Form 2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative

irs.gov says to use Form 2848 to authorize an individual to represent you before the IRS, and that the individual you authorize must be a person eligible to practice before the IRS. It also says that authorizing a qualifying representative allows that individual to receive and inspect your confidential tax information. The form itself carries a caution that it will not be honored for any purpose other than representation before the IRS. RepeatForm cannot tell you whether to appoint anyone or whom.

Part II of the form is the representative's declaration. It lists the designations a representative signs under: attorney, certified public accountant, enrolled agent, officer, full-time employee, family member (spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, step-child, brother or sister), enrolled actuary, unenrolled return preparer (limited authority), qualifying student or law graduate working in a low income taxpayer clinic, and enrolled retirement plan agent. The form says that if the declaration is not completed, signed and dated, the IRS will return the power of attorney. The instructions explain the limits of each designation.

The first page says: "A separate Form 2848 must be completed for each taxpayer." Line 1 holds the taxpayer's name, address, taxpayer identification number and phone, and the taxpayer must sign and date on page 2, line 7. Line 2 holds up to four representatives, and the form notes the IRS sends notices to only two. Line 3 is where you describe the matter, the tax form number and the years or periods, and it is required. Line 5a lists additional acts you can authorize, and line 5b lists acts the form says the representative is not authorized to do.

The IRS PDF is marked "Form 2848 (Rev. January 2021)". The About Form 2848 page on irs.gov links the current form and instructions, and lists a recent-developments note, "Items to consider while completing Form 2848," so check it before you start. irs.gov also links a page to submit Forms 2848 and 8821 online. RepeatForm does not supply the blank form: get it from irs.gov.

Part I covers the taxpayer, the representatives, the acts authorized, the specific-use box, additional acts and acts not authorized, and the taxpayer's signature. Part II is each representative's declaration, with a designation letter, licensing jurisdiction, license or enrollment number, signature and date. The form says representatives must sign in the order listed in Part I, line 2. RepeatForm does not choose any answer or decide which acts to authorize: read the IRS instructions line by line.