Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative

Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, is the IRS form a taxpayer uses to authorize an individual to represent them before the Internal Revenue Service and to receive and inspect their confidential tax information for the matters described on the form.

The form has two parts. In Part I, the taxpayer names the representative(s), lists the tax matters, forms and years or periods covered, and signs. In Part II, each representative declares, under penalties of perjury, that he or she is eligible to practice before the IRS and is subject to Circular 230, and enters one of the designations (a) through (r), such as attorney, CPA, enrolled agent, officer, full-time employee, family member or enrolled retirement plan agent.

Unless the taxpayer limits it, the power of attorney lets the representative perform acts the taxpayer could perform on those matters, including signing agreements, consents and waivers. It does not by itself include the power to substitute or add a representative, sign certain returns, authorize disclosure to third parties or use an Intermediate Service Provider; those are granted on line 5a. A representative may not endorse or negotiate a government check for a federal tax liability.

Form 2848 is not the right form in every case. Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, only lets someone inspect or receive your tax information, without representing you. Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, notifies the IRS of a fiduciary relationship. Authorizing a representative does not relieve you of your tax obligations.

Taxpayers who want an individual eligible to practice before the IRS to represent them use Form 2848. This covers individuals, corporations, partnerships, exempt organizations, trusts, estates and employee plans. A separate Form 2848 must be completed for each taxpayer.

• Joint returns: if a tax matter concerns a year in which a joint return was filed, each spouse must submit a separate Form 2848, even when both name the same representative.
• Signing for someone else: a corporate officer, partner, guardian, executor, trustee or other person signing for the taxpayer certifies on line 7 that he or she has legal authority. For a taxpayer under 18 who cannot sign, a parent or a court-appointed guardian (with court documents) may sign.
• Representatives: only individuals eligible to practice before the IRS may be named. Part II lists the eligible designations. Unenrolled return preparers have limited rights, and qualifying students or law graduates in a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) or Student Tax Clinic Program (STCP) must list the lead attorney or CPA first.
• Outside the United States: any individual may represent a taxpayer before IRS personnel outside the United States.

Do not use Form 2848 if you only want to let someone inspect or receive your tax information; the instructions point to Form 8821 for that. Fiduciaries who need to notify the IRS of their role use Form 56.

There is no fixed due date: file Form 2848 when you appoint a representative, before that person needs to act for you with the IRS. Representation applies only to the matters and years or periods listed on line 3. You may list the current year, years already ended and future years, but the IRS will not record on the Centralized Authorization File (CAF) future periods that exceed 3 years from December 31 of the year it receives the form.

When the taxpayer signs first, the representative must sign within 45 days of the taxpayer's signature date for domestic authorizations (60 days for taxpayers residing abroad). If the representative signs first, there is no time limit for the taxpayer. For a qualifying student or law graduate, the CAF automatically purges the representative 130 days after the taxpayer's signature date.

The IRS processes forms in the order received, whether online, by fax or by mail, and does not notify you when processing is done. If the representative's address changes, no new Form 2848 is needed; the representative sends written notice of the new information to the location where the form was filed.

You can submit Form 2848 online, by fax or by mail. If you checked the box on line 4 (specific use not recorded on the CAF), mail or fax it to the IRS office handling the specific matter instead.

• Online: submit securely at IRS.gov/Submit2848. You need a Secure Access account. Submit one form at a time, even for spouses filing jointly; save attachments together with the form in one file (PDF, JPG or GIF). Do not submit online a form you already faxed or mailed. Electronic signatures are accepted only for forms submitted online.
• Fax or mail: use the Where To File Chart in the instructions. The form must carry a handwritten (wet ink) signature; digital, electronic or typed signatures are not valid by fax or mail.
• Internal Revenue Service, 5333 Getwell Road, Stop 8423, Memphis, TN 38118; fax 855-214-7519 (states in the chart's first row, such as New York, Florida and Ohio).
• Internal Revenue Service, 1973 Rulon White Blvd., MS 6737, Ogden, UT 84201; fax 855-214-7522 (states in the chart's second row, such as California and Texas).
• Internal Revenue Service, International CAF Team, 2970 Market Street, MS: 4-H14.123, Philadelphia, PA 19104; fax 855-772-3156 or 304-707-9785 (outside the United States), for APO/FPO addresses, U.S. territories and foreign countries.

Fax numbers may change; check IRS.gov/Form2848 under "Recent Developments". Do not send Form 2848 to the Tax Forms and Publications address in Washington, DC. To discuss a case immediately, fax the signed form to the IRS employee handling it or contact the Practitioner Priority Service. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.