How to Fax Form 2553: The S Corp Election
Form 2553 is the S corporation election, the two-page form that changes how the IRS taxes your company, and it is on a clock: miss the window and you are waiting a year or writing a late-election plea. The IRS accepts it by fax, the fax number depends on your state, and the whole thing costs $1.00 to send with proof in hand. Here is the complete picture.
📌 The numbers, per the IRS Form 2553 instructions as of July 2026: businesses in the eastern group of states fax to 855-887-7734, and the western group faxes to 855-214-7520. Which group you are in depends on the state of your principal office; check the Where To File table in the current instructions on IRS.gov before sending, because IRS numbers change without fanfare.
The Deadline That Makes This Form Urgent
For the election to take effect in the current tax year, Form 2553 must be filed no more than two months and 15 days after the start of that tax year. For a calendar-year business, that means March 15. For a new company, the clock starts when the corporation or LLC first has shareholders, assets, or begins doing business, whichever comes first, which is why so many founders discover the deadline with days to spare. This is precisely the situation fax was made for: the form arrives in minutes, and your delivery confirmation timestamps the filing date.
Missed It? The Late Election Route
The IRS grants late S election relief under Revenue Procedure 2013-30 when you have reasonable cause, generally available up to three years and 75 days after the intended effective date. The mechanics: write "FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30" across the top of Form 2553, include the reasonable cause statement the instructions describe, and file the same way, including by fax to the same state-based numbers. Whether your cause qualifies is a question for your tax professional; the transmission part is the easy bit.
Getting the Form Right Before You Send
The rejections are almost never about the fax and almost always about the form: a missing shareholder signature is the classic. Every shareholder must sign the consent, the officer signs the form, the effective date box matches your intention, and the EIN must be real, not pending. No EIN yet? That comes first; Form SS-4 gets you one by fax in about four business days, and the IRS complete guide covers the broader landscape of what the agency accepts by fax. Scan the finished, fully signed form as one clean PDF.
What Comes Back, and When
The IRS does not fax back a receipt; your transmission confirmation is the only same-day proof you will hold, so keep it with the company records. The formal ruling arrives by mail, normally within about 60 days: acceptance comes as a CP261 notice, which is the letter banks, accountants, and payroll providers will ask to see. Hear nothing after 60 days? Call the IRS business line with your confirmation in hand; the timestamp is your evidence the filing went in on time.
Sending It for $1.00
1
Verify your number in the current instructions
IRS.gov, Form 2553 instructions, Where To File. Eastern group 855-887-7734, western group 855-214-7520, as of July 2026. Confirm on the day you file.
2
Check every signature
Officer signature plus every shareholder consent. An incomplete 2553 costs you the processing time twice.
3
Scan it as one PDF
All pages, fully legible, 300 DPI or better. Cover sheet with the company name, EIN, and page count.
4
Fax it and file the receipt
Upload at faxforadollar.com, enter the number, pay $1.00. The confirmation email is your timestamped proof of filing; treat it like a legal document, because functionally it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fax number for Form 2553?
It depends on your state. Per the IRS Form 2553 instructions as of July 2026: the eastern group of states faxes to 855-887-7734 and the western group to 855-214-7520, based on your principal office location. Check the Where To File table in the current instructions on IRS.gov before sending.
Do IRS fax numbers for Form 2553 change, and how do I verify mine?
They change without much announcement, which is why the instructions on IRS.gov are the only source worth trusting on filing day. Open the current Form 2553 instructions, find the Where To File table, match your state, and use that number. Treat the numbers on this page as verified July 2026, then verify again yourself.
Can I fax Form 2553 to the IRS?
Yes, fax is one of the two accepted filing methods, mail being the other, and it is the one that gives you a same-day timestamp. There is no e-file option for Form 2553 as of 2026; the online-filing question comes up constantly and the answer remains no.
What is the deadline for filing Form 2553?
No more than two months and 15 days after the start of the tax year the election takes effect, which is March 15 for calendar-year businesses. For new companies, the clock starts when the entity first has shareholders, assets, or business activity, whichever comes first. Filing later means next year or the late-election route.
What happens if I miss the Form 2553 deadline?
Two options: let the election take effect the following tax year, or request late election relief under Revenue Procedure 2013-30, which the IRS grants for reasonable cause generally up to three years and 75 days after the intended effective date. The relief route needs a reasonable cause statement, and whether yours qualifies is a conversation with your tax professional.
How do I file a late S election by fax?
Write "FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30" across the top of Form 2553, attach the reasonable cause statement the instructions describe, and fax the package to the same state-based number a timely election would use. Keep the confirmation; late elections get scrutiny, and your filing date evidence matters even more.
Which states fax Form 2553 to 855-214-7520?
The western group in the IRS Where To File table, which routes to the Ogden service center. Rather than reciting a state list that the IRS can reshuffle, match your state in the current instructions on IRS.gov; it takes thirty seconds and it is the authoritative answer.
Which states fax Form 2553 to 855-887-7734?
The eastern group in the same table, routed to the Kansas City service center. Same advice: your state's current assignment lives in the Form 2553 instructions on IRS.gov, and that table controls over any third-party page, including this one.
Can I file Form 2553 online?
No. As of 2026 there is no e-file route for Form 2553; the IRS accepts it by fax or mail only. Anyone promising online S election filing is either preparing the form for you and then faxing or mailing it themselves, or wrong.
Do all shareholders have to sign Form 2553?
Yes, every shareholder consents by signature, and a missing consent is the classic rejection. Married shareholders in community property states generally both sign. Check every line before scanning, because an incomplete 2553 costs you the full processing wait twice.
Do I need an EIN before faxing Form 2553?
Yes, the form requires your actual EIN, not an application in progress. If the company has no EIN yet, Form SS-4 by fax gets one in about four business days. Sequence matters: EIN first, then the election.
How do I know the IRS accepted my S election?
The acceptance letter, notice CP261, arrives by mail, normally within about 60 days of filing. That letter is what your bank, accountant, and payroll provider will want to see. The IRS does not fax back a receipt, which is why your transmission confirmation is the only same-day proof you hold.
What if I never receive the CP261 letter?
After 60 days, call the IRS business line and ask about the election status, with your fax confirmation in front of you: the timestamp is your evidence of timely filing. Lost acceptance letters can be replaced with a 385C verification letter on request.
Does the IRS confirm receiving my faxed 2553?
No receipt comes back at transmission time. Your fax delivery confirmation, showing the destination number, page count, and timestamp, is the proof of filing, and with a March 15 deadline in play it is worth guarding like the corporate seal.
How many pages is a Form 2553 fax?
Typically 2 to 4 pages: the form itself, sometimes a continuation of shareholder consents, plus your cover sheet. Comfortably inside FaxForADollar's $1.00 tier, which covers up to 10 pages.
What should the cover sheet say when faxing Form 2553?
Company name, EIN, what the fax contains, a callback number, and the total page count. If it is a late election, note the Rev. Proc. 2013-30 filing on the cover sheet too, so the intake routing sees it immediately.
Can I fax Form 2553 from my phone?
Yes. Scan or photograph the signed form clearly, open faxforadollar.com in your phone browser, upload, enter your state group's number, pay $1.00. Founders file S elections from their kitchen tables constantly; the IRS cannot tell and does not care.
How much does it cost to fax Form 2553?
$1.00, covering up to 10 pages, which a 2553 filing never approaches. One payment, an email confirmation for the company records, and a full automatic refund if the transmission fails.
What time should I fax the IRS near the March deadline?
Early morning Eastern time, when the lines are quietest. Deadline week means deadline traffic, and while FaxForADollar retries busy lines and refunds failures automatically, sending days early beats sending hours early.
Can I fax Form 2553 on a weekend?
Yes, the lines run around the clock and your timestamp is recorded on arrival. If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the IRS deadline itself generally rolls to the next business day, but a weekend fax with a weekend timestamp is a perfectly good filing.
Can my accountant fax Form 2553 for me?
Yes, and many do, though there is nothing in the transmission that needs a professional: the professional value is in the form being right. Whoever sends it, make sure the confirmation email ends up in the company records rather than someone's inbox archaeology.
Can an LLC file Form 2553?
Yes, an eligible LLC can elect S corporation tax treatment with Form 2553; filing it also serves the entity classification election in that case. Whether S status actually benefits your LLC is squarely a tax advisor question; this page covers getting the form there with proof.
What is the effective date I should put on Form 2553?
The first day of the tax year you want S treatment to begin, which for a new calendar-year business is typically its formation-year start. The date box is a common error point: it must match your intention, because the IRS processes what is written, not what was meant.
Can I fax Form 2553 and mail it too?
Pick one. Duplicate filings of an election form invite duplicate processing and confusion about which filing controls. Fax it, hold the confirmation, and let the CP261 arrive. If 60 days pass in silence, the follow-up call beats a second filing.
Does faxing Form 2553 get it processed faster than mailing?
It gets there in minutes instead of days and stamps your filing date immediately, which is the part that matters against the deadline. The roughly 60 day processing run to the CP261 letter is the same either way; no transmission method hurries the IRS.
What resolution should the scanned form be?
300 DPI or better, black and white, every signature crisp. The IRS processes what it can read, and a smeared shareholder signature reads as a missing one. If your scan looks marginal on your own screen, rescan before sending.
Is it safe to fax a form with EINs and SSNs on it?
The transmission is point-to-point to an IRS intake line, which is exactly why the agency still accepts sensitive elections by fax. On our side: encrypted HTTPS upload, documents deleted immediately after sending, and Stripe handling payment with no card details stored.
What is Form 2553 versus Form 8832?
2553 elects S corporation tax treatment; 8832 is the broader entity classification election, most often used to choose C corporation treatment. An LLC electing S status files 2553 alone. Which election serves you is the tax advisor's call, made before anything gets faxed.
Can I revoke an S election later?
Yes, by a statement of revocation with the required shareholder consents, filed with the service center; there are timing rules about when mid-year revocations take effect. It is a different filing from the 2553 itself, and one worth professional advice before sending anything.
Do I need a fax machine to file Form 2553?
No. Browser, signed PDF, three minutes: upload at faxforadollar.com, enter your state group's number from the current IRS instructions, pay $1.00, keep the confirmation. No machine, no landline, no account.
Is this page tax advice?
No. It covers the filing mechanics: numbers, deadlines, and proof of transmission. Whether to elect S status, whether your late election cause is reasonable, and what effective date serves you are questions for your tax professional, and the current IRS instructions control over anything written here.
Deadline breathing down your neck?
Verify your state group in the IRS instructions, then send the signed form in three minutes. $1.00, with a timestamped confirmation for your company records.
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