If you live in Virginia and are mailing a paper federal tax return, the address depends on whether you’re sending a payment with it. Returns with no payment go to the IRS in Kansas City, Missouri. Returns with a check or money order enclosed go to Louisville, Kentucky. Both addresses accept Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, and Form 1040-NR from Virginia filers.1Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040
The Two Form 1040 Addresses for Virginia
Use the no-payment address if you’re expecting a refund, owe nothing, or already paid your balance electronically through IRS Direct Pay or another method:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-0002
Use the payment address only when a physical check or money order is in the envelope:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 931000
Louisville, KY 40293-1000
Sending a return to the wrong city won’t void it, but the IRS has to reroute it internally, and that typically adds weeks to processing.
Addresses for Other Common Forms
Form 1040-X, Amended Return
Corrections to a previously filed return go to a single Kansas City address regardless of whether you’re including a payment:2Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040-X
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-0052
Amended returns for tax years 2022 and later can also be e-filed, which is faster.
Form 4868, Extension to File
Form 4868 gives you an automatic six-month extension to file, moving the deadline to October 15. It does not extend time to pay; interest runs on any unpaid balance from April 15.3Internal Revenue Service. Form 4868
Without payment:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Kansas City, MO 64999-0045
With payment:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 931300
Louisville, KY 40293-1300
Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax Vouchers
Quarterly estimated tax payments from Virginia filers go to:4Internal Revenue Service. Correction to the Mailing Addresses in the 2026 Form 1040-ES
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 931100
Louisville, KY 40293-1100
Shipping by FedEx, UPS, or DHL
Private carriers cannot deliver to a P.O. Box, so if you’re using FedEx, UPS, or DHL, you need the street address of the Kansas City processing center:5Internal Revenue Service. Submission Processing Center Street Addresses for Private Delivery Service (PDS)
Internal Revenue Submission Processing Center
333 W. Pershing
Kansas City, MO 64108
Only specific service levels qualify as a “designated” private delivery service. If you use a non-designated option, your filing date is the day the IRS receives the package, not the day you shipped it. Approved services include:6Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
- FedEx First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, 2 Day, International Next Flight Out, International Priority, International First, and International Economy
- UPS Next Day Air Early A.M., Next Day Air, Next Day Air Saver, 2nd Day Air, 2nd Day Air A.M., Worldwide Express Plus, and Worldwide Express
- DHL Express 9:00, Express 10:30, Express 12:00, Express Worldwide, Express Envelope, Import Express 10:30, Import Express 12:00, and Import Express Worldwide
FedEx Ground and UPS Ground are not on the list. Using ground service costs you the postmark protection.
Proving Your Return Was Filed On Time
Under the federal mailbox rule, a return postmarked on or before the deadline counts as filed on that date even if the IRS receives it later.7Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 301, When, How and Where to File A regular first-class stamp only helps if the Postal Service applies a legible postmark. If the postmark is smudged or missing, the burden of proving when you mailed it falls on you.
USPS Certified Mail solves that problem. The counter receipt is dated, and the IRS accepts it as conclusive evidence of timely filing.8Internal Revenue Service. 26 CFR Part 301 TD 8932 – Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing Adding a Return Receipt also confirms delivery. A one-ounce letter sent Certified Mail with Return Receipt runs roughly $9 to $11. For a designated private delivery service, the carrier’s tracking record serves the same evidentiary purpose.
Getting the Envelope Right
A few assembly details can hold up a mailed return. Both spouses must sign and date a joint return, even if only one earned income; an unsigned return is treated as never filed and can trigger late-filing penalties.9Internal Revenue Service. IRS Courseware – Link and Learn Taxes – Taxpayer Signature Stack the completed Form 1040 on top, schedules and supporting forms behind it, and W-2s at the back.
Make any check or money order payable to “United States Treasury” and write your name, address, phone number, Social Security number, the tax year, and “Form 1040” on it. Clip the payment to the front of the return rather than stapling it, so it doesn’t get separated during processing.
Confirm the full nine-digit ZIP code and use enough postage. An underpaid envelope can come back to you, and by the time you re-mail it the deadline may have passed.
What a Late or Misdirected Return Costs
If a return arrives late because it went to the wrong address or missed the deadline, two penalties can apply along with interest.
The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax per month, capped at 25%. If the return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is $525 or 100% of the tax owed, whichever is less.10Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty
The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of the unpaid tax per month, also capped at 25%.11Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty When both apply in the same month, the failure-to-file penalty is reduced by 0.5%, so the combined rate is 5% per month. Filing on time, even when you can’t pay the full balance, avoids the larger of the two.
Interest runs on any unpaid balance from the filing deadline forward. The individual rate was 7% per year, compounded daily, in the first quarter of 2026 and dropped to 6% starting April 1, 2026.12Internal Revenue Service. Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-08
If you’ve filed on time and stayed penalty-free for the three prior tax years, you may qualify for First Time Abate relief, which removes the failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalty. You can request it by calling the IRS or responding to the penalty notice. Interest is not abated.13Internal Revenue Service. Administrative Penalty Relief