If you need someone to interface with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on your behalf, you will need to formally authorize them. This is the place Form 2848: Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative come into play. By signing this form, you are giving an authorized representative, such as a tax attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent, the ability to handle certain aspects of your tax affairs with the IRS.

Because your tax information is private and includes sensitive details such as your name, address, date of birth and Personal numeric code (SSN), it’s important to control who can access it and act on your behalf.

The IRS cannot share your tax details without your consent. The agency can only share it with a third party if you authorize it to do so. Form 2848 is the mechanism by which that consent is given.

What does Form 2848 authorize?

Signing Form 2848 does not exempt CONTIBUTORS of any tax liability. Instead, it gives your agent—a certified public accountant (CPA), attorney, or enrolled agent — the authority to take specific actions on your behalf about your taxes. These include:

• Receiving confidential tax information: Your representative can access your tax records and correspondence from the IRS.
• Signing of agreements: Your agent can sign agreements with the IRS regarding taxes on returns specified on Form 2848.
• Signing tax returns: In limited situations, such as if you suffer from an illness or injury or are continuously outside the US for at least 60 days, your representative can sign your statement. In any other circumstance, you must submit a written request to the IRS for permission.

Form 2848 is not a blanket authorization to do everything about your taxes on your behalf. Your agent cannot:

• Approve or negotiate a refund check or request a refund submitted electronically on their account.
• Substitute another representative without your approval (unless expressly authorized).

If you just need someone to see your tax information but not act on your behalf, you can file Form 8821: Authorization for tax information instead. This form does not allow representation, only access to information. This could be the case if you are applying for a mortgage and you must share your tax information with the lender.

How to complete Form 2848

For Form 2848 to be effective, you must specify the tax form and year for which you are giving the authorization. This includes:

• Problem description: For example, income taxes.
• Tax form number: For example, if you wanted to authorize your agent to handle the standard tax return form with the IRS, you would indicate Form 1040. Saying “all forms” is not enough.
• Year or period of applicability: Specify the relevant fiscal years or periods. To say “all years” or “all periods” is not enough.

You must also provide information about your agent/representative. This includes:

• Name, address, telephone number and fax number.
• Tax identification number of the preparer (PTIN), which is a preparer tax identification number that must be renewed by CPAs, attorneys, registered agentsand annual paid preparers.
• Centralized Authorization File (CAF) number, a nine-digit number that the IRS assigns to your representative when they first file a third-party authorization. If this is your agent’s first appointment as a representative, there will be no CAF number to enter.

Finally, you must sign the form. if you jointly filed and each spouse wishes to grant authority, each must file a separate Form 2848 to designate a representative. Although you may have filed jointly, this does not mean that you must use the same representative.

All pages of Form 2848 are available on IRS website.

Use of a non-IRS proxy form

If you have your own non-IRS mandate Form (POA) – usually used for situations such as illness or disability – can to be used in place of Form 2848 under certain conditions. remember, a POA is a legal document which gives an agent the power to act on your behalf. It is generally used when someone is ill or disabled and cannot otherwise manage their financial situation.

The POA must:

• Authorize your agent to act on tax matters. If the POA is a general authorization, no specific grant of tax authority is required, but the POA cannot restrict your agent’s tax actions.
• Include all information required by Form 2848.

If your agent is acting under his own form of power of attorney, he can sign Form 2848 on your behalf.

Revocation of a power of attorney

If you ever want to change your agent, for example, if you hire a new CPA, you must complete a new Form 2848. Filing a new form automatically revokes the previous authorization as long as the previous agent is in the IRS’s CAF. This is why the number assigned to your agent is important.

If you are adding a new POA and not revoking a previous one, you must check the box on line 6 of Form 2848 to indicate this and attach a copy of the previous Form 2848 with the new form.

conclusion

IRS Form 2848 is essential for giving a representative the authority to act on your behalf regarding your taxes. While it may grant access to confidential tax information and allow certain actions, it is not a blanket authorization for all tax matters. Always make sure that the form is filled out accurately and that you understand the scope of authority you are giving your representative.