Form 8655: Reporting Agent Authorization Coverage and Filing

Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, is the IRS form you use to let a payroll service or tax firm sign and file your federal employment tax returns, make your federal tax deposits, and receive related IRS notices. You complete the two-page form, sign it as someone with authority to bind the business, and fax or mail it to the IRS in Ogden, Utah. Once processed, the authorization runs indefinitely until you revoke it or name a replacement agent.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization

What the Authorization Covers

Form 8655 grants four specific powers: signing and filing designated tax returns, making federal tax deposits and payments, receiving duplicate copies of IRS notices tied to those returns, and providing information the IRS may use in penalty relief decisions on those returns.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization

It does not make your agent your legal representative. A reporting agent cannot request penalty abatement, represent you in an audit or collections case, sign consents extending the IRS’s assessment period, negotiate an installment agreement, waive tax adjustments, or receive refund checks for you.2Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agents File (RAF) Tips and Tricks For any of that, you need Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative.

Which Returns and Payments You Can Assign

The form separates authority to file from authority to pay.

For signing and filing, you can list Form 940 (annual federal unemployment), Form 941 (quarterly employment tax), Form 943 (agricultural employees), Form 944 (annual small-employer employment tax), Form 945 (withheld federal income tax), Form 1042 (withholding on foreign persons), and Form CT-1 (railroad retirement).3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization

For deposits and payments, the list adds Form 720 (quarterly excise tax), Form 1041 (estates and trusts), Form 1120 (corporate income tax), Form 990-PF (private foundations), and Form 990-T (exempt organization business income) on top of every return above.3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization Check only the boxes for returns your agent will actually handle.

Filling Out the Form

Download the January 2024 revision from IRS.gov. Work through it in order.

Lines 1 Through 14: Business and Agent Details

Enter your business’s legal name as it appears on your federal filings, any trade name, your Employer Identification Number, and your primary business address. Then enter the reporting agent’s legal name, EIN, address, and phone number. A transposed digit in either EIN can cause the IRS to reject the form, so verify both against IRS records before submitting.

Line 15: Signing and Filing Authority

Check the box for each return the agent will sign and file, then enter the beginning tax period. Quarterly returns like Form 941 use YYYY/MM where the month is the last month of the quarter, so the first quarter of 2026 is “2026/03.” Annual returns like Form 940 use just the year, “2026.”3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization The authorization runs forward indefinitely from that period.

Line 16: Deposit and Payment Authority

Check which returns the agent will make deposits for, then enter the starting month in YYYY/MM format. August 2026 is “2026/08.”3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization The date format differs from line 15 because deposits happen monthly. A month entered later than intended means any deposits the agent makes before that date aren’t authorized.

Lines 17 Through 19: Notices and Penalty Information

These lines let you authorize the agent to receive duplicate copies of IRS notices, correspondence, and transcripts on the authorized returns, and to provide information for penalty relief determinations. Check only what matches your arrangement.

Who Can Sign

The signer must have legal authority to bind the business. The IRS specifies who qualifies by entity type:3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization

  • Sole proprietorship: the individual owner.
  • Corporation, or LLC taxed as one: an officer with authority to bind the corporation, a person the board designates, or an officer or employee acting on a principal officer’s written request.
  • Partnership, or LLC taxed as one: any person who was a member during any part of the tax period covered.
  • Single-member LLC treated as a disregarded entity: the owner.
  • Trust or estate: the fiduciary, such as an executor or trustee.

An unauthorized signature voids the form. When in doubt, have the owner or a principal officer sign. Add your title and the date next to your signature.

Where to Send It

Fax or mail the signed form to the IRS unit in Ogden, Utah. There is no online submission option.3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization

  • Fax: 855-214-7523
  • Mail: Internal Revenue Service, Accounts Management Service Center, MS 6748 RAF Team, 1973 North Rulon White Blvd., Ogden, UT 84404

Fax is faster and is what most payroll providers use. Keep the confirmation page or mailing receipt as proof.

Reporting agents are required to file returns electronically and make deposits through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), and they need a reporting agent PIN to e-file for you.3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization Those are the agent’s requirements to handle on their end. The IRS still recommends you enroll in EFTPS yourself so you can verify deposits.

Changing or Ending the Authorization

The authorization has no expiration date. Three ways to change it:

  • Replace the agent. Filing a new Form 8655 with a different agent automatically revokes the prior agent’s authorization starting with the period on the new form. The prior agent keeps disclosure authority for earlier periods unless you separately revoke it.4Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agents File (RAF)
  • Reduce the agent’s authority. Send a signed written request to the Ogden address above stating what authority to remove.3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization
  • Revoke entirely. Send a copy of the original form to the same address, re-sign under the original signature, and write “REVOKE” across the top. If you don’t have a copy, send a written statement identifying the agent and the authorization to revoke.3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization

To expand an existing authorization, such as adding Form 943 to an agent who already handles Form 941, file a new Form 8655 completing lines 1 through 14 plus the lines granting the added authority. You don’t need to revoke the old form first.3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization

You’re Still Liable for the Taxes

Authorizing an agent to file returns and make deposits does not shift legal responsibility to the agent. If your reporting agent misses a filing or fails to deposit, the IRS holds you liable for the penalties and interest.3Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Agent Authorization

The IRS requires the agent to spell this out in writing when you sign a services agreement and at least once each quarter afterward, reminding you that the authorization doesn’t relieve you of the duty to file and deposit on time. The agent is also required to recommend you enroll in EFTPS so you can independently confirm deposits are being made.5Internal Revenue Service. Technical Specifications Guide for Reporting Agent Authorization and Federal Tax Depositors

If trust fund taxes go unpaid, the IRS can assess the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty against any individual it treats as responsible for collecting and paying over those taxes. Corporate officers, directors, partners, and certain employees can all face personal liability, and Form 8655 does not insulate you.6Internal Revenue Service. Liability of Third Parties for Unpaid Employment Taxes Check EFTPS regularly. Silence from your payroll provider is not confirmation that deposits are posting.