What Form 8832 is for
Form 8832 lets an eligible entity pick how the IRS treats it for federal tax purposes: as a corporation, as a partnership, or as an entity disregarded as separate from its owner. Eligible entities include limited liability companies and partnerships. If you file nothing, default rules decide the classification for you. The IRS uses what you enter to set the entity's filing and reporting requirements.
You use it when the default treatment is not the one you want, or when you want to change a classification the entity already has. Domestic and foreign entities both use it. Do not file it for an entity that is tax-exempt under section 501(a), for a real estate investment trust, or for an entity electing S corporation status, which uses Form 2553 instead.
Who has to file Form 8832?
You file for an eligible entity that wants a classification other than its default one. That covers a domestic entity electing to be an association taxable as a corporation, and a domestic entity changing its current classification even when that classification came from the default rule. Foreign entities use the form for the same kinds of choices. A new entity that is happy with its default classification should not file. Corporations are generally not eligible entities, with two exceptions the instructions describe.
- A foreign entity with more than one owner, all owners having limited liability, electing to be a partnership
- A foreign entity with at least one owner that does not have limited liability, electing to be an association taxable as a corporation
- A foreign entity with a single owner having limited liability, electing to be disregarded as separate from its owner
- A foreign entity electing to change its current classification
- Do not file for an entity that is tax-exempt under section 501(a), is a REIT under section 856, or is electing S corporation status
- For entities formed on or after July 1, 2013, a Croatian Dionicko Drustvo is always treated as a corporation
When do you file Form 8832?
There is no annual due date. Timing runs off the effective date you put on line 8. An election cannot take effect more than 75 days before the date you file it, and it cannot take effect later than 12 months after the date you file it. If line 8 shows a date more than 75 days back, the election defaults to 75 days before filing. If line 8 shows a date more than 12 months out, it takes effect 12 months after filing. Leave line 8 blank and the election takes effect on the filing date.
Where do you send Form 8832?
Mail the form to the IRS service center for the state where the entity's principal business, office, or agency is located. A note at the front of this revision says the mailing address changed since the form was last published, and it gives the updated addresses. Also attach a copy of Form 8832 to the entity's federal tax or information return for the tax year of the election.
If the entity does not have to file a return for that year, attach a copy to the federal tax returns of all direct or indirect owners, for the owner tax year that includes the date the election took effect. An indirect owner can skip that step if an entity it holds an interest in already files a copy with its return. Leaving off the attachment does not invalidate an otherwise valid election, but penalties may be assessed against people who were required to attach it and did not.
- Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin: Kansas City, MO 64999
- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming: Ogden, UT 84201
- A foreign country or U.S. possession: Ogden, UT 84201-0023
How do you fill out Form 8832?
Start with the entity's name, employer identification number, and address at the top. Do not write "Applied For" on the EIN line. If the entity has no EIN, it applies on Form SS-4 and must have the number in hand by the time Form 8832 is filed, because an election without an EIN will not be accepted. An entity that already has an EIN keeps it after a classification change. Check the address change box if the address is new since Form SS-4 or the most recent return.
Fill in Part I whether or not you are asking for relief. Line 1 says whether this is a first classification or a change. Lines 2a and 2b cover the 60-month limitation rule. Once an eligible entity elects to change its classification, it generally cannot elect again during the 60 months after the effective date. That limit does not apply if the earlier election was made by a newly formed entity and took effect on the date of formation.
- Every member who is an owner when the election is filed signs, or an officer, manager, or member authorized to make the election signs
- Anyone who owned the entity between the effective date and the filing date, but is not an owner at filing, must also sign
- Attach any continuation sheet or separate consent statement, and it must carry the same information as the form
- Do not sign the copy you attach to your tax return
What if the election is filed late?
Part II covers late election relief under Revenue Procedure 2009-41, and you check the matching box at the top of the form. All four requirements have to be met. The entity missed its requested classification only because Form 8832 was not filed on time. Its returns match the classification it wanted, or the due date for the first year has not passed. It has reasonable cause for the late filing. And three years and 75 days from the requested effective date have not passed.
On line 11 you explain why the election was not filed on time. An authorized representative of the entity and each affected person sign Part II, and the signers must have personal knowledge of the facts. File within three years and 75 days of the requested effective date. If Revenue Procedure 2009-41 does not apply, the entity can seek relief by requesting a private letter ruling and paying a user fee under Revenue Procedure 2013-1. A separate box covers relief under Revenue Procedure 2010-32.
How do you know the IRS accepted the election?
The service center writes to the entity at the address on the form to say whether the election is accepted or not accepted. You should generally get that answer within 60 days after filing. If nothing arrives within 60 days of the filing date, follow up by calling 1-800-829-0115 or by sending a letter to the service center to ask about the status. Send that letter by certified or registered mail through the U.S. Postal Service, or by an equivalent designated private delivery service.
- A certified or registered mail receipt with a timely postmark, or its equivalent from a designated private delivery service
- Form 8832 with an accepted stamp
- Form 8832 with a stamped IRS received date
- An IRS letter saying Form 8832 has been accepted
Form 8832 line by line
| Line | What goes there |
|---|---|
| 1 | Check 1a for a first classification by a newly formed entity, or 1b to change the current classification. |
| 2a | Whether the entity already filed an entity election with an effective date within the last 60 months. |
| 2b | Whether that earlier election was an initial classification by a newly formed entity effective on the date of formation. |
| 3 | Whether the entity has more than one owner, which sets the classifications you can pick. |
| 4a | Name of the single owner. If the owner is a chain of disregarded entities, name the first one that is not disregarded. |
| 4b | Owner's SSN, ITIN, or EIN. Write "none" if the owner is a foreign person or entity with no U.S. identifying number. |
| 5 | Name and EIN of the parent corporation if affiliated corporations filing a consolidated return own the entity. |
| 6 | Check the box for the classification you want, domestic or foreign, as a corporation, partnership, or disregarded entity. |
| 7 | The foreign country the entity is organized in, required even if it is also organized under domestic law. |
| 8 | The date the election takes effect, subject to the 75 day and 12 month limits. |
| 9 | Name and title of the person the IRS may call about the election. |
| 10 | That contact person's telephone number. |
| 11 | Part II only. Your explanation of why the entity classification election was not filed on time. |
Source: IRS, Form 8832 (Rev. Dec 2013). This page explains the form in plain English. It is not tax advice.