# US Taxes: mailing addresses for returns and FBARS



## QueensU

Hello Everyone,

I'm mailing my FBAR's and Returns by Canada Post. I'm hoping i'm using the correct addresses because i saw another for express packages (sometimes canada post uses UPS i heard). So which address am i suppose to use?

Fbars i'm using 

US Department of the treasury
PO Box 32621 
Detroit, MI 48232-0621

Returns i'm using

Department of the treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Austin, TX 73301-0215

Thanks!!


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## Guest

*Addresses*

If it's any help, for the FBAR's, I used Canada Post's Expedited Parcel - USA and mailed to the IRS Enterprise Computing, Attn.: CTR Operations Mailroom, 4th Floor, 985 Michigan Ave., Detroit, MI, 48226. I think the address you show is for regular mailings.

The Austin, TX address is the same I used for 1040's. 

I wanted a received receipt for both, especially the FBAR's, and this was the only way to get it. If you do use regular mail, apparently you can call after about 3 months to confirm receipt, but I haven't tried this yet. 

Happy mailings! You can feel 10 lbs lighter now. :clap2:


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## Bevdeforges

For your income tax returns, there are two addresses - one if you are sending a payment, and one if you aren't. 

For the FBARs, the address to send them to is on the instructions for the form.
Cheers,
Bev


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## QueensU

Has anyone on here sent out their FBAR's via canada post express to 

US Department of the treasury
PO Box 32621 
Detroit, MI 48232-0621

I sent them to this address and i'm hoping they get there b/c i see there is a different post for courier express. I'm not sure if canada post express is considered a courier like fed ex, dhl, ups. Let me know anyone. Thank you.


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## QueensU

i actually used Canada Xpresspost-USA


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## ataradrac

I noted (with some interest) a link in the US Consulate, Paris brochure that Bev linked to. (Do you think the US Consulate in Ottawa could develop something so helpful? Of course not.) 

Apparently you can file the FBAR electronically now! This is a load off my mind, since sending all of our bank account and retirement savings information through the mail just seemed like an invitation for identity theft or worse. I don't know how involved it is (you need to get a user ID and download some software) but it looks fairly straightforward.

(I don't think I can post a link yet, but it's the brochure in Bev's "US taxes: Getting help outside the US" thread.)


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## Bevdeforges

ataradrac said:


> I noted (with some interest) a link in the US Consulate, Paris brochure that Bev linked to. (Do you think the US Consulate in Ottawa could develop something so helpful? Of course not.)
> 
> Apparently you can file the FBAR electronically now! This is a load off my mind, since sending all of our bank account and retirement savings information through the mail just seemed like an invitation for identity theft or worse. I don't know how involved it is (you need to get a user ID and download some software) but it looks fairly straightforward.
> 
> (I don't think I can post a link yet, but it's the brochure in Bev's "US taxes: Getting help outside the US" thread.)


One reason the Ottawa consulate can't issue such a document is that there is no IRS office in the Ottawa consulate. The Paris IRS office is actually quite pro active and the people are (wait for it) pleasant and relatively easy to deal with!

Here's that link for those who are interested: http://photos.state.gov/libraries/france/5/irs/2011taxbooklet.pdf
Cheers,
Bev


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## Peg

Sent my FBARs via FedEx to:

IRS Enterprise Computing Center
ATTN: CTR Operations Mailroom, 
4th Floor
985 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, MI 48226


Sent my IRS forms via FedEx to:

Internal Revenue Service
3651 South Interregional Hwy 35
Austin, Texas 78741
U.S.A.
Attention: Receipt and Processing
Telephone: (512) 460 7944




I did use Canada Post registered mail for one of my opt out letters for the OVDI. Canada Post somehow lost the tracking on it so I wish I had listened to my relative who said she only trusts FedEx. Canada Post is trying to confirm delivery but it could take months.


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## quincy

QueensU said:


> Has anyone on here sent out their FBAR's via canada post express to
> 
> US Department of the treasury
> PO Box 32621
> Detroit, MI 48232-0621
> 
> I sent them to this address and i'm hoping they get there b/c i see there is a different post for courier express. I'm not sure if canada post express is considered a courier like fed ex, dhl, ups. Let me know anyone. Thank you.


I did just over a week ago and someone signed for it.


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## SteveOdem

Getting the FBAR filed timely is very important - it must be RECEIVED by June 30. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=148849,00.html

By all means try the ne FBAR e-filing. I haven't had occasion to use it yet but it's well worth the effort. 
http://fincen.gov/news_room/nr/html/20110717.html
Also, check the http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=97324,00.html
f you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien (Green Card Holder) and you live in a foreign country, mail your U.S. tax return to:

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Austin, TX 73301-0215
USA

Estimated tax payments should be mailed with form 1040-ES to:

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 1300
Charlotte, NC 28201-1300
USA

Foreign mailing is a real problem, and the date it enters the US postal service can be critical to timely processing. There are court cases about this (DOES NOT apply to FBAR, above, where they must receive it).


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## SteveOdem

Bevdeforges said:


> One reason the Ottawa consulate can't issue such a document is that there is no IRS office in the Ottawa consulate. The Paris IRS office is actually quite pro active and the people are (wait for it) pleasant and relatively easy to deal with!
> 
> Here's that link for those who are interested: photos.state.gov/libraries/france/5/irs/2011taxbooklet.pdf[/url
> Cheers,
> Bev



The last time I checked, IRS had acknowledged offices in, as I recall, London, Paris and Shanghai. It may have changed since, and there periodically are low-key (undercover?) offices that are not acknowledged, and that come and go without notice, probably based on perceived work load.


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## Bevdeforges

SteveOdem said:


> The last time I checked, IRS had acknowledged offices in, as I recall, London, Paris and Shanghai. It may have changed since, and there periodically are low-key (undercover?) offices that are not acknowledged, and that come and go without notice, probably based on perceived work load.


The foreign offices of the IRS are in Paris, London, Frankfurt and Beijing. 

Also, just wanted to make you aware of what appears to be a change in policy on "timely receipt of foreign-filed forms and payments". For the last few years, the Paris office of the IRS has been including this in their annual tax information booklet:

>> Federal tax returns and other documents mailed to the IRS are treated as filed on the date of the domestic or foreign postmark. However, _payments with foreign postmarks are not consider recieved until the date of actual receipt rather than the postmark date. This includes payment submitted with tax returns._<<

In practice, the IRS has claimed that they are unable to read some foreign post marks (especially where the date format is "different" from the US standard - which includes most countries in the world). 
Cheers,
Bev


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## Bevdeforges

SteveOdem said:


> f you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien (Green Card Holder) and you live in a foreign country, mail your U.S. tax return to:
> 
> Department of the Treasury
> Internal Revenue Service Center
> Austin, TX 73301-0215
> USA


One small clarification. The above address is for sending in a return with NO payment. If you are "lucky" enough to have something left to pay and you're filing from outside the US, use this address:

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 1303
Charlotte, NC 28201-1303
USA

Much of this is part of the very handy pamphlet the Paris Consulate office of the IRS puts out: http://photos.state.gov/libraries/france/5/irs/2011taxbooklet.pdf

They even publish in a manner that, if you have a two-sided printer, you can print this out and just fold it to make a compact little pamphlet. Despite their somewhat fearsome reputation, I have to admit I have found the folks in the Paris IRS office to be very helpful and actually quite a pleasure to deal with.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Peg

SteveOdem said:


> f you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien (Green Card Holder) and you live in a foreign country, mail your U.S. tax return to:
> 
> Department of the Treasury
> Internal Revenue Service Center
> Austin, TX 73301-0215
> USA


Does anyone have a *street address *for that IRS office?

Also looking for the street address for:

IRS
Kansas City, MO 64999-0202

I am responding to IRS letters regarding my 1040s and those are the addresses provided but no street address which is required by FedEx. I have tried a couple of times to get an address by calling the IRS number provided on the letters but after 25 minutes on hold for the "estimated 5 minute wait" I had to give up and go to work to make money to pay my taxes :boxing:


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## Peg

Using Advanced Search I found Vangrrl's response to me that I had forgotten:

IRS addresses

Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, Texas
Overseas Filers

Overseas taxpayers filing individual tax returns should mail them to the Austin Service Center:
Internal Revenue Service Center
Austin, Texas 73301-0215
U.S.A.

For private courier services (such as DHL, FedEx, or UPS) only, the following address should be used:

Internal Revenue Service
3651 South Interregional Hwy 35
Austin, Texas 78741
U.S.A.
Attention: Receipt and Processing
Telephone: (512) 460 7944 


However, still looking for mailing address for the *Kansas City, MO 64999-0202 *!!


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## SteveOdem

Does the letter regarding KC have a fax #? I usually fax and mail to the address requested. It works. (KC used to be on Bannister Rd but they have moved a lot of operations so no idea if they are even close now.)


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## Peg

SteveOdem said:


> Does the letter regarding KC have a fax #? I usually fax and mail to the address requested. It works.


No fax number but I am sending a payment which won't exactly work by fax 

Finally connected with IRS:

Kansas City, MO 64999-0202 = 333 W. Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108-4302

As I noted in an earlier post,

Austin, TX 73301 - 0023 = 3651 South Interregional Hwy 35, Austin, TX 78741


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## cescolar

ataradrac said:


> Apparently you can file the FBAR electronically now! This is a load off my mind, since sending all of our bank account and retirement savings information through the mail just seemed like an invitation for identity theft or worse. I don't know how involved it is (you need to get a user ID and download some software) but it looks fairly straightforward.


This was a relief for me too. I did not trust sending the documents in the mail. That is so 20th century!  Even if you sent them certified and somebody signed for them, all you had was proof that you had sent "something" to them. In Spain you can mail something in the regular mail and get not only a certificate of delivery of the envelop, but also of its contents (all done with cryptography).

The penalties for not filing are so draconian, that I decided that is was better not to have to file an FBAR. In order to do so, I kept my money in the US and used my US Visa (CapitolOne - forgive the commercial, but they are the only ones I know that they don't add an exchange fee - and give you decent exchange.) anytime I could. Then I would always send myself under $10K and give it to my wife when it arrived in Brazil. Since she is a Brazilian citizen, she does not have to file an FBAR...
But then I learned that I need to file an 8939. And my accountant claims that if you check the box that says that you don't need to file an FBAR but need to file an 8939 you can't file electronically! Insane! (Is he right?) He told me to file an FBAR anyway, to be able to then file the 1040 electronically. But I realized that it would not help, unless we lied: they ask you "do you NEED" to file an FBAR, not "have you filed" an FBAR. So even if I did file an unneeded FBAR, I could not check the magic box that would allow me to file the 1040 electronically.

My accountant is such a stickler for some things (for instance, he refuses to sign my name for me in the paper 1040, when I have given written permission to file my taxes electronically. Is he right or just being stupid?). My signature is not identical all the time, and if I told him to sign for me, who is going to complain? He insists on mailing me the paper documents to Brazil, have me sign them and mail them back to him to the US...But then he proposes the FBAR trick...go figure! 

I am running a test on filing the FBAR electronically. I have gotten an account at BSA E-Filing System - Enroll Now, but so far it is not working. Their website says that only Microsoft XP is supported! Also that you need versions 9.1 or 10.0.2 of Adobe reader, also unsuported versions!

I complained to their help desk, and they said that the problem really is that Chrome is not supported. You need to run IE and Adobe Reader 10.1 or newer.
I tried it and told me that the PDF file was not supported or corrupted, when I tried to create a new FBAR form...but we all know who really is corrupted!


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