Wrong address for 1040-ES

[jerry]

The 2/10/26  Lacerte release includes the 1040-ES.

But it is still showing a Cincinnati address for my California clients.  The Cincinnati lockbox has closed; it should be Charlotte:  https://www.irs.gov/filing/where-to-file-addresses-for-taxpayers-and-tax-professionals-filing-form-1...

Lacerte needs to correct this ASAP!

[TS23]

Agreed. This is ridiculous.

[444]

Just pulled up the actual 1040-ES instructions/forms and it's now showing a Kentucky address for CA filers who were told in August 2025 in Pub 3891 that the new lockbox was North Carolina.

2026 Form 1040-ES

[jerry]

But Pub 3891, “Lockbox Addresses for 2026” shows it as Charlotte:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3891.pdf

What is going on with the IRS???

I assume they will forward as needed.

In any case, it's not Cincinnati

[shannondb]

I'm thinking this may be the reason Lacerte is saying the 1040-ES instructions aren't final... When really they should say the form still isn't final. I am now printing a slip that says "ignore the address on the IRS vouchers, just trust us, mail your hard-earned money somewhere else instead...." but I'm not even sure which address to use...

[roanneb]

I just called tech support about this and was told to use white out.  Seriously?  My issue with this is that even though I give clients envelopes with the correct address, it looks unprofessional to me that the voucher doesn't match the envelope.  And using white out, or putting another label over it, would look worse than leaving it with the wrong address, not to mention the extra time that would take.  I don't understand why this has not been updated yet since the change happened months ago.  At the very least, there should be an option to edit the address, or a box that lets us choose to use the new address even if the instructions haven't been finalized.  I don't trust the post office to forward any of these payments so feel strongly that the address should be correct.  The tech support person told me that they are just now, in the last couple of days, getting calls about this.  Sounds like it wasn't even on their radar.

[George4Tacks]

 

1040-ES mailing address confusion (02-11-26)

We have received numerous inquiries from tax professionals alerting us that the Form 1040-ES mailing address for payments had been changed for certain taxpayers in the 2026 instructions. We reached out to the IRS for clarification because no announcement had been made. Since that time, the IRS has removed the 2026 Form 1040-ES from their website.

We’ve been informed by the IRS that taxpayers and tax professionals should use the addresses listed on the following IRS webpages for the appropriate mailing address depending on the state in which the taxpayer is located:

www.irs.gov/filing/where-to-file-paper-tax-returns-with-or-without-a-payment
www.irs.gov/filing/where-to-file-addresses-for-taxpayers-and-tax-professionals-filing-form-1040-es

If payments were made to the wrong address, the IRS will forward the payments to the correct address. However, this is an important reminder that taxpayers should always send payments to the IRS through certified mail. This is also another reason to encourage clients to make payments electronically, to avoid these mailing address concerns.

Sign up for Spidell's 2026 Post-Tax Season Update and Review webinar to review, refresh, and arm yourself to tackle extens...Click here and register today.

[rbynaker]

Great info George!

If it's any consolation, now folks on the Drake forum are complaining that the forms print with a watermark that says not available.

I pulled up the pdf from the IRS website and it currently says:

IRS.GOV Placeholder page

This page has been posted as a placeholder for the product you are looking for. The product is
currently being worked on by the Internal Revenue Service, and will be posted here when
available.

Are we having fun yet?

[IRonMaN]

That was short lived.  Were the estimates there for one day or did they last for two days on the IRS website?

[Intuit_RSTaxMan]

The 1040ES mailing address will be updated on the next release. 

[Barbara MPI]

We just received an update that now shows KY, but that isn't correct for our CA clients. . . 

[jerry]

The latest Lacerte release (from about 2:00 pm PST today) shows Louisville on the 1040ES for California residents.   

According to the links above, that's still not correct -- it should be Charlotte.  Did Lacerte even try to contact the IRS?

Why is this so hard?

[TS23]

WA State here.  When the 2026 1040-ES instructions were up for a few hours yesterday, they had shown KY rather than NC.  I switch from 2025 that is going be quite annoying having to redo 100s of envelopes premade in office if that is actually the case.  Lets hope not.  

[George4Tacks]

IRS has introduce AI? 

[DebF]

So the address was going to Cinninnati, then it was supposed to be the changed to Charlotte. The update released and it went to Louisville (we are in CA and this is the address for the states not CA... Come on Lacerte...

[CovertOperations]

I guess I'm now a regular on the message boards.   I just discovered the wrong address myself (actually trying to get most of our clients to no longer write checks but...)   After a 10 minutes hold with Lacerte, they came back and said they are aware of the change but she couldn't tell me when the forms will reflect the correct address.    

My Sandlot quote is so appropriate!!!   "You're killing me, Smalls!!!"

[kwinike]

They are still incorrect for Oregonians! It shows to send them to PO BOX 931100 in Louisville however the IRS Website says PO BOX 1300 in Charlotte. 

Are you saying that this will be fixed in the next release? Or are you saying that it was already fixed in the most recent release - and it's still wrong? Because it's NOT RIGHT and this is adding so much extra work for us!  

[kwinike]

I want a credit on our account. We pay tens of thousands of dollars for Lacerte each year and we have so many issues EVERY YEAR!

I honestly don't trust you anymore and in turn our clients are losing trust in us. Why aren't you making this a priority?  

[strongsilence]

The IRS explicitly instructs software vendors to print “financial agent lockbox” addresses

These differ from the public tables because:

• Public tables show mail-routing addresses

• Software prints deposit-processing addresses

This is a longstanding IRS dual-address system.

(See IRS Pub 1437 — Procedures for Estimated Tax Voucher Processing)

[jerry]

When I look up Pub 1437, I find a pub that has been obsolete for over 10 years.

The current 2026 IRS Website is entitled "Where to file addresses for taxpayers and tax professionals filing Form 1040-ES"

I'm a tax professional, and that's where I want my forms to go.

[strongsilence]

Choosing to make electronic payments obviates a mailing address.

[kwinike]

And in an ideal situation this would solve everything! However, trying to get our elderly clients to trust the process and attempt to do this on their own proves to be impossible. If that works for all of your clients… indeed sir, I am envious. 

[CovertOperations]

Yes, we are all trying to have everyone pay electronically, but how many of us have that client that says "I don't want the IRS to have my bank account!"  lol

[TS23]

That is a true statement. Thank you. 

The IRS has posted the 2026 1040-ES instructions.  Has anyone heard as to when Lacerte will be updating the program to the correct addresses?  

[Intuit_RSTaxMan]

Hello again, the address will be updated on the next release according to the latest instructions. The previous address had been updated to the first instructions that being pulled by IRS. IRS had released a new instructions last Friday. 

[TS23]

Thanks RSTaxman.  Glad to see they changed it back to Charlotte (for my area).  We will "anxiously" await. Take care.  

[roanneb]

When is the next release?

[George4Tacks]

You asking other users, so we don't know the schedule any more than you. GENERALLY late Wednesday or early Thursday, but sometimes there are critical things that can't be fixed with a sticky label and they come out sooner.

[cin15]

Called this morning 2/17.  Update scheduled for 2/18 and another for 3/4.  Soooooo, anything not in tomorrow's update, won't be available until MARCH!!!!!

[jerry]

It was just released.  After I updated it shows the Charlotte address.

Yay