If you live in Massachusetts and are mailing a paper federal tax return, where you send it depends on which form you’re filing and whether you’re including a payment. Most individual Form 1040 returns go to the IRS processing center in Kansas City, Missouri, but returns with a check or money order attached go to a Louisville, Kentucky P.O. box instead. The addresses below cover the forms Massachusetts filers mail most often.
Form 1040 Individual Returns
For your Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, pick the address based on whether you owe money.
Refund or zero balance:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-00021Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040
Enclosing a check or money order:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 931000
Louisville, KY 40293-10001Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040
Include Form 1040-V (the payment voucher) with your check and leave everything loose in the envelope rather than stapling it together.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-V – Payment Voucher for Individuals Write your Social Security number, the tax year, and “Form 1040” on the check so it can be credited to your account if it gets separated from the voucher.3Internal Revenue Service. Pay by Check or Money Order
Amended Returns on Form 1040-X
Form 1040-X uses the Kansas City center but a different ZIP code than the original return:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-00524Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Addresses for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals Filing Form 1040-X
Attach every corrected form and schedule to the 1040-X. You don’t have to mail it, though. The IRS accepts Form 1040-X electronically through tax software for the current year and the two prior tax periods, which is usually faster and gives you a confirmation.5Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Either way, processing typically takes 8 to 12 weeks and can stretch to 16.6Internal Revenue Service. Where’s My Amended Return?
Extension Requests on Form 4868
Form 4868 gives you an automatic six-month extension to file. It does not extend the time to pay, so any tax owed is still due April 15. The address depends on whether you’re sending money with it.
No payment:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-00457Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Paper Tax Returns With or Without a Payment
With payment:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 931300
Louisville, KY 40293-13007Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Paper Tax Returns With or Without a Payment
Estimated Tax Payments on Form 1040-ES
Quarterly estimated payments go to Louisville regardless of which Kansas City address you use for your annual return:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 931100
Louisville, KY 40293-11008Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-ES Addresses for Taxpayers Living Within the 50 States
This split trips people up. Your Form 1040 goes to Kansas City; your 1040-ES vouchers go to Louisville. Mixing them up won’t lose your payment, but it can delay posting.
Partnership and S-Corporation Returns
Where business returns go depends on the entity’s size.
Form 1065 (Partnerships)
Partnerships with total assets under $10 million that do not file Schedule M-3:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-00119Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 1065
Partnerships with $10 million or more in assets, or any partnership required to file Schedule M-3:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Ogden, UT 84201-00119Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 1065
Form 1120-S (S-Corporations)
S-corporations with total assets under $10 million and no Schedule M-3 requirement:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-001310Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 1120-S
S-corporations with $10 million or more in assets, or that file Schedule M-3:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Ogden, UT 84201-001310Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 1120-S
Watch the ZIP code endings: partnerships use 0011, S-corporations use 0013. They route to different units inside the same facility.
Shipping by FedEx, UPS, or DHL
Private carriers can’t deliver to a P.O. box, so if you’re using FedEx, UPS, or DHL, you need the physical street address of the processing center. For Massachusetts filers, that address is:
Internal Revenue Submission Processing Center
333 W. Pershing
Kansas City, MO 6410811Internal Revenue Service. Submission Processing Center Street Addresses for Private Delivery Service (PDS)
Returns with and without payments both go to this same street address when shipped by a private carrier. The Kansas City / Louisville split applies only to USPS mail.11Internal Revenue Service. Submission Processing Center Street Addresses for Private Delivery Service (PDS)
Only IRS-designated service levels count as timely filed. FedEx Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, and 2 Day qualify; UPS Next Day Air, Next Day Air Saver, and 2nd Day Air qualify; DHL Express 9:00, Express 10:30, and Express Worldwide qualify. Ground and economy services from these carriers do not.12Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS) The IRS also recommends regular USPS mail rather than a private carrier when you’re sending a check with Form 1040-V, because PDS shipments to the payment P.O. boxes can be delayed.3Internal Revenue Service. Pay by Check or Money Order
Proof Your Return Was Mailed on Time
A return postmarked by the filing deadline counts as filed on time, even if the IRS receives it days later.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 7502 – Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing and Paying The postmark is your proof. If you drop the envelope in a collection box on April 15, you have no guarantee of when the postal service will actually postmark it, so bring it to a Post Office counter and ask for a manual postmark. It’s free.14United States Postal Service. Mailing Your Tax Return
Certified Mail gives you a dated receipt and tracking. Registered Mail goes further and serves as legal proof the IRS received the document.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 7502 – Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing and Paying The Postal Service doesn’t keep copies, so hold on to the receipt.14United States Postal Service. Mailing Your Tax Return One last point worth remembering: an extension extends the time to file, not the time to pay, so any balance you owe is still due April 15 even if you’ve mailed Form 4868.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6651 – Failure to File Tax Return or to Pay Tax