Tax professionals can digitally initiate Power of Attorney and Tax Information Authorizations via the newly established Tax Pro Accounts on IRS.gov. These authorization requests are described as simpler versions of Forms 2848 and 8821.
These steps enable individual taxpayers to grant permission for preparers to view their tax records or represent them.
Once completed and submitted, authorization requests appear in a taxpayer’s Online Account for review, approval or rejection and electronic signature. To complete approval, a taxpayer checks a box as the approved signature and submits the request to the Internal Revenue Service.
Completed digital authorizations go directly to the Centralized Authorization File (CAF) database and do not require manual processing. Most requests will be immediately appear on the list of approved authorizations in the taxpayer's Online Account and the tax professional's Tax Pro Account.
To connect with tax professionals, taxpayers login to their Online Accounts using their IRS username and password or th create an account after passing a one-time identity verification process.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind