How to Fax Form 2553 (S-Corp Election) in 2026

There is no single IRS fax number for Form 2553. The Internal Revenue Service routes the S corporation election to Kansas City or Ogden based on the state where the corporation’s principal business, office, or agency is located.

This guide quotes the live Where to File Form 2553 table (last reviewed 28 June 2026; re-checked 6 September 2026) and the Instructions for Form 2553 (revision 12/2020, for use with the December 2017 form). Routing and dollar amounts change. Re-check IRS.gov the day you send.

What is the Form 2553 fax number?

Form 2553 is Election by a Small Business Corporation. Eligible domestic corporations and certain entities treated as corporations use it to elect S corporation status under Internal Revenue Code section 1362(a).

The IRS publishes two public fax numbers—not one nationwide line. Choose the center that matches the entity’s principal business, office, or agency state, not the state of incorporation if those differ.

IRS Center	Form 2553 fax number	Mail if you do not fax
Kansas City, MO	`855-887-7734`	Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City, MO 64999
Ogden, UT	`855-214-7520`	Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201

Kansas City (855-887-7734) — Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin.

Ogden (855-214-7520) — Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.

Source: IRS — Where to file your taxes (for Form 2553). The instructions repeat the same two numbers and state lists. The IRS notes that filing information is subject to change.

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|              FORM 2553 FAX ROUTING (RE-CHECK IRS.GOV)                |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| No nationwide Form 2553 fax number                                   |
|                                                                      |
| Kansas City  -->  855-887-7734   (listed eastern / Great Lakes       |
|                                   states + DC in the live table)     |
| Ogden        -->  855-214-7520   (listed southern / western /        |
|                                   plains states in the live table)   |
|                                                                      |
| Territory, foreign, or unlisted location --> do not guess;           |
|   open the live where-to-file page the day you send                  |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

855 numbers are US toll-free. The live where-to-file page does not publish a separate international Form 2553 fax. If you are transmitting from outside the United States and the 855 line will not complete, use the mail address for your state list—or a designated private delivery service—instead of inventing another number.

If the principal office is in a US territory or another location that is not on those two lists, do not pick Kansas City or Ogden by guesswork. Open the live where-to-file page that day.

This post is the dedicated Form 2553 walkthrough. The IRS fax numbers directory still points here for S-corp elections and keeps SS-4 / 5472 / 7004 on their own numbers.

When to file: 2 months and 15 days

Complete and file Form 2553:

No more than 2 months and 15 days after the beginning of the tax year the election is to take effect, or
At any time during the tax year preceding the tax year it is to take effect.

The instructions define the 2-month period as starting on the day of the month the tax year begins and ending at the close of the day before the numerically corresponding day of the second calendar month. If there is no corresponding day, use the last day of that calendar month, then add 15 days.

The same instructions give three examples:

No prior tax year. A calendar-year corporation begins its first tax year on January 7. The 2-month period ends March 6; 15 days later is March 21. File between January 7 and March 21. An election dated before January 7 is not valid.
Prior tax year (C corp switching). A calendar-year C corporation wants S status for the year beginning January 1. The window opens on the first day of its last C year (January 1) and closes March 15 of the year it wants to be an S corporation (February 28 or 29 plus 15 days).
Short first year. A first tax year beginning November 8 has a window from November 8 through January 22.

Form 2553 generally must be filed no later than 2 months and 15 days after the date entered on item E (effective date), with the exceptions above. A brand-new entity usually enters the earliest of first shareholders, first assets, or the date it began doing business—often a date other than January 1.

An unsigned election is not timely

The instructions are blunt: if Form 2553 is not signed, it will not be considered timely filed.

The form must be signed and dated by the president, vice president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, chief accounting officer, or another corporate officer authorized to sign (for example, a tax officer).

Shareholder consents are separate from the officer signature:

Each shareholder consents by signing and dating column K or a separate consent statement attached to the form.
For an election filed before the item E effective date, only shareholders who own stock on the day the election is made need to consent.
For an election filed on or after the item E date, every shareholder or former shareholder who owned stock at any time from that effective date through the filing date must consent.
Community-property spouses, joint tenants, tenants in common, and tenants by the entirety each must consent. A minor’s consent is made by the minor, a legal representative, or a parent if no representative has been appointed.

A missing officer signature, or missing required consents, is not a small clerical miss. The IRS can treat the election as if it never arrived on time.

How to prepare Form 2553 before you fax

Use the current Form 2553 PDF from IRS.gov — About Form 2553. The live instructions are still the December 2020 set for the December 2017 form revision; confirm both the day you file.

Confirm the entity can elect. The corporation (or eligible entity treated as a corporation) must be domestic, have no more than 100 shareholders, have only eligible shareholders (individuals, estates, certain exempt organizations and trusts—no nonresident alien shareholders except as potential current beneficiaries of an ESBT), have one class of stock, and not be an ineligible corporation (certain banks using the section 585 reserve method, insurance companies taxed under subchapter L, or a DISC / former DISC). Each shareholder must consent. See Who May Elect in the live instructions.
Have an EIN. Item A requires the entity’s employer identification number. If you still need one, the IRS accepts Form SS-4 by fax. If the EIN is applied for but not received, the instructions allow “Applied For” plus the application date.
Complete Part I. Legal name as in the charter, address, item E effective date, item F tax year, officer signature, and columns J–N for every required shareholder.
Complete later parts only if they apply. Part II is for certain fiscal-year requests (item F box 2 or 4). Part III is the QSST election and cannot be filed alone. Part IV is for certain late entity-classification representations.
Do not invent a Part II user fee or attach a check. If you check box Q1 (business-purpose fiscal year), the live 12/2020 instructions say the IRS charges a user fee of $6,200, “subject to change by Rev. Proc. 2021-1 or its successor.” They also say: do not pay the fee when filing Form 2553. The service center forwards the request; the IRS bills the fee. Treat $6,200 as a quote from today’s posted instructions, not a locked 2026 price. Re-read i2553 and the current user-fee revenue procedure on IRS.gov before you check Q1.
Keep the original if you fax. The instructions say to send the original election (no photocopies) or fax it. If you fax, keep the original Form 2553 with the corporation’s permanent records. Certain late elections may instead be attached to Form 1120-S.

Do not file Form 1120-S for a year before the election takes effect. Keep filing Form 1120 (or the return you currently file) until then.

How to fax Form 2553

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    FAX CHECKLIST (DAY YOU SEND)                      |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 1. Open IRS.gov where-to-file Form 2553 and confirm KC vs Ogden      |
| 2. Officer-signed Form 2553 + required shareholder consents          |
| 3. High-contrast PDF (typed or 300+ DPI black-and-white scan)        |
| 4. Cover sheet: Form 2553, entity name, EIN, page count, callback    |
| 5. Fax 855-887-7734 (Kansas City list) or 855-214-7520 (Ogden list)  |
| 6. Save the transmission receipt with the original signed form       |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Re-check the live table on Where to File Form 2553 immediately before you transmit. Do not rely on a saved blog post, a CPA cheat sheet, or last year’s number.
Use a clean PDF. IRS intake is scanned. Typed forms beat handwriting. If you wet-ink sign a printout, scan in black and white at 300 DPI or higher. Straight pages, dark ink, no gray photo backgrounds.
Add a short cover sheet. Form name (Form 2553), legal entity name, EIN, page count, date, and a callback number. Keep Social Security numbers off the cover; they belong on the form pages that already request them.
Send to the matching 855 number. Kansas City 855-887-7734 or Ogden 855-214-7520, per the live state list.
Keep proof. A cloud-fax delivery receipt (timestamp, page count, called number, receiving-terminal handshake) is the fax equivalent of the certified-mail proof the instructions list. Store it with the original signed Form 2553.

You can use the Form 2553 filing tool ($49 timely / $79 late) or upload a signed PDF from Send or receive a fax without a machine or a phone line.

After you fax: acceptance, timing, and follow-up

The service center notifies the corporation if the election is accepted and when it takes effect, and also if it is not accepted.

The instructions say you should generally receive a determination within 60 days after filing.
If box Q1 is checked, a ruling letter on the tax year is involved and acceptance generally takes an additional 90 days.
If you are not notified within 2 months of the fax or mail date—or within 5 months if box Q1 is checked—call 1-800-829-4933.

If the IRS later questions whether Form 2553 was filed, the instructions treat these as acceptable proof:

A certified or registered mail receipt (timely postmarked), or the equivalent from a designated private delivery service
Form 2553 with an accepted stamp
Form 2553 with a stamped IRS received date
An IRS letter stating that Form 2553 has been accepted

A timestamped fax confirmation is the record you control on send day. Keep it.

Late elections (Rev. Proc. 2013-30)

If the 2-month-and-15-day window is already closed, the instructions point to relief under Rev. Proc. 2013-30. When you use that procedure, enter FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30 in the top margin of page 1 of Form 2553. If you attach the late Form 2553 to Form 1120-S, also enter INCLUDES LATE ELECTION(S) FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30 in the top margin of the 1120-S.

Relief generally requires that the entity intended S status as of the item E date, failed to qualify solely because Form 2553 was late, had reasonable cause, acted diligently after discovery, and (in the standard path) files within 3 years and 75 days of the item E date, with shareholder statements that income was reported consistently with S status. Read the live Relief for Late Elections section before you write those legends in the margin. This is not a substitute for advice from a CPA or tax attorney.

Frequently asked questions

Is there one IRS fax number for Form 2553?

No. As of the 28 June 2026 where-to-file review, the IRS lists 855-887-7734 (Kansas City) and 855-214-7520 (Ogden). Which one you use depends on the principal-business state. There is no third “national” Form 2553 fax on that page.

Do I fax Form 2553 to the same number as Form SS-4 or Form 5472?

No. EIN applications (Form SS-4) and foreign-owned disregarded-entity Form 5472 packets use different IRS units and different numbers. See the IRS fax numbers directory for 2026 and how to fax the IRS. Do not send Form 2553 to an SS-4 or 5472 line.

Can I e-file Form 2553?

The instructions tell you to send the original or fax it to the listed service center (or, for some late elections, attach it to Form 1120-S). They do not describe a standalone MeF e-file for a timely Form 2553. Fax or mail is the path the IRS publishes.

Can I fax Form 1120-S instead of Form 2553?

No. Form 1120-S is the S corporation income tax return. You generally must not file it for a year before the election takes effect. Standard annual returns are not faxable; see Can you fax a tax return to the IRS?.

What if I already missed the deadline?

Read Relief for Late Elections in the Instructions for Form 2553 and Rev. Proc. 2013-30. Put the required legend in the top margin. If you do not meet those tests, the instructions say you generally need a private letter ruling and a user fee under the current revenue procedure—not a fee you invent or attach to the fax.

Send Form 2553 with SingleFax

Use the Form 2553 filing tool for $49 (timely calendar-year Part I) or $79 (late, with your own Rev. Proc. 2013-30 explanation). We fill the form, pick Kansas City or Ogden from the principal-business state, fax the IRS, and email a transmission receipt. Keep the original signed election with the corporation’s records.

You can also upload an already-signed PDF from Send or receive a fax if you filled the form yourself.

Sources (re-checked 6 September 2026)

Instructions for Form 2553 (12/2020)
Where to file your taxes (for Form 2553) (page last reviewed 28 June 2026)
About Form 2553

Disclaimer: SingleFax provides document transmission. SingleFax is not a CPA firm or law firm, and this article is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Confirm every fax number, deadline, and fee on IRS.gov the day you file, and consult a licensed professional for your election.