Purpose of IRS Form 2848 – Carswellfamilyfoundation

If you need someone to interact with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on your behalf, you will need to formally authorize them. That’s where Form 2848: Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative comes into play. By signing this form, you authorize an authorized representative, such as a tax attorney, CPA or registered agent, to manage certain aspects of your tax affairs with the IRS.

Because your tax information is confidential and includes sensitive information such as your name, address, date of birth and Social Security number (SSN), it is important to control who can access it and act on your behalf.

The IRS cannot release your tax information without your consent. The agency can only transfer it to a third party if you authorize it to do so. Form 2848 is the mechanism by which this consent is given.

Key Findings

IRS Form 2848 allows tax professionals, such as an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent, to represent you to the IRS as if they were a taxpayer.
Signing Form 2848 and allowing someone to represent you does not relieve you of any tax liability.
The form provides authority to take specific actions, but does not give your representative complete control over all tax matters.

What does Form 2848 allow?

Signing Form 2848 does not relieve you of liability. taxpayers any tax obligations. Instead, he gives your agent chartered accountant (CPA), attorney, or registered agent—the authority to take specific actions on your behalf regarding your taxes. These include:

Obtaining confidential tax information: Your representative may have access to your tax records and correspondence from the IRS.
Signing agreements: Your agent may sign agreements with the IRS regarding taxes on income reported on Form 2848.
Signing tax returns: In limited situations, such as if you suffer from an illness or injury or are permanently outside the United States for at least 60 days, your representative may sign your return. In all other circumstances, you must submit a written request to the IRS to obtain permission.

Form 2848 is not a complete grant of authority to do everything related to your taxes on your behalf. Your agent cannot:

Approve or agree on a refund check or instruct a refund. deposited electronically at their expense.
Substitute another representative without your consent (unless expressly permitted).

If you only need someone to review your tax information but not act on your behalf, you can file Form 8821: Permission to receive tax information instead of. This form does not allow representation, only access to information. This may happen if you are applying for mortgage and you need to share your tax information with the lender.

Filing Form 2848 does not waive your right to review the tax information you provided when filing Form 8821.

How to fill out Form 2848

For Form 2848 to be effective, you must provide the tax form and year for which you are providing the authority. This includes:

Case Description: For example, income tax.
Tax form number: For example, if you want to authorize your agent to process your standard IRS tax return form, you must designate Form 1040. Saying “all forms” is not enough.
Year or period of application: Please indicate the relevant tax years or periods. Saying “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.
Taxpayer identification number (PTIN), which is a taxpayer identification number that must be renewed by CPAs, attorneys, registered agentand paid the compilers annually.
The Central Authorization File (CAF) number is a nine-digit number that the IRS assigns to your representative when they first submit a third-party authorization. If this is your agent’s first appointment as a representative, you will not need to enter a CAF number.

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

All Form 2848 pages are available on the website. IRS website.

Using a Non-IRS Power of Attorney Form

If you have your own non-IRS income power of attorney (POA) – Typically used in situations such as illness or disability. be used in place of Form 2848 under certain conditions. Remember, a power of attorney is a legal document this gives one agent the authority to act on your behalf. It is typically used when someone is ill or disabled and cannot otherwise cope with their financial situation.

Your power of attorney must:

Authorize your agent to act on tax matters. If the power of attorney is a blanket grant of authority, no special grant of authority in tax matters is required, but the power of attorney cannot limit the actions of your agent in tax matters.
Include all information required by Form 2848.

If your agent is acting under your power of attorney, he or she can sign Form 2848 on your behalf.

Revocation of power of attorney

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

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

What is the difference between IRS Form 2848 and Form 8821?

Form 2848 is used when you need someone to handle your tax matters. It gives a representative, such as a CPA, attorney, or registered agent, the authority to represent you to the IRS. On the other hand, Form 8821 only allows access to your tax information. A representative cannot act on your behalf. You use this form when you need to share your tax information with someone, for example when filing for loan.

Do I need to file Form 2848 if I want someone to file my tax return for me?

If you want someone to submit your tax return You will only need to sign Form 2848 on your behalf if that person is acting as your representative with the IRS. If the individual is only preparing and filing your tax return, you do not need to sign Form 2848. Form 1040 or another tax form is sufficient, and the preparer will sign it as your tax preparer, not your representative.

What happens if I file Form 2848 incorrectly?

If Form 2848 is not completed correctly (or if key information is missing), it may delay or invalidate your request for representation. The form must indicate the exact tax issues and provide details about your representative. Please be sure to check all sections for accuracy before submitting. If the IRS rejects it, you will have to refile it with the required information.

Bottom line

IRS Form 2848 is required to authorize a representative to act on your behalf regarding your taxes. While it may provide access to sensitive tax information and allow certain actions, it is not a complete solution for all tax matters. Always ensure that the form is completed correctly and that you understand the extent of the authority you are giving your representative.