Filed Form 2553 with e-signatures by mistake - need to resend with wet signatures before S-corp election deadline?

You shouldn't wait for a rejection letter in this case. The IRS is notoriously slow with processing and communications, and by the time you receive a rejection, you might indeed miss your deadline for this year's S-corp election. I recommend sending in a new Form 2553 with proper wet signatures immediately. In the top margin of the first page, write "CORRECTION OF PREVIOUSLY FILED FORM - ORIGINAL CONTAINED E-SIGNATURES" so they understand why you're submitting it again. Also include a brief cover letter explaining the situation - that you submitted the form with e-signatures not realizing they weren't permitted for this specific form, and you're now submitting a properly signed version. Send it via certified mail so you have proof of when it was submitted. This documentation could be crucial if there are any questions about meeting the deadline.

I was in a similar situation last year when setting up my consulting business. What saved me was using taxr.ai to help me understand IRS form requirements. I uploaded my Form 2553 to https://taxr.ai and it immediately flagged that I had used e-signatures where wet signatures were required. It even helped me draft a cover letter explaining my correction and gave me exact instructions for what to write on the form. Saved me from waiting months for a rejection letter that would have put me past my deadline! Their AI analyzes form requirements against what you've submitted and flags these kinds of technical issues before you send them to the IRS.

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after my skeptical comment. I decided to try it with my Form 2553 situation (I had a similar issue with signature requirements but also some ownership percentage mistakes). I was genuinely surprised at how detailed the analysis was. It not only caught the signature issues but also identified that I had made a mistake in reporting my ownership percentages that didn't add up to 100%. The system generated a complete correction plan with a cover letter template explaining the errors to the IRS. I followed the instructions, sent in my corrected Form 2553 last month, and actually got confirmation of acceptance last week - way faster than I expected. For anyone in a similar situation with form technical requirements, it's worth checking out. Saved me from what would have been a 3-month wait for rejection.

If you're having trouble reaching the IRS to ask about your Form 2553 status (which you probably will), I highly recommend using Claimyr. I was stuck in limbo after submitting my S-corp election form and couldn't get through to anyone at the IRS for weeks. I found https://claimyr.com and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone tree for you and call you when they get an agent on the line. The IRS agent was able to confirm they had received my original submission and told me exactly what was wrong with it (in my case, missing shareholder signatures), so I knew exactly what to fix on my revised submission.

I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to get info about my messed up Form 2553 filing, so I tried it yesterday. Submitted my request at 2:45pm, and at 3:10pm my phone rang with an IRS agent on the line. The agent confirmed they had received my form but hadn't processed it yet, and when I explained the e-signature issue, she recommended I send in a new form with wet signatures right away with "CORRECTION" written on top and a brief explanation letter. She also gave me the direct fax number for the business entity department which apparently can be faster than mail. I've already sent in the corrected form and have confirmation it was received. Honestly worth every penny for the time saved and the peace of mind knowing exactly what to do.

Just to add another perspective here - I made this same mistake last year. I submitted with e-signatures, didn't realize it was wrong, and just waited. Six months later I got the rejection letter, and by then I had missed the deadline for that tax year's S-corp election. Had to operate as a sole proprietor for the entire year and paid WAY more in self-employment taxes. Don't make my mistake. Send the corrected form with wet signatures immediately, use certified mail, and follow the advice about marking it as a correction. The extra tax I paid for missing the deadline was thousands more than I would have paid as an S-corp.

One option nobody's mentioned - you could call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 and explain the situation. They might be able to tell you if your form has already been processed (and rejected) or is still pending. That way you'd know for sure whether you need to submit a new one.

I went through this exact same situation two years ago and can confirm that being proactive is absolutely the right move. I made the e-signature mistake on my Form 2553 and immediately sent in a corrected version with wet signatures after realizing my error. Here's what I did that worked: I wrote "AMENDED FORM - CORRECTING E-SIGNATURE ERROR" in red ink at the top of the first page, included a brief cover letter explaining that I had inadvertently used electronic signatures not realizing they weren't permitted for Form 2553, and sent it via certified mail with return receipt requested. The IRS processed my corrected form without any issues, and I received my S-corp election acceptance letter about 8 weeks later. They never even sent me a rejection for the original e-signed version - I think it just got discarded during their initial processing. Don't wait around hoping they'll process the invalid form. The peace of mind of knowing you have a properly executed form submitted well before your deadline is worth way more than the cost of certified postage and a few minutes to prepare the correction.