Form 2553 by Fax: Where to Send, How to Do It, and What to Expect

What is Form 2553, and can you fax it?

Form 2553 (“Election by a Small Business Corporation”) is how eligible corporations and LLCs elect S-corporation treatment, so that income, losses, deductions, and credits pass through to shareholders for federal tax purposes. The IRS accepts it two ways only: fax or mail. There is no general e-file channel for a standalone 2553, and faxing is the faster of the two, with an instant transmission record you can keep as proof.

You are generally eligible if you are a domestic entity with 100 or fewer shareholders, only allowable shareholders (individuals and certain trusts or estates, no nonresident aliens), and a single class of stock. Every shareholder must consent to the election. You also need an EIN first — if you do not have one yet, apply with Form SS-4 (see our guide on how to fax Form SS-4 to the IRS) before you file the 2553.

Before you fax: filing checklist

• EIN is active and correct
• Legal name and address match IRS records
• Tax year and effective date completed
• All required signatures and consents included
• Officer phone and email are legible
• Fax cover sheet prepared (template below)
• Correct IRS fax number selected for your state
• Saved a PDF copy of everything, plus your fax confirmation

Filing deadline

File no later than 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year the election should take effect. For a January 1 start that is around March 15, or the next business day if the 15th falls on a weekend. Missed it? You may still qualify for relief — see Filing a late Form 2553 below.

How to fax Form 2553, step by step

1. Complete Form 2553. Fill in all required parts: tax year, effective date, and shareholder consents.
2. Create a fax cover sheet. Include your legal name, EIN, tax year, effective date, and contact details.
3. Choose the correct IRS fax number for your state (routing table below).
4. Fax the packet in this order: cover sheet, then Form 2553, then any attachments such as a late-election statement. Keep scans clean and high-contrast.
5. Save your proof. Keep the fax success report and a PDF of exactly what you sent.
6. Track and follow up. If you hear nothing within a reasonable window, call with your EIN, the date sent, and the fax number used. Approval usually arrives as a CP261 notice.

You still have to actually send the fax. If you do not have a fax machine, Municorn Fax lets you fax Form 2553 straight from your phone or computer, and every send returns a timestamped delivery confirmation — exactly the proof of timely filing you will want if the IRS ever questions your election date. It is HIPAA-compliant and works with any US fax number, so it reaches either processing center.

Bottom line: the IRS itself points 2553 filers to fax or mail. Fax gives you speed and a timestamped receipt in one step, which is why most practitioners fax it.

Deadlines & late election relief

• Standard deadline: File no later than 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year the election should take effect (for a Jan 1 start, that’s March 15). Miss it and, by default, the entity is taxed under its normal classification — C corporation, partnership, or disregarded entity — for that year, unless you qualify for the late relief below.

Missed the deadline? Late election relief (Rev. Proc. 2013-30)

The IRS runs an automatic relief programme — Rev. Proc. 2013-30 — that treats a late Form 2553 as if it had been filed on time, with no Private Letter Ruling and no user fee. It covers the great majority of “we meant to elect S-corp but the form never went in” situations, as long as you’re inside the time window and meet a short list of conditions.

Do you qualify?

You can use the automatic relief if all of the following are true:

• You intended S-corp treatment from the effective date you wanted.
• The election failed solely because Form 2553 wasn’t filed on time — nothing else disqualifies you (you’re still an eligible entity: one class of stock, allowable shareholders, and so on).
• You have reasonable cause for the delay and acted to fix it once you noticed. The bar is more forgiving than people expect — relying on an adviser who didn’t file is a common, accepted reason — but it must be genuine and is stated under penalty of perjury.
• Every shareholder has reported income consistently with S-corp status for the year the election should have started and every year since.
• Less than 3 years and 75 days have passed since your intended effective date (the date on line E of Form 2553).

How to file a late Form 2553

A late election goes on the same Form 2553 as an on-time one — it just needs three extra things, and it must still be otherwise valid, with every shareholder signature and consent in place:

• Write “FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30” across the top margin of page 1.
• Add a reasonable-cause statement — a short explanation of why the election was late and how you corrected it, made under penalty of perjury. It can go on line I of Form 2553 (just above the officer’s signature) or on an attached page.
• Include shareholder statements confirming consistent reporting. Completing column K (Shareholder’s Consent Statement) satisfies this.

You can then file it one of three ways:

• On its own, faxed or mailed to the IRS service centre for your state — the fax numbers and steps below apply exactly as they do to an on-time election. This is the simplest route when your returns are otherwise in order.
• Attached to your current-year Form 1120-S, if all earlier 1120-S returns are already filed.
• Attached to the first-year Form 1120-S, filed alongside any other overdue 1120-S returns at the same time and consistently with the relief you’re requesting.

If you’re outside the window

Past 3 years and 75 days, automatic relief generally isn’t available and you’d need a Private Letter Ruling from the IRS — which carries a significant user fee (up to around $12,300, with reduced fees for lower incomes) plus professional costs, and takes months. One narrow exception: a corporation (not an LLC electing its classification) that has genuinely filed as an S-corp all along can still qualify beyond the window if it meets extra conditions, including that the IRS never flagged the missing election. Most other filers past the window are choosing between a ruling request and simply electing for a later year.

Late elections also tend to bring downstream cleanup — most often retroactive payroll, since an owner who works in the business is expected to take a reasonable salary for any year now treated as an S-corp. If yours involves amended returns or back payroll, it’s worth looping in a tax professional; this is general information, not tax advice. For the official detail, see the Instructions for Form 2553 and the IRS late election relief page.

What happens after you fax

• Keep your transmission report showing the destination number, timestamp, and page count. That report is your proof of timely filing.
• Processing takes up to about 60 days. The IRS reviews the election and mails a notice to the address on the form.
• CP261 means approved. This notice confirms your S-corp election and its effective date — save it, as you or your accountant will likely need it later.
• CP264 means rejected. The notice explains why (for example, an ineligibility issue, a missing signature, or a late filing without relief). Fix the problem and refile, or pursue late-election relief or a private letter ruling if needed.
• Heard nothing after about 60 days? Call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 with your EIN, the date you faxed, and the fax number you used.

Ready-to-copy fax cover sheet template

A cover sheet is not strictly required, but it helps routing and gives the IRS an easy contact point. Copy the template below, or build one with our free fax cover sheet generator.

TO: Internal Revenue Service
ATTN: Form 2553 Processing
FAX: [855-887-7734 or 855-214-7520 — see routing table]

FROM: [Your Company Legal Name]
EIN: [NN-NNNNNNN]
PHONE: [Your Phone]
EMAIL: [Your Email]

SUBJECT: Form 2553 – S-Corporation Election

TAX YEAR: [e.g., Calendar year 2026]
EFFECTIVE DATE OF ELECTION: [MM/DD/YYYY]

PAGES (including cover): [#]

NOTES:
- Please contact me if any page is unclear or if additional info is required.
- This fax includes Form 2553 and any attachments (e.g., late-election statement).

Sources and IRS references

• IRS Where to File (Form 2553) — addresses and fax numbers, last reviewed September 18, 2025. irs.gov
• Instructions for Form 2553 — eligibility, deadlines, and late-relief statements. irs.gov
• Late-election relief (Rev. Proc. 2013-30) — criteria and paths for late S-corp elections. irs.gov
• About Form 2553 — official overview. irs.gov

Related IRS fax guides

Form 2553 is only one of the forms the IRS accepts by fax. For the full routing list, see our IRS fax numbers by form. You will usually need an EIN before electing S-corporation status — get one by faxing Form SS-4, and if the online tool returns Reference Number 101, here is how to clear it.