Moving Soon? Here’s How to Notify the IRS Your Change of Address

In order to send you necessary correspondence or mail you a refund check, the IRS requires your updated address. There are several options for letting the agency know when you change your address. You may want to start processing an address change because it could take six weeks for it to be done. Delaying it will delay the issuance of your tax refund as well. 

How to change your address on your tax return?

You can simply file your return if your address changes before you file your taxes. You file will automatically be updated by the IRS once they see the new address. Make sure you keep an eye on the possibility of your old address being automatically carried over to your new form if you decide to file your taxes electronically.

1. Notifying the Post Office

You can fill out an IRS change of address form with the post office if you moved to a new place while your return is being processed. There are some post offices that don’t forward tax refund checks to new addresses because of fraud incidents so keep this in mind. Make sure the refund check you’re expecting arrives in your mailbox by taking additional steps. Nonetheless, wherever your correspondence is sent will change once you notify the post office.

2. Filling out IRS Change of Address Form 8822 or 8822-B

Directly change your address and notify the IRS by filling out IRS Form 8822 b. This IRS change of address form isn't just used for individual tax returns, it is used for gift, estate, or generation-skipping transfer tax returns as well. You will be required to use Form 8822-B to change your address if you happen to the responsible party for business.

Either of these forms when used will collect some basic information from you such as your old address and your new address. The same form is used if you want to change a spouse’s address.

There are different mailing address listed on the form and depending on your location, you will send the form to the appropriate mailing address.

3. Notifying the IRS through a Written Statement

There is another way to notify the IRS about your address change information, by sending the agency a written statement. The same information written on Form 8822 will be included in the statement of the taxpayer. They are the following:

• Full name
• Old address
• New address
• Social Security Number or tax identification number
• Taxpayer’s signature

If you are filing jointly, your spouses' information and your spouse’s signature must be provided by you. If you and your spouse separated, both of you will need to inform the IRS of an address change as separately.

Wherever it was that you mailed your last tax return is where the written statement should be mailed to.

4. Notifying the IRS Electronically

You can only notify the IRS of an address change electronically under certain circumstance. An option on the IRS’s website “where’s my refund” will become available if your refund checks returned to the IRS. If you’re changing your address online in situations like this, you will be required to provide certain information for the purpose of security such as the amount of your refund.

Want a smooth change of address? Follow these tips:

• You may want to consider delaying the filing of an income tax return if moving is among your plans in the near future. Doing this will help you file your tax return using your new address and your refund check will be sent directly to your new mailing address.
• For each type of tax return, you file, make sure you filed a change of address. Personal income tax, gift tax, estate tax, or business tax returns are some examples.
• If you and your spouse separate but only of you is moving to a new address, each of you should file a change of address form if you want the IRS the to locate each of you individually.
• Never forget to notify the United States Postal Service of your change of address so that any letters or refund checks from the IRS are sent to your new mailing address.