Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization

Plainly: this is one of the better fits for payroll providers and reporting agents. You complete a Form 8655 for every client, and the Reporting Agent block is the same each time. The client's details are not, so the earlier client's name, EIN, address and contact will carry too if they match: replace every one. If you complete a Form 8655 only once, the benefit is small.

irs.gov says "Use this form to authorize a reporting agent to:" "Sign and file certain returns;" "Make deposits and payments for certain returns;" and "Receive duplicate copies of tax information, notices, and other written and/or electronic communication regarding any authority granted;" and to provide the IRS with information to aid in penalty relief determinations. RepeatForm does not choose the authority for a client.

The form starts with the Taxpayer block (lines 1a to 8) and then the Reporting Agent block (lines 9 to 14). Line 15 asks you to "Indicate the tax return(s) to be signed and filed." Line 16 covers the returns for which the reporting agent may make deposits or payments. Line 17 requests duplicate notices, and line 18 is the disclosure authorization for the W-2, 1099, 3921 and 3922 series. Line 19 is for state or local returns. For the start periods the form gives the format, such as "YYYY/MM" for quarterly returns and "YYYY" for annual returns.

The taxpayer signs, and the form says "I certify I have the authority to execute this form and authorize disclosure of otherwise confidential information on behalf of the taxpayer." Its Who Must Sign section lists, for example, "Sole proprietorship. The individual owning the business." and "Trust or estate. The fiduciary." Read that section for corporations, partnerships and LLCs. RepeatForm cannot tell you who may sign.

The form says "An authorization does not relieve the taxpayer of the responsibility (or from liability for failing) to ensure that all tax returns are filed timely and that all federal tax deposits (FTDs) and federal tax payments (FTPs) are made timely." It also says "Any authority granted on Form 8655 does not revoke and has no effect on any authority granted on Form 2848 or 8821, or any third-party designee checkbox authority."

The form says "Once Form 8655 is signed, any authority granted is effective beginning with the period indicated on lines 15, 16, 18a, 18b, and/or 18c and continues indefinitely unless terminated or revoked by the taxpayer or reporting agent." To add authority it says "submit another signed Form 8655, completing lines 1–14 and any line on which you want to add authority." A new reporting agent ends the old one: "the filing of a new Form 8655 indicating a new reporting agent terminates the authority of the prior reporting agent beginning with the period indicated on the new Form 8655." The form's Terminating or Revoking an Authorization section has the steps to revoke.

The form has a Where To File section with the address. It says "You can fax Form 8655 to the IRS" and "When faxing Forms 8655, please send no more than 25 forms in a single transmission." Fax numbers and addresses can change, so use the current form and instructions at irs.gov.