IRS Has Developed Process for E-Signed Authorization Forms

Tax professionals will be able to use an existing IRS secure online authentication portal to upload certain authorization forms with digital signatures, according to an agency official.

The 2019 Taxpayer First Act (Pub. L. 116-25) required the IRS to establish uniform procedures by Jan. 1, 2020, for accepting electronic signatures on Form 2848—used by taxpayers to authorize tax professionals to represent them before the IRS—and Form 8821—used by taxpayers to authorize others to view their tax return information. The IRS missed that deadline and was behind with its planned permanent solution, so its watchdog urged it to ...