IRS Simplifies Process for Filing, Accessing Powers of Attorney

Previously, the Service says, taxpayers or their representatives had to fax or mail their power of attorney forms to the service center at which the taxpayer's return was filed. Because IRS employees at other locations couldn't access the database containing the power of attorney information, taxpayers' cases were often delayed.

Now, the Service says, data on power of attorney forms is stored in an electronic database. With the electronic database, it points out, IRS employees at any location may access data on a taxpayer's power of attorney form, thereby eliminating the need to ship paper documents from one location to another or to repeatedly request faxes or mailings from taxpayers or their representatives.

The Service notes that taxpayers or their representatives may fax their signed Forms 2848, "Power of Attorney," or Forms 8821, "Tax Information Authorization," directly to the Centralized Authorization File Unit at their service center, which will enter the forms into the database. Locations and fax numbers for the units are included in IR- 1999-48.

[2] The universally accessible data base eliminates the need to ship paper documents from one location to another or to repeatedly request faxes or mailings from the taxpayer or their representative. This improves the timeliness of IRS response to the taxpayer's issue and reduces the burden of repetitive contacts with the IRS.

[3] "We listened to our customers and developed a simple solution that will better meet their needs," said Charles O. Rossotti, Commissioner of Internal Revenue. "It also fits within our modernization framework."

[4] Previously, taxpayers or their representatives had to mail or fax the Power of Attorney forms to the service center at which the taxpayer filed his or her tax return. The data base into which the information was entered was not accessible to IRS employees at other locations, creating delays for taxpayers. Taxpayers and tax practitioners had urged the IRS to develop a less cumbersome process.

[5] Taxpayers use Forms 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) or 2848 (Power of Attorney) to designate an appointee to receive and inspect their confidential tax information or to represent them before the IRS. The forms require the taxpayer to specify the type of tax matter and the period of time for which the Power of Attorney is effective. The IRS has almost 1.5 million valid Power of Attorney forms currently on file, representing more than 5 million taxpayers.

[6] To save time, taxpayers or their representatives may fax their signed Forms 2848 and 8821 directly to the Centralized Authorization File Unit, located in the service center to which they normally send their tax returns, which will be entering the forms into the data base. The units and their fax numbers are listed below.

                CENTRALIZED AUTHORIZATION FILE UNITS