Form 2553 is how an LLC or corporation tells the IRS it wants to be taxed as an S-corp. For most small businesses it’s a short form, every owner has to sign it, and the timing matters more than anything else on it: for S-corp status starting January 1, 2027, file it any time in 2026 or no later than March 15, 2027. Miss that and the election usually slides to 2028.
Still deciding whether the election pays off? Start with LLC vs S-corp: when the election saves you money and the S-corp tax calculator. This guide assumes you’ve decided and want to file it right.
What is Form 2553?
Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, makes the election under section 1362(a) of the tax code to be taxed as an S corporation. Your legal entity doesn’t change. Your LLC stays an LLC under state law; only the way the IRS taxes it changes.
An LLC that files Form 2553 is treated as electing corporate tax status at the same time, so it doesn’t need to file Form 8832 first. The IRS instructions for Form 2553 say so directly.
Can your business elect S-corp status?
Most single-owner and family-owned LLCs qualify. The business must:
- Be a domestic corporation, or a domestic entity such as an LLC that’s eligible to be taxed as one
- Have no more than 100 shareholders
- Have only eligible shareholders: individuals, estates, certain trusts and certain tax-exempt organizations. A partnership, a corporation or a nonresident alien can’t be an owner
- Have only one class of stock (differences in voting rights are allowed)
A few kinds of businesses can’t elect at all, including certain banks and insurance companies.
When is Form 2553 due?
File it no more than 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year you want the election to cover, or any time during the tax year before it.
| Your situation | Effective date (line E) | When to file |
|---|---|---|
| Existing calendar-year LLC that wants S-corp status for 2027 | January 1, 2027 | Any time in 2026, or by March 15, 2027 |
| New company whose first tax year starts May 10, 2027 (hypothetical) | May 10, 2027 | From May 10 through July 24, 2027 |
| Existing LLC that misses March 15, 2027 | January 1, 2027 (as requested) | Generally takes effect January 1, 2028 instead, unless late-election relief applies |
The count works like this: the 2 months end the day before the same date two months later, then you add 15 days. May 10 runs to July 9, and 15 more days lands on July 24. March 15, 2027 is a Monday, so the 2027 deadline doesn’t move.
For a new company, the first tax year starts on the earliest of three dates: when it first has owners, when it first has assets, or when it begins doing business. An election filed before that date isn’t valid, so a brand-new company files after it starts, not before.
How do you fill out Form 2553?
Most of Part I is basic information. These are the lines that trip people up:
- Name, address and EIN (line A). Match what the IRS has on file exactly. If your EIN hasn’t arrived yet, the instructions let you write “Applied For” and the date you applied.
- Line D. Check it if the business name or address changed after you got the EIN.
- Line E, the effective date. For an existing LLC, the first day of the year you want S-corp treatment, such as 01/01/2027. For a new business, the earliest of the date it first had owners, first had assets or began doing business.
- Line F, the tax year. Most small businesses check the box for a calendar year. A fiscal year means completing Part II and explaining the business reason.
- Columns J through N, the owners. Each owner’s name and address, their signed and dated consent, how much they own (an LLC enters ownership percentages), their Social Security number, and the month and day their own tax year ends (December 31 for most people).
- The signature. An officer signs and dates the bottom of Part I. An unsigned Form 2553 isn’t considered filed on time.
Skip Part II (fiscal years) and Part III (certain trusts that own shares) unless they apply to you.
Who has to sign Form 2553?
- An officer, at the bottom of Part I. The instructions list the president, vice president, treasurer or another officer authorized to sign. In a single-owner LLC, the owner normally signs.
- Every owner, in column K or on a separate consent statement. If the effective date is already in the past when you file, anyone who owned shares at any point from the effective date to the filing date has to consent, including former owners.
- Spouses in community-property states such as Texas, California and Arizona, when they have a community interest in the shares. Both spouses consent.
- Co-owners of the same shares (joint tenants, tenants in common), each of them.
A required consent that’s missing can make the election invalid, so collect every signature before you send it.
Where do you send Form 2553?
Mail the original form (not a photocopy) or fax it to the IRS service center for the state where your business is located. Two centers handle all of them:
| Where your business is | Mail to | Fax |
|---|---|---|
| Many eastern and midwestern states, including New York, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania | Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Kansas City, MO 64999 | 855-887-7734 |
| Many western and southern states, including Texas, California, Florida and Arizona | Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Ogden, UT 84201 | 855-214-7520 |
Confirm your state in the “Where To File” table in the instructions before you send it. Keep proof of filing: the fax confirmation page, or a certified-mail receipt if you mail it.
What happens after you file?
- The IRS decides, usually within 60 days. The acceptance letter is a CP261 notice. Keep it with your permanent records.
- No answer after 2 months? Call the IRS at 1-800-829-4933, the number the instructions give for follow-up.
- Check the effective date on the CP261. If it’s a year later than you asked for, the IRS treated your form as late. If you have proof you filed on time, send it back with a copy of the notice.
- Start payroll before you pay yourself. From the effective date, you take a reasonable salary through payroll, with withholding and quarterly Form 941 filings. The rest of the profit comes out as distributions.
- File Form 1120-S each year. For calendar year 2027, it’s due March 15, 2028.
What if you missed the deadline?
The IRS has a simplified fix in Rev. Proc. 2013-30. You can generally use it if all of these are true:
- You file within 3 years and 75 days of the effective date you wanted
- You meant to be an S-corp as of that date, and the only problem is that Form 2553 was late
- You have reasonable cause for filing late and acted promptly once you found the problem
Write “FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30” at the top of the form, explain the reasonable cause on line I (or an attached statement), and collect every owner’s consent as usual. If you don’t meet those conditions, the remaining route is a private letter ruling, which carries an IRS user fee, so talk to a CPA before going that way.
A worked example
Say a plumbing company run as a single-owner LLC nets $120,000 a year and the owner decides in November 2026 to elect for 2027. This is a hypothetical example using the same method as our calculator:
| Today (default LLC) | As an S-corp | |
|---|---|---|
| Self-employment or payroll tax | $16,955 (15.3% of 92.35% of $120,000) | $9,180 (15.3% of a $60,000 salary) |
| Added payroll and compliance cost | none | about $1,500 |
| Estimated yearly savings | about $6,275 |
That’s before income-tax effects and state taxes, and the $60,000 salary is an assumption: a defensible salary depends on the work the owner actually does. The calculator rounds the same estimate down to $6,250.
The timeline: fax Form 2553 in November 2026 with an effective date of 01/01/2027 on line E, keep the fax confirmation, set up payroll in December so the first salary runs in January 2027, and watch the mail for the CP261.
What to do this week
- Run your profit through the S-corp tax calculator. If it says “Not yet,” the election probably isn’t worth it this year.
- Make sure you have an EIN and that the business name you’ll use matches the IRS’s records.
- Decide on a reasonable salary and line up payroll to start on your effective date.
- Fill in Form 2553, collect every owner’s signature (and spouses’ where needed), then fax or mail it.
- Save your proof of filing, and calendar a reminder to look for the CP261 about 60 days out.
On our Bookkeeping & Tax plan, a CPA-backed tax team reviews whether the election makes sense for you, sets a defensible salary and files your 1120-S, with the monthly books to support it. If you’d rather talk it through first, book a free 15-minute call.