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Quick answer: The fax number for Form 8886 is 844-253-2553, the IRS Office of Tax Shelter Analysis (OTSA). It only takes one thing: the exact copy of a Form 8886 you’re filing for the first time for a transaction. The original goes with your tax return. The IRS says the number is “not for general use”, and anything else sent to it won’t be processed.
Form 8886, the Reportable Transaction Disclosure Statement, tells the IRS about a reportable transaction you took part in. Individuals, trusts, estates, partnerships and corporations all file it if they participated and have a federal return to file. Disclosing a transaction doesn’t mean its tax benefits will be disallowed; it means the IRS knows about it.
Is it a reportable transaction?
There are five categories. A transaction in any one of them has to be disclosed.
| Category | What it means |
|---|---|
| Listed transaction | The same as, or substantially similar to, a tax avoidance transaction the IRS has identified in published guidance. |
| Confidential transaction | Offered to you under conditions of confidentiality, with at least a minimum fee paid to an adviser. |
| Contractual protection | You have a right to a full or partial refund of fees, or the fees depend on the tax benefits being upheld. |
| Loss transaction | It produces a section 165 loss at or above the threshold for your type of taxpayer. |
| Transaction of interest | A type the IRS has flagged as having potential for tax avoidance or evasion, but doesn’t yet have enough information to treat as one. |
Where each copy goes
- The original is attached to your tax or information return, amended returns included, for every year you participated in the transaction.
- The exact copy goes to OTSA, but only for the initial year you disclose the transaction. Fax it to 844-253-2553, or post it to Internal Revenue Service, OTSA Mail Stop 4915, 1973 Rulon White Blvd., Ogden, UT 84201.
The IRS’s fax page sets the rules for that line: send only one Form 8886 per fax, up to 100 pages, and nothing but Form 8886 and its accompanying materials. The cover sheet carries the subject (“Form 8886”), the sender’s name, title, phone number and address, the taxpayer’s name, the date and the page count including the cover sheet, and no EIN or SSN. The IRS won’t send a confirmation or receipt, so keep a copy of your fax transmission log as your proof.
File a separate Form 8886 for each reportable transaction. Several can share one form only if they’re the same or substantially similar.
The 90-day rule. If a transaction becomes a listed transaction, or is identified as a transaction of interest, after you’ve already filed a return for a year you took part in it, you don’t wait for the next return. The instructions require a filing with OTSA within 90 days of the date it became listed (for listed transactions entered into after 2 August 2007) or was identified as a transaction of interest (entered into after 1 November 2006).
Why getting it right matters
The penalty for not disclosing, under section 6707A, is generally 75% of the reduction in tax the transaction produced. It has a floor and a ceiling for each year:
Section 6707A penalty limits
Per reportable transaction, per year. Figures from the Form 8886 instructions.
| Taxpayer | Minimum | Maximum: listed transaction | Maximum: other reportable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | $5,000 | $100,000 | $10,000 |
| Anyone else | $10,000 | $200,000 | $50,000 |
For a listed transaction that isn’t disclosed, the time the IRS has to assess tax on it is also extended, until one year after the earlier of the date you disclose it or the date a material adviser answers an IRS request about it.
Filing on a protective basis
If you’re unsure whether a transaction is reportable, you can file Form 8886 and tick the protective disclosure box. The form still has to be completed in full: the instructions say entries such as “Information provided upon request” aren’t acceptable.
How to fax the OTSA copy
- Complete Form 8886 in full and attach the original to your return.
- Make an exact copy of what you attached.
- Add a cover sheet with the subject “Form 8886”, your name, title, phone number and address, the taxpayer’s name, the date and the page count, and no EIN or SSN. Our fax cover sheet generator makes one.
- Fax it to 844-253-2553, one Form 8886 per fax and no more than 100 pages, and send nothing else to that number.
- Keep the fax transmission log with your copy of the return; the IRS won’t send a confirmation.
Advisers sending these for several clients can fax from email with EveryFax, which has a two-week trial. For a single filing, Municorn Fax sends the PDF from a phone or computer and keeps the confirmation; your first single-page test fax is free.
Do I send the OTSA copy every year?
Who has to file Form 8886?
Is Form 8886 the same as Form 8918?
Faxing another IRS form? See our list of IRS fax numbers, including the forms sent by businesses and tax professionals.
Sources and IRS references
- Taxpayers can fax the separate copy of Form 8886 to OTSA: one form per fax, 100 pages, the cover sheet and no IRS confirmation. IRS page last reviewed 14 September 2026; checked 10 October 2026. irs.gov
- Instructions for Form 8886 (Rev. 10/2022): the five categories, where each copy goes, the OTSA fax and its limits, the 90-day rule, protective disclosure and the section 6707A penalties. IRS page last reviewed 30 April 2026; checked 9 October 2026. irs.gov
