"Form 1040 address"

[Jiggers]

It is my understanding that the IRS requires the residental address of the TP. PO boxes cannot be used on a tax return unless the post office does not deliver mail to the area where the TP lives, not just because the TP maintains a PO box at the post office. In this case I input the home address and include the PO BOX as a mailing address.

Not true. Been using a P O Box for years because I want my mail to go to a P O Box.

Business mail, IRS mail, all mail goes to my P O Box.

Sometimes I get mail with my home or business physical address. The post office delivers that mail to the physical address.

My PTIN, EA, EFIN, FIRE all use a P O Box.

[Bees Knees]

Form 1040 instructions do in fact say to use a physical address rather than a PO Box, unless the Post Office does not deliver to the physical address.

Form 1040 instructions, page 12:

P.O. Box
Enter your box number only if your post
office does not deliver mail to your home.

I can’t find any specific regulation that backs up the 1040 instructions, however, there is a general requirement set forth in the regulations that authorizes IRS to make up forms and instructions, and require us to follow them.

§ 1.6011-1 General requirement of return, statement, or list.
(a) General rule. Every person subject to any tax, or required to collect any tax, under Subtitle A of the Code, shall make such returns or statements as are required by the regulations in this chapter. The return or statement shall include therein the information required by the applicable regulations or forms.

Therefore, if the form instructions tell you to use a physical address if one is available rather than a PO Box, the IRS could make a stink about it if you use a PO box.

I think one reason for the physical address is they want to be able to knock on your door if you all of a sudden stop filing returns. I have a client that was always one or two years late in filing returns. He/she eventually got a knock on their door from an IRS agent, and the habitual late filing behavior stopped.

[Burke]

I think one reason for the physical address is they want to be able to knock on your door if you all of a sudden stop filing returns. I have a client that was always one or two years late in filing returns. He/she eventually got a knock on their door from an IRS agent, and the habitual late filing behavior stopped.

And therein lies the real reason. You have hit the proverbial nail on the head. And it is a policy IRS developed, not an direct requirement in the Regs. All those tax protestors, and inmates, etc. filing fraudulent returns.

[Jesse]

I think one reason for the physical address is they want to be able to knock on your door if you all of a sudden stop filing returns. I have a client that was always one or two years late in filing returns. He/she eventually got a knock on their door from an IRS agent, and the habitual late filing behavior stopped.

Ha, ha, we got a knock on our door from an IRS agent this summer. They traced a PO Box back to the physical address for a home we just recently purchased.

[taxea]

Burton,

Excellent analysis as always!

I agree that the address should be where the taxpayer can be reasonably expect to be able to be reached by the IRS. From a realistic perspective, a taxpayer should not use an address which is unreliable or temporary.

I had a taxpayer who lost his home and his job and lived various places as he was trying to get back on his feet. Using any of those addresses would have thwarted any attempt by the IRS to reach the taxpayer (he owed them money too). His mail went to his brother's home. There is no reason why a notice that his refund was applied to prior balances due should have gone to a homeless shelter or rooming house somewhere where he no longer lives and where they have no knowledge of his whereabouts.

On the other hand, some states have slightly different rules. The rules are nonambiguous in New York. For example, the New York return asks for your mailing address and your physical address (if it is different).

This is a situation where a c/o address would be acceptable. I suppose one could use the "residence rule"...where you register to vote, address shown on childrens school records, your medical records, your drivers license and car registration, your tax assessment if it has a resident owner credit.
The more documents that show the same address the more proof that this is your residence address.
This is not an IRS rule but rather one that the vehicle licensing departments in various states adopted when people would register their cars out of state because it was cheaper.

It's a real pain sometimes because the PO insists on the box # on the mail, if there is one and the IRS wants the street address. Ergo I use both.