Late S Election Relief
Authority: Rev. Proc. 2013-30
Late S election relief is the IRS's standing administrative program that lets a business rescue a missed Form 2553 deadline without a private letter ruling. Under Rev. Proc. 2013-30, an entity can file the election up to three years and 75 days after the intended effective date if it can show reasonable cause for the delay, has behaved like an S corporation the whole time (filed returns and had shareholders report income consistently with S status), and all shareholders sign on. The relief request is typically attached to the current Form 1120-S or filed with a standalone Form 2553 marked with the revenue procedure citation. Because the conditions are mechanical and the IRS routinely grants these requests, a missed deadline is usually a paperwork problem rather than a lost year of tax savings.
Example
A business owner intended S status for 2024 but never filed Form 2553. In mid-2026 she files the form citing Rev. Proc. 2013-30, explains that her prior accountant failed to submit it, and shows she filed 1120-S returns for 2024 and 2025. The IRS accepts the election retroactive to January 1, 2024.
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