IRS Form 2848: Essential Guide to Power of Attorney for Taxpayers

your CPA or attorney to talk to the IRS on your behalf. You could grant power of attorney to an immediate family member to speak to the IRS for you if you wanted. Or choose a professional like an enrolled actuary, the unenrolled return preparer who prepared your tax return, or the representative at your qualified Student Tax or Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic. If you are having trouble with your retirement plan, you can name an enrolled retirement plan agent as your IRS power of attorney. If you need to talk to the IRS about your business, you can appoint a full-time employee or a corporate officer.

POA doesn’t change everything

When you grant someone the authority to talk to the IRS on your behalf as part of your tax preparation and planning, it still leaves you with responsibilities. You are ultimately responsible for whatever taxes you owe and need to endorse any refund check yourself. Your IRS POA can’t change where you want your refund sent – like into their account instead of yours. You’ll need to specify if you want your IRS power of attorney to be able to substitute someone else if they aren’t going to continue working on your behalf. 

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Signing Form 2848 gives your IRS POA representative the ability to see your confidential tax information and perform some limited tasks. They can sign an agreement for any tax return you specify on Form 2848, and they can sign your return if you are too ill or not in the country for more than two months before your return is due.

NOTE: Don’t sign Form 2848 if you only need to share confidential tax information (like with your lender when remortgaging your property). Form 8821 – Tax Information Authorization is adequate for that. 

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Form 2848 sample (in .pdf)

Instructions: how to complete Form 2848 - POA and Declaring a Representative

The last thing you need right now is more stress, so let’s look at how completing Form 2848 will be better than talking to the IRS yourself. 

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Form 2848 asks for information like:

• Your name, address, phone number, signature, and taxpayer identification or plan number(s).
• Even if you and your spouse file joint returns, you both complete your own power of attorney forms. 
• The names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, and signatures of one, two, three, or even four representatives, with their CAF or PTIN for professionals. (Don’t worry, they know their numbers and will fill them in for you!) A family member won’t have either of these numbers. 
• The IRS only sends communications to two representatives, so check who will receive copies of any notices. 
• A description of the matter(s) you want them to manage, including any tax form numbers and the year(s).
• Acts you authorize your IRS POA representatives to perform, like seeing your confidential information, signing agreements, adding, changing representatives, or signing a return.
• Any acts you do NOT authorize your representative(s) to perform.  
• Confirmation that this form revokes all previous IRS POAs or attach a copy of any you want to remain in effect.
• You aren’t stuck with a representative forever. Each one has an expiry date. To revoke a previous IRS power of attorney early without naming a new representative, write “REVOKE” across the top of the first page, sign, and date the form again and resubmit it. Representatives who want to withdraw do the same thing, only they write “WITHDRAW” across the top of the form. 

How to submit Form 2848 to the IRS

Choose one of three ways to submit Form 2848 to the IRS. You don’t need to send it in with your tax return. You may be able to use the online submission process, which requires you to authenticate your identity and provide a digital signature. 

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Or choose to mail or fax in the form. The addresses and fax numbers vary depending on where you live, so check the Instructions for Form 2848 to find the right one. There’s a fax number and mailing address for each state and one for if you live anywhere outside the country.