The short answer

Mail a paper federal return to the IRS address listed for your form, the state you live in, and whether you are enclosing a payment. For a Form 1040 filed in 2026 from Georgia, for example, the IRS lists Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0002 without a payment and Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1214, Charlotte, NC 28201-1214 with one. If you have an extension, the deadline for most 2025 returns is Thursday, October 15, 2026, and the return counts as filed on time if it is properly addressed, has enough postage, and is postmarked by that date.

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Where do I send my 1040 by mail?

The IRS doesn’t have one national mailing address for returns. Its Where to File pages list addresses by form, and for Form 1040 and 1040-SR the address depends on the state you live in and on whether a check or money order is in the envelope. Returns without a payment, including refund returns, go to an Internal Revenue Service address in Austin, Kansas City, or Ogden; returns with a payment go to a P.O. Box in Charlotte or Louisville.

The table copies the IRS Form 1040 page as retrieved on October 8, 2026. The 2025 Form 1040 instructions say to use these addresses for returns filed in 2026, and they warn that the IRS is reducing its paper processing sites, so the address may differ from the one you used in past years. Check the IRS page again on the day you mail.

So where do you mail a federal tax return from Georgia? Georgia is in the first group: Austin, Texas, without a payment and P.O. Box 1214 in Charlotte, North Carolina, with one. The asterisk in the last row refers to the IRS note that residents of American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or the Northern Mariana Islands should see Publication 570.

IRS mailing addresses for Form 1040 and 1040-SR, as shown on IRS.gov on October 8, 2026 (line breaks shown as commas)
If you live inNot enclosing a paymentEnclosing a payment
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, TexasDepartment of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0002Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1214, Charlotte, NC 28201-1214
Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, WisconsinDepartment of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City, MO 64999-0002Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 931000, Louisville, KY 40293-1000
Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, WyomingDepartment of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201-0002Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 931000, Louisville, KY 40293-1000
Arkansas, Arizona, New Mexico, OklahomaDepartment of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0002Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 931000, Louisville, KY 40293-1000
A foreign country, U.S. possession or territory*, or use an APO or FPO address, or file Form 2555 or 4563, or are a dual-status alienDepartment of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0215, USAInternal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1303, Charlotte, NC 28201-1303, USA

Addresses for Form 4868, 1040-X, and other forms

Each form has its own row, and the addresses aren’t interchangeable. The IRS state-by-state page lists separate addresses for Form 1040, 1040-ES, 1040-V, 1040-X, and 4868. In Georgia, for example, an amended return on Form 1040-X goes to Austin, TX 73301-0052 with or without a payment, while Form 4868 goes to Austin, TX 73301-0045 without a payment or to P.O. Box 1302, Charlotte, NC 28201-1302 with one.

Form 4868 had to be filed by the original due date of the return, which was April 15, 2026, for most 2025 returns. Looking up its address in October won’t get you a new extension. What matters now is mailing the return itself by the extended deadline.

If you live abroad, use an APO or FPO address, or file Form 2555 or 4563, the IRS publishes separate international addresses for each individual form.

When is the extended deadline for 2025 returns?

Form 4868 gives an automatic 6-month extension of time to file, which the IRS states as October 15, 2026, for most calendar-year taxpayers. October 15, 2026, is a Thursday. The extension covers filing only: if you didn’t pay your tax by the original due date, you owe interest on the unpaid amount and may owe penalties.

Some people have more time. The IRS says taxpayers affected by a disaster may get a later deadline, and special rules apply to members of the Armed Forces serving in a combat zone.

If you e-file, there’s nothing to mail. The rest of this article is for a return you send on paper.

Does the postmark date count as the filing date?

Yes, if you meet the conditions. Under section 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code, a return delivered by U.S. mail after the deadline is treated as filed on the date of the USPS postmark, as long as the envelope was properly addressed, had postage prepaid, and was deposited in the mail by the due date. The IRS puts it the same way: a return is on time if it is properly addressed, has enough postage, and is postmarked and deposited in the mail by the due date.

The weak point is the postmark itself. The Treasury regulation says that if the USPS postmark carries a date after the deadline, the return is late no matter when you dropped it in the box. USPS suggests asking for a manual postmark at any Post Office counter, free of charge. Certified Mail and Registered Mail remove the risk: the date on a postmarked Certified Mail sender’s receipt, or the date of registration, is treated as the postmark date.

A postmark that isn’t made by USPS, such as one from a private postage meter, counts only if the return arrives when a USPS-postmarked envelope mailed the same day would ordinarily arrive.

Can you use FedEx, UPS, or DHL instead?

Only services the IRS has designated count toward the timely-mailing rule. The list names specific DHL Express, FedEx, and UPS services, such as FedEx Priority Overnight, UPS Next Day Air, and DHL Express 12:00; no ground service is on it. The carrier can tell you how to get written proof of the mailing date.

Private carriers can’t deliver to P.O. boxes, so a payment that has to go to a P.O. box can’t be sent that way, and the IRS publishes separate street addresses for private delivery. For a payment sent with Form 1040-V, the IRS says to use regular mail because a private delivery service may delay processing.

How to assemble and sign a paper return

Sign it by hand. The 2025 Form 1040 instructions say you must handwrite your signature on a return filed on paper, and that digital, electronic, or typed-font signatures are not valid on a paper Form 1040 or 1040-SR. On a joint return, both spouses sign.

The IRS also asks you to consider paying electronically before you mail a check. IRS Direct Pay takes a payment from your checking or savings account at no cost.

  1. Check the return, then sign and date it and enter your occupation.
  2. Attach Forms W-2 to the front of the return, along with Forms W-2G and 1099-R if tax was withheld.
  3. Put schedules and other forms behind the return in order of the Attachment Sequence No. in each form’s upper-right corner, with any supporting statements last.
  4. Use standard-size paper, don’t cut the pages, and don’t add correspondence unless the instructions require it.
  5. If you owe, make the check or money order payable to “United States Treasury,” and write your name, address, daytime phone number, Social Security number, and “2025 Form 1040” on it. Don’t mail cash.
  6. Put the payment and Form 1040-V loose in the envelope. Don’t staple them to the return or to each other.
  7. Mail one original return. Sending another copy of the same return can delay your refund.

How do I address an envelope to the IRS?

Copy the address for your form, state, and payment status exactly as the IRS prints it, including the ZIP+4 code, and put your complete return address on the envelope. The IRS says the Post Office returns envelopes without enough postage to the sender, which can cost you the deadline.

Postage is the part people miss. The IRS warns that an envelope holding more than five pages, or one more than ¼ inch thick, may need extra postage. At current USPS prices (October 2026), a letter-size envelope costs $0.82 for the first ounce and $0.29 for each additional ounce, up to $1.69 at 3.5 ounces, and a large flat envelope starts at $1.69. Weigh a thick return instead of guessing.

If USPS Tracking later shows delivery to a different ZIP Code than the one you wrote, USPS says that’s normal: the IRS uses several delivery locations and courier services to collect mailed returns.

Which proof of mailing helps if the IRS says it never arrived?

Under the Treasury regulation, a properly addressed return sent by Registered Mail, or by Certified Mail with a postmarked sender’s receipt, is prima facie evidence that the IRS received it. Apart from proof of actual delivery or a designated private delivery service, the regulation says no other evidence of mailing creates that presumption. A Certificate of Mailing still shows the date you handed the envelope to USPS, and USPS recommends keeping that record or your mailing receipt.

For Certified Mail to work this way, the postal employee you hand it to must postmark your sender’s receipt, so take the envelope to a Post Office counter instead of dropping it in a collection box.

USPS proof options for a mailed return, current USPS fees (October 2026)
ServiceFeeWhat you getUnder the timely-mailing rule
Certificate of Mailing (PS Form 3817)$2.45 plus postageA postmarked record of the date the mail was presented to USPSShows the mailing date, but isn’t prima facie evidence of delivery
Certified Mail$5.55 plus postageA mailing receipt, tracking, and a USPS delivery recordThe postmarked receipt date counts as the postmark date and is prima facie evidence of delivery
Return Receipt (added to Certified or Registered Mail)$2.91 electronic, $4.65 hardcopyA delivery record with the recipient’s signatureAdds proof of delivery
Registered MailFrom $20.90 plus postageReceipts from acceptance to delivery; handed to a retail employee or rural carrierThe registration date counts as the postmark date and is prima facie evidence of delivery

What IRIS can and can’t do for a paper tax return

IRIS prints the PDF you upload and mails it by USPS First-Class Mail. That makes it the wrong tool for a paper Form 1040 or 1040-SR: the IRS requires a handwritten signature on the paper return, and a signature printed from a file, whether scanned, drawn on screen, or typed, isn’t one. Sign the return in ink yourself and mail it at a Post Office, where you can also get a postmarked Certified Mail receipt.

Two more limits apply. IRIS’s acceptable-use rules don’t allow uploading government identifiers such as Social Security numbers without a written agreement, and a tax return is full of them. IRIS also can’t enclose your check, and its Certified Mail option, limited to six sheets, shows tracking on your order page rather than giving you a postmarked USPS sender’s receipt.

IRIS doesn’t give tax advice or choose an IRS address for you. It is useful for ordinary correspondence that needs no original signature: a one-page black-and-white letter costs $3.20 with First-Class postage included.

Sources & further reading

Product details checked against the IRIS API contract when this article was published. Platform references can change; consult the linked documentation when implementing.

Published by IRIS Postal Forms, operated by Great Lakes Computing Office LLC. Send a correction.

Put it into practice

Mailing your return yourself? Pick your proof first

Compare a Certificate of Mailing, Certified Mail, and Registered Mail before you go to the counter, so you leave the Post Office with the receipt you may need later.

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