IRS power of attorney and necessary forms

An IRS power of attorney allows an individual to handle confidential and sensitive tax information and to act on the individual’s behalf only with respect to federal tax matters. When giving a person this type of authorization, there are two ways this can happen. The difference is how much power she plans to give to the person who will act on her behalf. You can choose to give them the standard power of attorney, which means they can act on your behalf with respect to all tax matters. However, you can also choose to only give them the power to access your sensitive tax information, as well as complete your tax returns and tax information.

IRS Form 2848 is the Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative form that must be completed when giving another person power of attorney to act on your behalf with your tax returns. Once completed, the chosen person will be able to receive and review their tax information. They must be eligible to act on her behalf. There are two parts to the form that gives power to the person.

The first part is your taxpayer must be completed and the person who will represent you must complete your name and your CAF number. The IRS assigns this number to identify representatives acting on behalf of another person.

The second part is a form that is the declaration of representative. The person acting on your behalf must sign, date, and enter how you are permitted to practice under the IRS.

However, there is IRS Form 8821 which is just a tax information authorization form. Gives a person or corporation the power to inspect and receive your tax information. They are allowed the power to receive information from the IRS regarding their tax information and the specific years that are listed on the form. This form gives limited power of attorney to the person or corporation and does not allow them to represent you before the IRS, make executive decisions, sign any documents, or close any agreements between you and the IRS. You must file the above form in order for a person or organization to represent you with the IRS.

Once the forms are completed, they must be mailed or faxed to the IRS within 60 days of the date they are signed. You will need to check where to send the forms based on where you live. The IRS has different locations to submit forms, depending on your location.