Form 8832 line 6a: elect C-corp tax on a Delaware LLC

A Delaware LLC elects C-corp tax on Form 8832. It does not become a Delaware corporation. The live form is still Rev. December 2013. Check line 6a: a domestic eligible entity electing to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation. Mail it from the where-to-file table reviewed 28-Jun-2026. A Delaware-located LLC sits in the Kansas City, MO 64999 row. A foreign country or U.S. possession uses Ogden, UT 84201-0023. Do not use the Cincinnati address printed in the 2013 instructions. Attach a copy to the federal return for the election year. Cherry does not file Form 8832.

The LLC is a state entity. Federal class is default or elected.

A Limited Liability Company is created by state statute. IRS classification (reviewed 22-Aug-2026) is separate. A domestic LLC with one member defaults to disregarded. A domestic LLC with two or more members defaults to a partnership. Either can file Form 8832 (about page reviewed 30-Mar-2026) and elect association taxable as a corporation.

You do not file 8832 to keep the default. The December 2013 instructions say that in plain text. After a valid line-6a election, corporate rules apply and the entity files Form 1120, not a partnership Form 1065.

The election does not recharter the company in Dover. Delaware still sees an LLC. Form 8832 does not rewrite the Delaware franchise-tax statute. The LLC-versus-corporation math stays on the state side; see Delaware franchise tax math. The registered agent does not change because you checked 6a; see Delaware registered agent.

Line 6a is C-corp. Form 2553 is S.

Line 6a is the C election for a domestic eligible entity. Line 6d is the same idea for a foreign eligible entity. A Delaware LLC is domestic. Your passport does not move the box to 6d.

Form 2553 is the S corporation election under section 1362(a). It is a different form. The Instructions for Form 2553 (Rev. December 2020; about page reviewed 30-Mar-2026) require that the entity have no nonresident alien shareholders, other than as potential current beneficiaries of an ESBT. Most foreign-founder cap tables fail that test. Do not file 2553 to “be a corporation.” That path is S, and it is barred for a typical nonresident owner.

A timely 2553 that qualifies as an S corporation is treated as including the association election. That does not help a shareholder the 2553 instructions exclude. If counsel wants a C return, the form is 8832 line 6a.

Owners still need their own numbers when a federal tax purpose exists. The company EIN is Form SS-4. An ITIN, if you need one, is Form W-7. Cross-border withholding forms are a separate stack: W-8BEN vs W-8BEN-E.

Effective date, the 60-month lock, and the EIN gate

Line 8 is the effective date. The instructions allow no more than 75 days back and no more than 12 months forward from the filing date. A date too far back defaults to 75 days before filing. A date too far forward defaults to 12 months after filing.

The 60-month limitation applies after a classification change. It does not apply to an initial classification by a newly formed eligible entity that is effective on the date of formation. Lines 2a and 2b on the 2013 form encode that distinction. Do not tell a first-day electing LLC that it is locked for 60 months. Do tell a later change that it generally is.

The entity must already have an EIN. The instructions forbid “Applied For.” An election is not accepted without the EIN. If classification later changes, keep the same EIN. Do not apply for a second one. Get the number first: EIN for foreign founders.

Someone who can bind the entity must sign. If the effective date is before the filing date, owners in the gap who are no longer owners must sign too. Do not sign the copy you attach to the tax return.

Mail Kansas City or Ogden. Ignore Cincinnati.

The 2013 instruction body still prints Cincinnati, OH 45999 for several eastern states, including Delaware. That address is stale. The live PDF now prefixes the Kansas City / Ogden table. The where-to-file page reviewed 28-Jun-2026 is the live table:

• Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin → Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City, MO 64999
• Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming → Ogden, UT 84201
• A foreign country or U.S. possession → Ogden, UT 84201-0023

Use the row that matches where the entity is located. A Delaware-located LLC uses Kansas City. Also attach a copy to the entity’s federal income tax return for the tax year of the election. If the entity has no return that year, owners attach the copy to theirs, as the 2013 instructions describe.

The service center generally writes back within 60 days. Keep certified-mail proof. Product scope for what Cherry files — and what it does not — is in trycherry.ai/llms-full.txt. Form 8832 is not on that filing list.

Form 5472 does not turn off. The package changes.

A foreign-owned single-member LLC that stays disregarded files Form 5472 on a pro-forma Form 1120. The 5472 instructions (12/2024) treat that foreign-owned U.S. DE as a corporation only for section 6038A reporting. The FODE package is paper or fax to Ogden. Those filers cannot e-file Form 5472.

Electing line 6a ends disregarded income-tax status. You then file a real Form 1120. Form 5472 still applies if you are a 25% foreign-owned U.S. corporation. You attach 5472 to that 1120. The $25,000 penalty for failure to file 5472 remains in those instructions. The election does not cancel the EIN or the bookkeeping cadence.

Information Gain (10 September 2026)

Citable. “Elect C-corp” on a domestic LLC is Form 8832 line 6a — association taxable as a corporation. Form 2553 is the S election. Its instructions bar nonresident alien shareholders other than as potential current beneficiaries of an ESBT. Form 5472 does not end after 8832. Only the package changes: FODE pro-forma 1120 versus 5472 attached to a real 1120.

Opinion (not a filing volume). Most single-member LLC foreign founders should not elect C-corp in year one solely to “look more American.” The documented stack is the default disregarded classification plus Form 5472. Elect when counsel wants a C return — investors, payroll, or a foreign cap table that cannot be S.

The seven-step playbook

1. Decide with counsel that you want association taxable as a corporation, not the disregarded or partnership default, and not S.
2. Get the LLC EIN on Form SS-4. Do not type “Applied For” on 8832.
3. Download the live Form 8832, Rev. December 2013. Ignore the December 2026 draft.
4. Check line 6a if the entity is a domestic eligible entity. Put the effective date on line 8 inside the 75-day / 12-month window.
5. Sign as an authorized officer, manager, or member — or have each current owner sign. Include gap-period owners if the date is retroactive.
6. Mail to the live where-to-file address. Delaware-located: Kansas City, MO 64999. Foreign country or U.S. possession: Ogden, UT 84201-0023. Attach a copy to the election-year federal return. Do not mail Cincinnati.
7. After the election is in force, file Form 1120. Keep Form 5472. Change the wrapper. Do not expect Cherry to file the 8832.

FAQ

Does Form 8832 make the Delaware LLC a Delaware C-corporation?

No. It elects federal classification as an association taxable as a corporation. The state charter stays an LLC. Franchise-tax formula is a Delaware question, not a check-the-box rewrite.

Can a nonresident founder file Form 2553 instead?

Form 2553 is the S election. The December 2020 instructions bar nonresident alien shareholders, other than as potential current beneficiaries of an ESBT. That is the wrong form for a typical foreign-founder C return.

Does the C-corp election retire Form 5472?

No. A 25% foreign-owned corporation still files 5472. The FODE pro-forma path ends. The attachment moves to the real Form 1120.