Moving can be really exciting for many reasons, but communicating a change of address to every bank, government agency, employer, friend, and family member is an exhausting process. Does filing a change of address (COA) with the post office even really work? Almost everyone has received mail at their address for a previous resident, and it is scary to think that an important piece of mail could be sent to you, but at your old address. Addresses are required for a lot of important business, which includes but is not limited to the following:
- Employers
- Car insurance companies
- Department of Veteran Affairs
- Home or renters insurance policies
- Voting registration
- Drivers licenses
- Car registrations
- Financial institutions
- Alumni associations
- Social Security Administration
So, what is the first step to inform these agencies about an upcoming move? Well, the United States Postal Service tries to make it as painless as possible. If you typically frequent your local post office, pick up form 3575. This easy-to-use form is one page with 10 sections to complete, including sections for the address you’re vacating and your new address. You’ll also have to sign it, apply first-class postage and mail it to the United States Postmaster.
If you prefer you can visit usps.com. In the search button enter Form 3575 and this will link you to a downloadable form. Just answer a few simple questions like “are you an individual, family, or business?” and it will automatically direct you. Completing the form is easy without requiring much computer savvy. To complete online filing, go to: https://moversguide.usps.com/. This does require you to pay an online filing fee for identity validation. The cost is $1.05. You can pay using a major credit card. If you file your COA at your postal service branch, there is no fee. Your COA form can be dated up to 30 days in the past or up to 90 days in the future, from the current date.
If you have a job and are moving it is important to inform your employer as soon as possible. This important step is necessary because as you move you may be leaving one jurisdiction and entering another. Accordingly, your payroll taxes may change. This typically happens when moving between localities that have varying local wage taxes. This is also true if your move takes you across state lines. The good news is most employers (especially those that use payroll services, like ADP or PayChex) can do all this for you and seamlessly. Your job is just to inform them right away as it might take just a little while for the applicable tax changes to catch up to your payroll cycle.
The faster you let your company know about an upcoming move, the better. Employees are also advised to follow up with their employer to make sure that the change went through. Check pay stubs and compare across months to make sure that the right tax amount is being deducted monthly. If necessary, follow up with the accounting department or whoever at the company is internally responsible for making these changes.
