year the election covers, and the IRS measures it by the date it receives the form. A fax is received the day it is sent. Keep the transmission report showing the date, time, page count and the number it went to. Online fax services email you this automatically; a physical machine prints it. That report is what you produce if the IRS later says it has no record of the election, and it is usually accepted as proof of a timely filing.

If you mail instead, use certified mail with a return receipt to the address in the table. The postmark date counts as the filing date, but the form takes longer to be processed and there is no same-day confirmation.

After the fax goes through

• The IRS generally responds within 60 days with notice CP261 accepting the election and stating its effective date, or a letter explaining why it was not accepted.
• If 60 days pass with nothing, call the Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, and ask whether the election is on file. Have the EIN and the fax report ready. The IRS phone guide has the rest of the numbers and hours.
• Do not fax the form a second time while the first is pending. A duplicate election is harmless but creates two files the IRS has to reconcile, which delays the answer to both.

Quick answers

Is there a toll-free fax number for Form 2553?

Both numbers above are toll-free 855 numbers. They are the only fax numbers the instructions list; the EIN application fax lines are different numbers and will not process a Form 2553.

Can I email or upload Form 2553 instead?

No. The IRS does not accept Form 2553 by email or through an online upload. Fax or mail, or attached to a late Form 1120-S.

Which fax number does a company outside the United States use?

A company with no office or agency in any state files with the Ogden center at 855-214-7520.

I faxed it to the wrong center. Do I refile?

The centers forward misdirected elections between themselves, but it adds weeks. If the deadline has not passed, fax it again to the correct number and note on the cover sheet that a copy went to the other center on the earlier date.