Free 2553 Generator Make your S corporation election

Prepare IRS Form 2553 to elect S corporation status: enter the corporation’s details, the effective date, and its shareholders, and the official form fills in as you type. Then print it for the officer and shareholders to sign.

View the form on IRS.gov

How to fill it out: IRS instructions for Form 2553

The corporation

Use the exact name in the corporate charter or the document that created the entity.

Name *

Mail goes to someone else, like a shareholder? Add “C/O” and their name after the corporation’s name.

A · Employer identification number (EIN) *

No EIN yet? Apply first, online at IRS.gov/EIN or with Form SS-4.

Number and street *

Room or suite (optional)

City or town *

State *

ZIP code *

B · Date incorporated *

C · State of incorporation *

D · Name or address changed since you got the EIN? If it applies

The name changed

The address changed

The election

Items E, F, and G.

E · Effective date of the election *

The start of the tax year the S election applies to. For a new corporation, the earliest of the day it first had shareholders, had assets, or began doing business. File within 2 months and 15 days of this date.

F · Selected tax year *

Calendar year Fiscal year 52-53-week year ending with reference to December 52-53-week year ending with reference to another month

Fiscal year ends in *

Day *

Month the year ends with reference to *

A fiscal or 52-53-week year needs Part II as well. It opens as step 7.

G · More than 100 shareholders listed? Rare

Treat members of a family as one shareholder Only if more than 100 shareholders are listed on page 2 and counting each family as one brings it to 100 or fewer.

Late election relief

Item I. Only if you’re filing after the deadline.

This election is late (relief under Rev. Proc. 2013-30) We add “FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30” at the top of page 1, as the instructions require. Relief generally applies within 3 years and 75 days of the effective date.

Reasonable cause, and what you did to fix it *

Explain why the election wasn’t filed on time and the diligent actions you took once you found the mistake. It must fit the 9 lines on page 1; otherwise attach a statement.

Contact person

Item H: the officer or legal representative the IRS can call.

Name *

Title *

Telephone number *

Shareholders

Page 2, columns J–N. List every shareholder who must consent: everyone who owns stock on the day you file, and, if you file on or after the effective date, anyone who owned stock in between.

How many shareholders?

The form has 7 rows. For more, print extra copies of page 2. Spouses with a community interest, joint tenants, and tenants in common each get a row.

Shareholder 1

Name *

Held by a nominee, custodian, or agent? Enter the person the stock is held for.

Street address *

City, state, and ZIP code *

Shares owned, or % ownership *

On the day you file. Former shareholders: 0.

Date(s) acquired *

SSN or EIN *

SSN (individual) EIN (estate, trust, exempt organization)

Tax year ends (month and day) *

12/31 for most individuals.

Shareholder 2

Name *

Held by a nominee, custodian, or agent? Enter the person the stock is held for.

Street address *

City, state, and ZIP code *

Shares owned, or % ownership *

On the day you file. Former shareholders: 0.

Date(s) acquired *

SSN or EIN *

SSN (individual) EIN (estate, trust, exempt organization)

Tax year ends (month and day) *

12/31 for most individuals.

Shareholder 3

Name *

Held by a nominee, custodian, or agent? Enter the person the stock is held for.

Street address *

City, state, and ZIP code *

Shares owned, or % ownership *

On the day you file. Former shareholders: 0.

Date(s) acquired *

SSN or EIN *

SSN (individual) EIN (estate, trust, exempt organization)

Tax year ends (month and day) *

12/31 for most individuals.

Shareholder 4

Name *

Held by a nominee, custodian, or agent? Enter the person the stock is held for.

Street address *

City, state, and ZIP code *

Shares owned, or % ownership *

On the day you file. Former shareholders: 0.

Date(s) acquired *

SSN or EIN *

SSN (individual) EIN (estate, trust, exempt organization)

Tax year ends (month and day) *

12/31 for most individuals.

Shareholder 5

Name *

Held by a nominee, custodian, or agent? Enter the person the stock is held for.

Street address *

City, state, and ZIP code *

Shares owned, or % ownership *

On the day you file. Former shareholders: 0.

Date(s) acquired *

SSN or EIN *

SSN (individual) EIN (estate, trust, exempt organization)

Tax year ends (month and day) *

12/31 for most individuals.

Shareholder 6

Name *

Held by a nominee, custodian, or agent? Enter the person the stock is held for.

Street address *

City, state, and ZIP code *

Shares owned, or % ownership *

On the day you file. Former shareholders: 0.

Date(s) acquired *

SSN or EIN *

SSN (individual) EIN (estate, trust, exempt organization)

Tax year ends (month and day) *

12/31 for most individuals.

Shareholder 7

Name *

Held by a nominee, custodian, or agent? Enter the person the stock is held for.

Street address *

City, state, and ZIP code *

Shares owned, or % ownership *

On the day you file. Former shareholders: 0.

Date(s) acquired *

SSN or EIN *

SSN (individual) EIN (estate, trust, exempt organization)

Tax year ends (month and day) *

12/31 for most individuals.

Each shareholder signs and dates column K (their consent) on the printout. A consent can’t be withdrawn once the election is valid.

Officer’s signature

Signed by the president, vice president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, chief accounting officer, or another officer authorized to sign. Without it, the election isn’t considered timely filed.

Sign by hand after printing. Form 2553 isn’t on the IRS list of forms it accepts electronic signatures on, so the officer signs page 1, and each shareholder signs page 2, in ink.

Officer’s title *

Date (optional)

Leave it blank to date it when you sign.

Everything stays on this device. The PDF is created in your browser, and nothing you type, including SSNs, is uploaded or saved.

Part II · Fiscal tax year

Complete item O and one of P, Q, or R. Corporations under examination or before Appeals or a court generally can’t use the automatic approval in item P.

O · The corporation is *

A new corporation adopting the tax year in item F An existing corporation retaining the tax year in item F An existing corporation changing to the tax year in item F

How the fiscal year is approved *

P1 · Natural business year (Rev. Proc. 2006-46; attach 47 months of gross receipts) P2 · Ownership tax year (Rev. Proc. 2006-46) Q1 · Business purpose request (Rev. Proc. 2002-39; attach a statement and pay the user fee) R1 · Section 444 election (also file Form 8716)

If the IRS plans to turn down the fiscal year, do you want a conference with the IRS National Office? *

Yes No

Q2 · Make a back-up section 444 election if the business purpose request isn’t approved

Q3 · Agree to a December 31 year if needed for the S election to be accepted

R2 · Agree to a December 31 year if the corporation doesn’t qualify for the section 444 election

Part III · QSST election

Only if stock was transferred to a trust that elects to be a qualified subchapter S trust, on or before the date of the S election.

Make a QSST election for a trust shareholder The income beneficiary signs Part III by hand. For more than one QSST, use extra copies of page 4.

Income beneficiary’s name *

Beneficiary’s address *

Beneficiary’s SSN *

Trust’s name *

Trust’s address *

Trust’s EIN *

Date the stock was transferred to the trust *

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Complete the required fields to download or print your Form 2553.

Still needed:

Downloaded. Print it, have an authorized officer sign page 1 and every shareholder sign column K on page 2 in ink, then mail the original or fax it to the IRS service center for your state: see where to file Form 2553. Keep a copy and your proof of filing with the corporation’s records.

Page

View the form on IRS.gov

How to fill it out: IRS instructions for Form 2553

Disclaimer: forms.app offers this Form 2553 generator and the IRS form it fills free of charge, as a convenience. forms.app is not affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service, doesn’t file elections for you, and doesn’t give tax, legal, or accounting advice. Whether S corporation status suits your business, whether the corporation qualifies, and whether every required shareholder consents and the form is filed on time are your responsibility. Form 2553 is published by the IRS; the latest version and instructions are at irs.gov/Form2553. Before you elect, it’s worth talking to a tax professional or attorney. Found something on this page that’s wrong or out of date? Let us know.

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Who uses Form 2553?

Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, is how a corporation, or an LLC or other entity eligible to be treated as a corporation, elects to be taxed as an S corporation, so its income generally passes through to its shareholders instead of being taxed at the corporate level.

To qualify, it must be a domestic corporation or eligible entity with no more than 100 shareholders, only allowable shareholders (individuals, estates, certain trusts, and certain exempt organizations, and no nonresident aliens), and only one class of stock. File it no more than 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year the election should take effect, or at any time during the tax year before. An eligible entity that elects S status on Form 2553 doesn’t also need to file Form 8832.

How the 2553 generator works

Enter the corporation’s name, EIN, address, and incorporation details, then the date the election should take effect and the tax year you’re choosing. Add the person the IRS can call, and list each shareholder with their address, shares or ownership percentage, acquisition date, SSN or EIN, and tax year end. If the election is late, explain why and the form gets the Rev. Proc. 2013-30 heading it needs. Parts II and III only open if you choose a fiscal year or make a QSST election.

Your answers fill all four pages of the official form as you type. Form 2553 isn’t on the IRS list of forms it accepts electronic signatures on, so print it for the officer and each shareholder to sign in ink, then mail or fax it. Need a different form? Browse all tax form generators.

Common questions about Form 2553

Who can file Form 2553?

A domestic corporation, or a domestic entity eligible to elect to be treated as a corporation such as an LLC, that has no more than 100 shareholders, only allowable shareholders (individuals, estates, certain trusts, and exempt organizations, with no nonresident aliens), and one class of stock. Certain banks, insurance companies, and DISCs can’t elect. Spouses, and members of a family, can count as one shareholder.

What is the deadline for Form 2553?

No more than 2 months and 15 days after the beginning of the tax year the election is to take effect, or at any time during the preceding tax year. For a calendar-year corporation with a prior tax year that wants S status from January 1, that’s March 15 (an election made during the prior year also works). A new corporation counts from the first day it has shareholders, assets, or starts doing business.

Where do I send Form 2553?

Mail the original (no photocopies) or fax it to the IRS service center for the state where the corporation’s principal business is located. Kansas City and Ogden each have their own address and fax number; the current list is at where to file Form 2553. If you fax it, keep the original with the corporation’s records.

Do all shareholders have to sign?

Yes. Each shareholder consents by signing and dating column K or a separate consent statement attached to the form. Both spouses must consent if they have a community interest in the stock, each joint tenant or tenant in common signs, and for an election filed on or after the effective date, former shareholders who owned stock during that period must consent too. An officer also signs page 1; without that signature the election isn’t considered timely filed.

What if I missed the deadline?

Relief may be available under Rev. Proc. 2013-30, generally within 3 years and 75 days of the effective date, if you had reasonable cause and acted diligently once you found the mistake. Explain both in item I, and write “FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30” at the top of page 1; this generator adds that line when you mark the election as late.

How do I know the IRS accepted the election?

The IRS service center sends a letter saying whether the election is accepted and when it takes effect, usually within 60 days (about 90 days more if you checked box Q1). If you hear nothing within 2 months of filing, or 5 months with Q1, call 1-800-829-4933. Keep your certified mail receipt or fax confirmation as proof of filing.

Can Form 2553 be signed electronically?

No. Form 2553 isn’t on the IRS list of forms it accepts electronic or digital signatures on, so this generator leaves the signature lines blank: an authorized officer signs page 1 and each shareholder signs column K on page 2 in ink. Faxing the signed form is fine.

Is my information safe?

Yes. Shareholder names, SSNs, and everything else you enter stay in your browser, and the PDF is generated on your device. Nothing is uploaded to or kept by forms.app, so download the form before you leave the page.

Does the 2553 generator cost anything?

No. It’s free, with no account or sign-up.

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Fill in the required fields on the page (corporation details, effective date, tax year, contact person, shareholders, and the officer’s title), then print again.

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