What is the difference between Form 2848 and Form 8821?

Form 2848 authorizes an individual to represent you before the IRS and to receive your confidential tax information. Form 8821 only lets a person or organization inspect or receive your information, without representing you.

Who can be my representative?

Someone eligible to practice before the IRS, such as an attorney, CPA or enrolled agent, plus certain others listed in Part II: an officer or full-time employee of the taxpayer, certain family members, enrolled actuaries and retirement plan agents, qualifying students, and unenrolled return preparers in limited cases.

Can I write 'all years' on line 3?

No. The IRS rejects general references such as 'All years' or 'All taxes.' Future periods more than 3 years after December 31 of the year the IRS receives the form are not recorded.

Can my representative sign my tax return?

Only in limited cases you authorize on line 5a: disease or injury, continuous absence from the United States for at least 60 days before the due date, or other good cause with IRS permission.

How do I submit Form 2848?

Online at IRS.gov/Submit2848, which is required for electronic signatures, or by fax or mail to the address in the Where To File chart. Forms with handwritten signatures can be faxed or mailed.

Can I fill it in on this site for free?

Filling it in on screen is free. Downloading the completed PDF requires a paid plan, as with every tool on this site. The blank form is always free at irs.gov/Form2848.

Fill Out Form 2848 Online: IRS Power of Attorney (Step-by-Step)

Short answer: Form 2848 is the IRS power of attorney. It authorizes an eligible representative, usually an attorney, CPA or enrolled agent, to deal with the IRS for you on the tax matters and years you list. If you only want someone to see your tax information, use Form 8821 instead. The blank form is free on irs.gov; you can also fill it on screen here.

PDFConverter2 is an independent website. It is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency. This guide summarizes the official form (Rev. January 2021) and its instructions; it is not legal or tax advice. Your representative will usually know exactly how they want it filled; read the full instructions at irs.gov/Form2848.

Who can represent you

Part II lists who may sign as representative. The main designations are (a) attorney, (b) CPA, (c) enrolled agent, (d) officer and (e) full-time employee of the taxpayer, (f) family member (spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild and step-relatives), (g) enrolled actuary, (h) unenrolled return preparer, (k) qualifying student or law graduate in a tax clinic, and (r) enrolled retirement plan agent.

An unenrolled return preparer can represent you only for an examination of a return they prepared and signed, and only before revenue agents, customer service representatives and similar employees, not before appeals or collection officers.

Part I: filling it in

Line 1: your name, address and taxpayer identification number (SSN, ITIN or EIN), and a daytime phone.
Line 2: each representative's name, address, CAF number, PTIN and phone. Tick the box if they should receive copies of notices.
Line 3: the acts are limited to the matters you list. For each, give the description of matter (for example income tax), the tax form number (1040, 941 and so on) and the specific years or periods. The IRS rejects "all years" or "all taxes." Future periods more than 3 years after December 31 of the year the IRS receives the form are not recorded.
Line 4: tick only for a specific use not recorded on the IRS's Centralized Authorization File (CAF), such as an EIN application or a single claim. The form then goes to the IRS office handling that matter.
Line 5a: additional acts, for example authorizing a substitute representative, disclosure to a third party, or signing a return. A representative may sign your return only for disease or injury, continuous absence from the United States for at least 60 days before the due date, or other good cause with IRS permission.
Line 5b: acts you specifically exclude. Civil penalties are covered by line 3 unless you exclude them here.
Line 6: a new 2848 recorded on the CAF generally revokes earlier powers of attorney for the same matters. To keep them, tick the box and attach copies.
Line 7: your signature. A form you fax or mail needs a handwritten signature; electronic signatures are accepted only through the online submission.

Part II: the representative signs

Each representative enters their designation letter, jurisdiction and licence or enrollment number, and signs. If you sign first, the representative must sign within 45 days (60 days if you are abroad).

Common mistakes

"All years" or "all taxes" on line 3.
Using 2848 when 8821 would do, for example to let a lender or bookkeeper only receive transcripts.
Ticking line 4 for an ordinary ongoing matter that should be recorded on the CAF.
Revoking an earlier representative by accident on line 6.
An electronic signature on a faxed form.
The representative signing more than 45 days after you did.

Where to send it and what happens next

Submit online at IRS.gov/Submit2848, or fax or mail it to the CAF unit shown in the Where To File chart for where you live. Line 4 forms go to the IRS office handling the specific matter instead. Once recorded on the CAF, the representative can act on the listed matters and receive your information. Withdraw or revoke it later in writing.

Form 4506-T: a representative can sign it for you only if line 5 of the 2848 delegates that.
Form 8822 and Form 8822-B: a representative signing them attaches a copy of the 2848.

Filling it here

Press Fill out the form at the top of this page to open the official IRS PDF in our editor, in a new window. Fill Part I, sign line 7, and send it to your representative to complete Part II. Filling is free. Downloading the completed PDF requires a paid plan, the same as our other tools. Files are processed in memory and are not stored beyond the short window described in our privacy policy.