Fillable Form 2848 (2020)

What is Form 2848?

Form 2848,Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) document that authorizes an individual or organization to represent a taxpayer by appearing before the IRS.

Form 2848 authorizes individuals or organizations to represent a taxpayer when appearing before the IRS. Authorized representatives include attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents. Signing Form 2848 and authorizing someone to represent you does not relieve a taxpayer of any tax liability.

Reminder:

Authentication alert.

When a representative with a Power of Attorney calls the IRS on your behalf, they must pass authentication procedures prior to the IRS speaking to them about your tax information.

How to fill out Form 2848?

Line 1 – Taxpayer information:

• List the personal information of the taxpayer here because whoever the taxpayer is will be using the form to appoint a representative.
• List their Social Security number as the taxpayer identification number.
• Provide their daytime telephone number and plan number.

Line 2 – Representative:

• List your personal information here if you will be the representative.
• You need to include a CAF number. If you don’t have one, enter “none” and the IRS will assign a number to you.
• Provide the following information of the representative like:
  • PTIN
  • Telephone No.
  • Fax No
• If the applicant wants to receive copies of all notices and communications sent by the IRS, the box that is provided under the representative's name and address must be checked.

Line 3 – Acts authorized:

• In order for the power of attorney to be valid, enter the description of the matter, the tax form number (where applicable), and the year(s) or period(s) (where applicable).
  • For example, you may list “Income, 1040” for calendar year “2018” and “Excise, 720” for “2018” (this entry covers all quarters in 2018).
• Under “Years or Periods,” be specific.
  • Do not write “all years.” Instead, list the current tax year for which you are filing a return, or you can list a series of years to cover past and future filings.

Line 4 – Specific use not recorded on CAF:

• Mark this box only if the power of attorney designation is one-time or specific use power of attorney.
• Examples of specific uses not recorded include but are not
• limited to the following:
  • Requests for a private letter ruling or technical advice;
  • Applications for an EIN;
  • Claims filed on Form 843
  • Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement
  • Corporate dissolutions;
  • Circular 230 Disciplinary Investigations and Proceedings
  • Requests to change accounting methods or periods
  • Applications for recognition of exemption under sections 501(c)(3), 501(a), or 521 (Forms 1023, 1024, or 1028)
  • Request for a determination of the qualified status of an employee benefit plan (Forms 5300, 5307, 5316, or 5310)
  • Applications for an ITIN filed on Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
  • Applications for an exemption from self-employment tax filed on Form 4361, Application for Exemption From Self-Employment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of Religious Orders and Christian Science Practitioners
  • Application for Award for Original Information under section 7623
  • Voluntary submissions under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS)
  • Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests

Line 5a – Additional acts authorized:

• If you need to sign the applicant’s tax return because the applicant is no longer capable or competent, mark the box “Sign a return.”
• The representative is not authorized to use an Intermediate Service Provider to retrieve the applicant’s confidential tax information indirectly from the IRS unless the box is checked on line 5a.
• It will need a reason like:
  • Disease or injury.
  • Taxpayer who is out of the country and can’t file a return.
  • For specific permission to act as a representative for other good causes.

Line 5b – Specific acts not authorized:

• You likely can leave this blank unless there are specific acts the applicant doesn’t want you to perform.

Line 6 – Retention/revocation of prior power of attorney:

• If the IRS records this power of attorney on the CAF system, it generally will revoke any earlier power of attorney previously recorded on the system for the same matter.
• Mark this box only if the applicant previously appointed a power of attorney and you don’t want that person’s power of attorney to be revoked with the appointment of you as the applicant’s new representative.

Line 7 – Signature of taxpayer:

• The applicant can sign the form if he or she still is competent and capable of signing.
• If not, you can sign as power of attorney then list POA for [applicant’s name] as your title, then print your name and the name of the applicant for whom you are signing.
• For taxpayer individuals that are under 18 years of age and cannot sign, the individual's parent or court-appointed guardian (with court documents) may sign on their behalf.

Part II – Declaration of representative:

• List the letter designation that best describes you. Choose the letter that applies to you. Under licensing jurisdiction, list your relationship to the taxpayer (example: child or step-child). Then sign and date the form.

Where to file Form 2848?

If you check the box on line 4, mail or fax Form 2848 to the IRS office handling the specific matter. Otherwise, mail or fax Form 2848 directly to the IRS address according to the Where To File Chart.

Where to File Chart