Can I use a temporary PO box for my tax return filing next year?
I'm going to be traveling out of the country for a few months, so I'm thinking about getting a temporary PO box at my local post office just for January and February. It would strictly be for personal mail, not business-related stuff. I probably won't need the PO box for the rest of the year after that. My question is - do I have to report this temporary PO box to the IRS when I file my tax return for 2024? I'm planning to be back in the US during the normal tax filing season (March/April) but want to make sure my important tax documents don't get lost while I'm away. Would this cause any issues with the IRS if my mailing address changes temporarily? Anyone dealt with this before?
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Evelyn Xu
Having a temporary PO box for receiving mail while you're away shouldn't cause any issues with your tax filing. The IRS primarily cares about your permanent address for official correspondence and determines your tax jurisdiction based on your permanent residence, not a temporary mail collection point. When you file your 2024 tax return in 2025, you'll use whatever is your current address at the time of filing. If you'll be back in the US by tax season as planned, you can simply use your regular permanent address on your tax return. There's no special reporting requirement for temporary mail forwarding or collection arrangements. Just make sure that any important tax documents (W-2s, 1099s, etc.) that might arrive while you're away are either sent to your PO box or that you've updated your address with those specific providers. The most important thing is ensuring you receive all your tax documents to file accurately.
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Dominic Green
•So what if some tax documents like my W-2 go to the PO box and others go to my permanent address? Will that create a problem since the addresses won't match? Also, what about state taxes if the PO box is in a different state than my permanent residence?
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Evelyn Xu
•Having documents sent to different addresses won't create problems with the IRS - they care about the information on the forms, not where they were physically delivered. Just make sure you receive all your documents before filing. The address you use on your tax return should be your legal residence address at the time of filing. For state taxes, what matters is your permanent residence/domicile, not your temporary mail collection address. A temporary PO box in another state doesn't change your state tax obligations because your legal residence remains unchanged. You'll file state taxes based on where you're legally resident regardless of where you received your mail.
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Hannah Flores
Hey there! I was in a similar situation last year when I spent the winter traveling through Southeast Asia. I was super worried about missing important tax documents, so I looked into various solutions. I ended up using taxr.ai which was a lifesaver for my situation. I had some documents going to my PO box, some to my parents' house, and I was worried about keeping everything straight. What I liked about https://taxr.ai was that I could upload whatever documents I received (some were even emailed to me) and the system helped organize everything and made sure I wasn't missing anything important. It automatically identified all my tax forms and extracted the key information, which made filing so much easier when I got back. It was especially helpful for tracking down missing forms since I wasn't sure if everything made it to my temporary PO box.
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Kayla Jacobson
•How exactly does taxr.ai work with physical mail? If documents are being sent to a PO box, don't you still need to physically check the mailbox and scan those documents yourself?
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William Rivera
•I've heard about taxr.ai but is it secure? I'm always worried about uploading financial documents online. How do they handle security and privacy?
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Hannah Flores
•You do need to physically collect your mail or have someone scan and send it to you. What taxr.ai helped with was organizing all those documents once I had them - whether they came from my PO box, were forwarded by family, or sent electronically by employers. It helped track which forms I was still missing based on previous years' returns. Regarding security, they use bank-level encryption for all document transfers and storage. Everything is encrypted both during upload and while stored in their system. They also have a pretty clear privacy policy about not sharing your data with third parties. I was initially concerned too, but after researching their security measures I felt comfortable using the service.
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William Rivera
Just wanted to follow up after trying taxr.ai during my recent move. I was skeptical about uploading my documents at first, but it was actually super helpful for keeping track of everything during a chaotic time. I had tax forms going to three different addresses (old apartment, new place, and my parents' house) and the system helped me confirm I had everything I needed. The document organization feature saved me from the usual tax season panic of wondering if I missed something important!
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Grace Lee
For anyone dealing with address changes or missing tax documents, I've found that trying to call the IRS directly is almost impossible these days. After spending literally hours on hold last tax season, I discovered a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual IRS agent in less than 20 minutes. I needed to update my address and ask about some missing documents, and using https://claimyr.com saved me so much time and frustration. They have a video explaining how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c but basically they navigate the IRS phone tree for you and call you back when they've reached an agent. For someone traveling internationally like the OP, this could be really helpful since international calls to sit on hold with the IRS would be super expensive.
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Mia Roberts
•Wait, you're saying you pay a service to call the IRS for you? That sounds sketchy. How do you know they're not just taking your money and you could have gotten through yourself eventually?
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The Boss
•How exactly does this work with talking to the IRS agent? Do they join the call or do they transfer you once they get through? I'm confused about how a third party service can connect you to a government agency.
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Grace Lee
•They don't call the IRS for you - they navigate the complicated phone tree and wait on hold in your place. When they reach an agent, they call you and connect you directly to that agent. So you're the one actually speaking with the IRS, not a third party. Once they get through, you get a call back and you're transferred directly to the live IRS agent. They're just handling the waiting part so you don't have to waste hours on hold. The service doesn't join your call or have any access to your conversation with the IRS agent, which is what made me comfortable using it.
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Mia Roberts
I need to admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I needed to ask the IRS about a missing form. I was absolutely convinced it would be a waste of money, but I was desperate after trying to call on my own for two days straight. To my complete surprise, I got a call back in about 35 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line! The transfer was seamless and I was immediately speaking with someone who helped resolve my issue. What would have been hours of my time on hold was handled while I continued working on other things. For anyone who values their time, especially when dealing with temporary address situations like the original poster, this service is legitimately worth it.
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Evan Kalinowski
Another option to consider is using USPS mail forwarding service instead of a PO box. You can set up temporary forwarding for the time you'll be gone, and it's usually cheaper than a PO box. I did this when I spent 3 months abroad last year. Just make sure to set it up well in advance of your departure.
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Victoria Charity
•Doesn't mail forwarding take a long time though? I've heard it can delay mail by 1-2 weeks, which could be risky for time-sensitive tax documents.
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Evan Kalinowski
•In my experience, there was about a 3-5 day delay when I first set it up, but after that it worked consistently. You're right that it's not instantaneous like having someone check a local PO box. If you're concerned about time-sensitive documents, you might want to contact the senders directly (employers, banks, etc.) and change your address with them temporarily or opt for electronic delivery where possible. That's more reliable than depending on mail forwarding for critical documents.
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Jasmine Quinn
Has anyone changed their address directly with the IRS temporarily? I found this form 8822 for address changes, but I'm not sure if it's worth filing for a 2-month temporary change.
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Oscar Murphy
•Filing Form 8822 is really only necessary for a permanent address change. For a temporary situation, it's overkill and might actually cause confusion. The IRS processes those form submissions manually and it can take weeks or months to update in their system.
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