Late S-Corp Election Relief (Rev. Proc. 2013-30)
The standard S-corp election deadline is 2 months and 15 days into the tax year (March 15 for calendar year). Miss it, and you're a default LLC or C-corp for the year — unless you use late-election relief. Which most eligible businesses can.
The relief
Rev. Proc. 2013-30 provides a simplified path for late S-corp elections. If you meet the requirements, no private letter ruling is needed — just a properly-completed Form 2553 with the right attachments.
You get retroactive S-corp treatment back to the intended effective date.
Eligibility requirements
The entity intended to be classified as an S-corp on the intended effective date.
The entity failed to qualify solely because Form 2553 wasn't timely filed.
Less than 3 years and 75 days have passed since the intended effective date.
The entity has reasonable cause for the failure and has acted diligently to fix it.
All shareholders reported their income consistent with the S-corp election (or the election is being filed for the first year with no returns yet).
How to file
Complete Form 2553 as if timely.
Write 'FILED PURSUANT TO REV. PROC. 2013-30' across the top.
Attach a reasonable-cause statement explaining why the election was late (usually the accountant/preparer missed it, or the owner didn't realize the deadline).
All current and required prior shareholders sign.
Mail to the IRS service center for your state (or attach to the first S-corp return, Form 1120-S).
Reasonable cause examples that work
'The company's tax advisor failed to timely file.'
'The owner was unaware of the filing requirement.'
'The entity's formation and election were handled by a service that failed to complete Form 2553.'
Complete-and-honest reasonable cause is almost always accepted for first-time relief.
When you're outside 3 years and 75 days
You can still request a private letter ruling from the IRS — expensive (user fee ~$12,600) and slow (~6 months).
Usually not worth it unless the S-corp savings are large enough to justify the cost and delay.
A quick disclaimer
This article is general information for Montana small business owners, not tax, legal, or accounting advice for your specific situation. Rules change, and how they apply depends on facts we don't know about you. Before acting on anything you read here, talk to a qualified professional. If you're a Montana business owner and want a real conversation about your books, payroll, or tax, that's what Marlow Accounting is here for — call 406-290-1214 or schedule a discovery call.