Fax Signed Electronically Ssn with airSlate SignNow

Add Money Transfer Agreement Template electronically sign

(whooshing) (upbeat music) Hello, I'm Cheri Freeh, CPA, CGMA, and I'm with the firm Hutchinson Gillahan and Freeh P.C. On this episode of the "Tax Section Odyssey" series, I'm here to discuss with you the new online submission process for submitting power of attorneys, or POAs, and tax information authorizations. As a background, Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, is used to authorize an individual to represent a taxpayer before the IRS. Additionally, the authorization will also allow that individual to receive, and inspect, the taxpayer's confidential tax information. Form 8821, Tax Authorization, is used to authorize any individual, corporation, firm, organization, or partnership to inspect and/or receive a taxpayer's confidential information verbally, or in writing, the type of tax, and the years or periods listed on the form. Generally, these completed forms are recorded on the Centralized Authorization File, or CAF. There are three CAF units which process these authorizations. Once recorded, IRS assistors have permission to speak about a taxpayer's private tax information with the representative or appointee. Historically, submitting and processing these authorization forms is done using paper and pen. Tax professionals typically complete the forms, and either have the taxpayer sign them in person, or alternatively will print, sign, scan, and email the form to the taxpayer. And the taxpayer will print, sign, scan and email or mail the form back to the practitioner. Once all signatures are obtained, the practitioner will either mail or fax the completed form to the IRS. In practice, commonly practitioners will fax the form while on hold with the Practitioner Priority Service line. The Taxpayer First Act, TFA, which was signed into law on July 1st 2019, required the IRS to provide digital signature options for submitting Forms 2848 and 8821. The Director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, Sharyn Fisk, wrote in the IRS newsletter, "A Closer Look" on November 19th, 2020, that the IRS is working towards moving to an online submission process for these forms, as well as incorporating electronic signature options into the submission process. In January 2021, the new irs.gov submission platform titled "Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 Online" was launched. To use the online option, users log in with their Secure Access unique username, password and security code. After answering a few questions about the form, such as what type of form is to be submitted, whether the document was electronically signed, the taxpayer's Social Security Number, Employer Identification Number, or Individual Identification Number, an image of the form can be uploaded and submitted. Once submitted, a success notification will appear. From here, users can either exit the tool or submit another form. As long as the session remains active users will not have to go through Secure Access again. It's important to note that only one form will be able to be submitted at a time. To submit multiple forms, select the "submit another form" option on the final screen. Also, representatives should not submit a form online if they've already submitted it by fax or mail. Also note that although electronic signatures are permitted for use on the forms submitted through the online platform, they are still not permitted on mailed or faxed forms. This new irs.gov third-party authorization submission process will not be the only electronic option for Forms 2848 and 8821. In the summer of 2021, the IRS plans to launch a platform called Tax Professional Online Account. Tax professionals will be able to electronically initiate and sign an online third party authorization form which will transfer to the client's IRS online account. Clients could then access their personal IRS account and electronically sign the document. The document will post directly to the CAF database immediately with no wait time and no backlog. Even after both new processes launch, the IRS will still accept mailed or faxed Forms 2848 and 8821. Therefore, in summary, by the summer of 2021, four options will be available for submitting these forms: by mail, by fax, using the Secure Access portal, and through the Tax Professional Online Account. But again, because of the risk of fraud, IRS does not plan to accept electronic signatures on mailed or faxed authorization forms. Although the new submission process using Secure Access will not eliminate the reviewing and processing time by the CAF staff, it does allow taxpayers and their representatives to eliminate the need for in-person meetings to sign forms, or the hassle of using procedures for scanning, and printing forms. The IRS has answers to commonly asked questions in the form of FAQs on the website platform. So be sure to bookmark the page, to refer to the guidance, and to the platform itself. A link is provided in the description areas below. On behalf of the AICPA Tax Section, this has been Cheri Freeh with Hutchinson Gillahan & Freeh P.C, and I hope you enjoyed this episode. We highly recommend you to visit the Tax Section website to find more tax resources. Thank you for listening. (upbeat music) In closing, thank you for joining in on this "Tax Section Odyssey" episode. The AICPA Tax Section is your go-to source for technical content, guidance and resources designed specifically for CPA tax practitioners like you in mind. For more, Visit us at aicpa.org/tax. (upbeat music)