IRS Form 3115 Instructions
A guide to the Form 3115 instructions and the automatic change list taxpayers use to change depreciation methods, including after a look-back cost segregation study. The instructions are dated December 2022. Filing decisions belong to the taxpayer’s CPA. Educational information, not tax advice.
Educational information, not tax advice.
Updated 2026-10-14
Key takeaways
- The current Form 3115 instructions are the December 2022 revision.
- Automatic changes are listed in Rev. Proc. 2025-23, as modified by Rev. Proc. 2025-28 and Rev. Proc. 2026-32.
- Rev. Proc. 2015-13 remains the general procedure for consent and §481(a) spreads.
- Designated change numbers can change when the IRS issues a new list.
- This page lists titles, not eligibility. Filing is a CPA responsibility.
Form 3115 is the Application for Change in Accounting Method. Its instructions explain who must file, when and where, the information required for each part and schedule, and how to report the §481(a) adjustment. Schedule E covers changes in depreciation or amortization. The current instruction revision, as shown on the IRS instructions page, is December 2022.
Rev. Proc. 2015-13 sets the general procedures for automatic and non-automatic consent, including the default §481(a) spread: one year for a negative adjustment and four years for a positive adjustment, unless other guidance provides otherwise. The December 2022 instructions still refer readers to that framework and to the then-current automatic list. The list itself has been replaced since those instructions were printed.
Rev. Proc. 2025-23 contains the current list of automatic changes, effective for Forms 3115 filed on or after June 9, 2025. Rev. Proc. 2026-32 modifies parts of that list for Forms 3115 filed after September 4, 2026, with a transition rule for certain duplicate copies filed on or before November 15, 2026. A new annual list may supersede both. Confirm the current list on irs.gov before filing.
A look-back cost segregation study is generally implemented on Form 3115, not by amending every prior Form 4562. Whether the change is automatic, which designated change number applies, and whether the taxpayer is eligible are CPA determinations. This page does not file a method change for any reader.
This page is educational information, not tax advice. The instruction booklet’s examples and the revenue procedure’s eligibility conditions are longer than a website summary. Titles below are not a complete checklist.
Depreciation-related change numbers
Under Rev. Proc. 2025-23’s contact list and table of contents, the following designated change numbers are commonly discussed with cost segregation: DCN 7 (§6.01, impermissible to permissible depreciation); DCN 8 (§6.02, permissible to permissible); DCN 107 (§6.07, depreciation of disposed property); DCN 205 (§6.13, disposition of a building or structural component under §1.168(i)-8); DCN 206 (§6.14, dispositions of other tangible assets); DCN 244 (§6.18, qualified improvement property placed in service after December 31, 2017); and DCN 245 (§6.19, late elections or revocations under §168(g)(7), (k)(5), (k)(7), or (k)(10)).
DCNs 184–193 cover tangible property regulation changes under §11.08. DCN 198 covers partial dispositions to which an IRS adjustment pertains. Those numbers are tied to the 2025-23 section numbering. They can change in a successor list.
We have listed titles, not every eligibility condition, audit-protection rule, or concurrent-change limitation. Eligibility is generally stated in the revenue procedure section for that DCN, not in the 2022 Form 3115 instructions alone.
Instructions versus the current list
The December 2022 instructions predate Rev. Proc. 2025-23. They still describe how to complete the form: names and signatures, year of change, automatic versus non-automatic, and Schedule E. They do not contain the 2025 designated change numbers.
Take change numbers from the current automatic-change revenue procedure. Take line-by-line completion rules from the December 2022 instructions until the IRS revises them. If those two sources conflict on a procedural point, the taxpayer’s CPA should follow the later published procedure.
The instructions also discuss late applications and useful items such as Rev. Proc. 2015-13. Those references remain relevant. Older list citations printed in the booklet (for example Rev. Proc. 2022-14) are historical.
Professional judgment
Each automatic change has eligibility conditions. Some changes cannot be made if the taxpayer is under examination, or if the same item was changed recently. Some require a statement or a specific §481(a) computation. This page does not apply those conditions.
A current-year study of property not yet reported is usually a classification on the first Form 4562, not a Form 3115. Mixing those two paths is a common error.
CostSeg SI does not file Form 3115. Super Intelligence, as proposed, would organize the component list and dates a CPA needs. It is not an operational filing service.
Related adjustments
The §481(a) adjustment is reported as the instructions and Rev. Proc. 2015-13 direct. A negative depreciation catch-up is generally taken in the year of change. A positive adjustment is generally spread over four years.
Bonus depreciation inside a look-back adjustment follows the original acquisition and placed-in-service dates. As of October 16, 2026, the 100 percent rate applies to qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025. Earlier acquisitions stay on the phase-down. See the §481(a) page.
Partial disposition elections have their own timing rules under Treas. Reg. §1.168(i)-8(d). Some late or exam-related elections use a Form 3115; others must be made on the original return. That split is on the partial-disposition page.
Sources
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