An 83(b) election runs on a 30-day clock nothing extends

The record

Founders and early employees who want to pay tax on restricted stock's value at grant, rather than as it vests, use an election Congress wrote directly into the Internal Revenue Code. Section 83(b)'s own text, at 26 U.S. Code Section 83, states the election must be made in the manner the Secretary prescribes and not later than 30 days after the date of the property transfer, and that it may not be revoked except with the Secretary's consent. In April 2025 the IRS issued its own standard form for the first time, Form 15620, so a taxpayer may now file either that form or a written statement meeting the Treasury regulation's requirements. This reflects the form as retrieved on 16 September 2026.

What the sources establish

Form 15620's own instructions restate the statute's 30-day deadline and add a mechanical detail the statute leaves to regulation: under Internal Revenue Code Section 7503, if the thirtieth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, an election postmarked by the next business day is timely. The instructions also state plainly that an 83(b) election may not be revoked except with the consent of the IRS, matching the statute's own revocation language. The form must be filed with the IRS office where the person performing the services files a federal return, and copies must go to the person for whom the services are performed and, if different, the transferee of the property.

Scope and revision

The election changes only the timing of income recognition on the spread between the property's fair market value and the price paid for it at the time of transfer; it does not change whether tax is eventually owed, and if the property is later forfeited, the statute does not allow the taxpayer to recover the tax already paid on an 83(b) election. Before April 2025 there was no IRS-numbered form for this election at all, only the requirement that a written statement satisfy Treasury Regulation 1.83-2; Form 15620 is new, and a written statement meeting the regulation's terms remains an alternative the instructions themselves preserve.

The decision in front of you

This is editorial, not tax advice: because the 30-day window runs from the date of transfer regardless of when a founder learns about the election, and because it cannot be revoked except with IRS consent, the practical decision point is before the restricted stock is issued, not after. A missed deadline is not a paperwork delay a later filing can cure.

• What is the exact transfer date the 30-day clock runs from, and has the mailing or filing date been documented against it?
• Has a copy of the completed election been sent to the company and, if applicable, to the transferee, as the instructions require?
• Is the property still subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture that would make the timing of this election consequential at all?

The 30-day deadline in subsection (b)(2), unchanged since 1976, has outlasted later changes elsewhere in section 83; the new 2025 form makes that deadline easier to meet, not different.