NEWS / IRS considers allowing power of attorney uploads for tax professionals

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is considering allowing tax professionals to upload signed and notarized powers of attorney of their clients to IRS Tax Pro Accounts. Once the upload is approved, practitioners would be able to file tax forms and access information on behalf of their clients.

“One of the things that I believe will be coming soon, so I don’t have a date, is that you can take a paper version that’s filled out,” National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins stated in reference to IRS Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) National Tax Conference, as quoted by the Journal of Accountancy. “These are little things in life that I think will make our lives easier.”

Collins went on to explicate her vision for a comprehensive one-stop online portal containing all IRS-related client information.

“So, I can see your transcript, I can see your payments, I can see any letters, correspondence, whatever you’ve received,” she stated. “I think that will be huge.”

Current rules require the power of attorney form to be presented by fax or by mail. Practitioners can technically obtain authorizations online already as well, but the process currently requires the taxpayer(s) in question to have an IRS online account.

Collins also noted that the IRS may soon start processing electronically filed amended tax returns in under a week. The process currently takes up approximately 12 to 14 weeks.

She also discussed IRS’s Zero Paper Initiative under which physically filed paper returns are scanned, automatically converted to digital format, and processed as if they had been filed electronically. While Collins noted the initiative has sped up processing, it also increased the number of suspended returns due to minor errors, which had previously been corrected by IRS agents.

If you require assistance preparing a power of attorney or obtaining your IRS tax residency certification (Form 6166) for use abroad, do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail at info@apostille.us or by phone at (212) 233-7061. You can also place an order on our website. We can prepare the necessary documents and get them apostilled or authenticated for whatever country in which you need to present them.