A bookkeeping firm checklist for Form 8822-B business address changes

This page is general information, not legal advice. About Form 8822-B, the current Form 8822-B PDF, About Form 8822, and the current Form 8822 PDF are the texts to read. Have counsel review your address change process before you treat this as the firm's process. This page does not invent mailing addresses beyond the current Form 8822-B PDF, and it does not add a fax path the PDF does not state.

Use Form 8822-B if you changed the business mailing address, the business location, or the identity of the responsible party. The form is for businesses and other entities with an Employer Identification Number application on file. Changes in responsible parties must be reported to the IRS within 60 days. (About Form 8822-B)

Use Form 8822 to notify the IRS of a change to a home mailing address. (About Form 8822)

Any entity with an EIN is required to report a change in its responsible party on Form 8822-B within 60 days of the change. The Form 8822-B PDF also says any entities that change their address or identity of their responsible party must file Form 8822-B, whether or not they are engaged in a trade or business. (Form 8822-B PDF)

Do not attach Form 8822-B to a return. Type or print. Check every box the change affects: employment, excise, income, and other business returns; employee plan returns; and/or business location. Enter the business name and EIN, the old mailing address, the new mailing address, and the new business location when that is the change. An officer, owner, general partner or LLC member manager, plan administrator, fiduciary, or an authorized representative must sign. If you are a representative signing for the taxpayer, attach a copy of your power of attorney. The IRS will not complete an address or responsible party change from an unauthorized third party. (Form 8822-B PDF)

Mail Form 8822-B using the Where To File table on the current PDF. That table splits old business addresses between the Kansas City, MO 64999 address and the Ogden, UT 84201-0023 address. Open the current PDF before you tell a client which center to use. The PDF does not list a fax number for Form 8822-B. Do not invent one. The form says it generally takes 4 to 6 weeks to process an address or responsible party change. (Form 8822-B PDF)

• Confirm the legal name and EIN match the IRS account, not a trade name you use in the ledger.
• Old address on the form is the address the IRS currently has, not the address on last month's invoice.
• New address includes room or suite number. Use a P.O. box only if the post office does not deliver to the street address, as the PDF states.
• Responsible party lines match who Form SS-4 treats as the responsible party. Do not put another entity there unless the Form SS-4 instructions allow an EIN on that line.
• A person at the client signs, or a representative signs with a power of attorney attached.

Keep a copy of the signed Form 8822-B with the engagement file. Then update the mailing address you use for organizers, notices, and portal invites so your firm is not still writing to the old street. Reporting agent authority is a different document. If you file employment tax returns for the client, that authorization is the Form 8655 reporting agent authorization, not a checkbox on Form 8822-B.

Tools can draft a chase when the signed form is still missing. They do not prepare, file, or sign the form. Your staff approve what goes out. Your CPA reviews and signs every return.

One row per client and change event. Duplicate a row if you later file a second Form 8822-B because the responsible party changed again.

Download the Form 8822 versus Form 8822-B decision table and address change tracker. The tax season operator can draft the chase when a signed Form 8822-B is still missing. Your staff approve what goes out. Your CPA reviews and signs every return.