S corp election deadline: when to file Form 2553

The deadline, worked out

The window closes 2 months and 15 days after the tax year you want S corp status for begins. The IRS counts the 2 months from the day the year starts to the day before the same date two months later, then adds the 15 days. These are the IRS's own examples:

A new company's first tax year starts on the earliest of three dates: when it first has owners, when it first has assets, or when it starts doing business. Count your 2 months and 15 days from that date.

Reading this in late 2026? If your company already existed and wanted S corp status from 1 January 2026, that window closed in March, so it's now a late election (see Missed the deadline?). Filing any time up to 15 March 2027 is on time for S corp status from 1 January 2027. A company formed during 2026 counts from its own start date, so it may still be within its window.

Before you file

• The company has an EIN, or has applied for one. Form 2553 asks for it. If the number hasn't arrived by your deadline, the IRS lets you write "Applied For" and the date you applied, so don't wait for it. How we get your EIN
• Every owner qualifies. All are individuals (or certain trusts and estates), none is a nonresident alien, there are 100 or fewer, and there's one class of stock. Partnerships and companies can't be owners. Owners outside the US
• Every shareholder signs a consent. So does a spouse who has a community property interest in the shares.
• An officer signs the form, such as the president or treasurer.
• An LLC can file it directly, without a separate Form 8832.

How it's filed

Form 2553 goes to the IRS service center for your state, as the original by mail or by fax. The IRS lists where to send it in the Form 2553 instructions.

• Keep proof that you filed on time. The IRS accepts a certified or registered mail receipt, a copy of the form with its accepted or received stamp, or its letter accepting the election.
• Expect an answer within about 60 days. No answer within 2 months? Follow up with the IRS. Don't assume the election went through.

Missed the deadline?

The IRS can still accept a late election under Rev. Proc. 2013-30, without a ruling, when all of this is true:

1. The company meant to be an S corp from the date you choose.
2. The only reason it isn't one is that Form 2553 was filed late.
3. There was reasonable cause for filing late, and you acted quickly once you found out.
4. You file within 3 years and 75 days of that date.

The form then carries "FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30" at the top of page 1 and an explanation of the reasonable cause. Every shareholder over that period must confirm they reported their income as if the company was already an S corp. The late election can be sent on its own or with the company's Form 1120-S, which then carries its own note at the top.

Past 3 years and 75 days? A corporation can still ask for relief on Form 2553 if it and every shareholder have reported as an S corp for every year since, at least 6 months have passed since it filed its first-year return, and the IRS hasn't raised a problem within 6 months of that return. This route is listed for corporations: an LLC relying on Form 2553 alone, without a Form 8832, has to ask within the 3 years and 75 days. Otherwise, relief generally needs a private letter ruling from the IRS, which has a fee.

The salary rule once you're an S corp

Owners who work in the business must be paid a reasonable salary, through payroll, before they take other payouts. The IRS looks at things like your training and experience, your duties, the time you put in, and what comparable businesses pay. It can reclassify payouts as wages, which brings employment taxes with them.

A qualified tax professional sets the number with you. It's also what decides whether S corp status saves you money at all.

Mistakes to avoid

• Picking the wrong start date. For a new company, it's the earliest of three dates: first owners, first assets or first business.
• A missing consent. One shareholder, or a spouse with a community property interest, who doesn't sign.
• An unsigned form. Without an officer's signature, the IRS doesn't treat Form 2553 as filed on time.
• Waiting for the EIN. If the number hasn't arrived, write "Applied For" and the date you applied, and file on time.
• No proof of filing. If the IRS says it never arrived, the proof is what protects your date.
• Assuming it was accepted without the IRS's letter.
• An owner abroad. If any owner is a nonresident alien, the company can't be an S corp, however the form is filled in.

How we file your election for you

Most problems with an S corp election are paperwork: the wrong start date, a missing signature, nothing to prove when it was sent. When we file, we take care of them.

Forming a new company? We form your LLC or corporation and file the election with it, for $79 on top of either package. Start a new S corp

After the IRS accepts it

• The company files Form 1120-S every year, and the profit passes to the owners' own tax returns.
• Owners who work in it go on payroll for their reasonable salary.
• The status can end on its own. If the company stops qualifying, for example because a share goes to a nonresident alien or to a company, the election ends that day, and it can't be made again for 5 years without the IRS's consent.

This guide explains the IRS's rules. It isn't tax advice for your own situation.