How to Fill Out Form 2848: Signatures, Powers, and Submission

To fill out IRS Form 2848, you identify yourself on Line 1, name up to four representatives on Line 2, describe the exact tax matters and years on Line 3, grant or restrict specific powers on Lines 5a and 5b, decide whether to keep any prior authorization in place on Line 6, sign and date Line 7, and have each representative complete Part II with their designation and license number. The form only covers IRS matters and only works while you are able to sign it.¹

Filing a new Form 2848 automatically wipes out any prior power of attorney the IRS has on file for the same tax matters unless you take a specific step to preserve it. That single detail catches more people off guard than any other part of the form, so read Line 6 carefully before you sign.

What to Gather Before You Start

Every field on the form has to match what the IRS already knows about you and your representative. Missing information is the fastest route to a rejection notice.

Your full legal name, current mailing address, and Social Security Number, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or Employer Identification Number.
Your representative’s full name, mailing address, phone number, and Centralized Authorization File (CAF) number. If they don’t have a CAF number yet, enter “NONE” and the IRS will assign one. Include their Preparer Tax Identification Number if they have one.
The specific type of tax (income, employment, excise), the form number (1040, 941, 720), and the exact years or periods you want covered. “All years” or “all periods” will get the form rejected outright.²

Line 1: Taxpayer Information

Enter your full legal name and your SSN, ITIN, or EIN. For a business, use the company name and EIN. For a deceased taxpayer’s individual return, enter the decedent’s name and SSN along with the name, title, and address of the executor or personal representative.²

Your street address goes here as well. If it doesn’t match the address the IRS has on file, the form isn’t invalid, but processing can slow while the CAF unit reconciles the difference. Joint filers each need a separate Form 2848 even if both spouses are naming the same person.

Line 2: Naming Your Representative

List each representative’s name, address, phone number, fax number, and CAF number. You can name up to four representatives on one form. If you need more, write “See attached for additional representatives” to the right of Line 2 and attach additional copies of Form 2848.²

Below each representative’s address is a checkbox that controls whether the IRS mails that person copies of the notices and correspondence sent to you. Check the box for anyone you want kept in the loop. Only two representatives can be designated to receive copies of notices for the same tax matter.²

Line 3: Describing the Tax Matters

This is where most problems start. The IRS will only discuss issues that are explicitly listed on Line 3, so anything you leave out is off-limits to your representative. Fill in three columns: type of tax, form number, and year or period.

For individual income tax representation for three recent years, write “Income” in the tax type column, “1040” in the form number column, and “2023, 2024, 2025” in the year column. If you also need help with employment taxes, add a separate line for “Employment” and “941” with the relevant quarters.²

You can list the current year, any year that has already ended, and future years. The IRS will only record future years on the CAF system if they fall within three years of December 31 of the year the form is received. Broad references like “All years,” “All periods,” or “All taxes” get the form returned unprocessed.²

Lines 5a and 5b: Powers Granted and Withheld

By default, your representative can inspect your tax records, receive your confidential information, and sign agreements, consents, and waivers on the matters listed in Line 3. Several powers are held back unless you affirmatively grant them on Line 5a.²

Signing your tax return. Your representative cannot sign your return unless you check this box and include specific language referencing the applicable regulation. This is typically used when illness, absence from the country, or another valid reason prevents you from signing.
Substituting or adding another representative. Without this box checked, your representative cannot bring in a colleague or replacement on their own.
Disclosing your return information to a third party.
Accessing IRS records through an Intermediate Service Provider, which some electronic retrieval methods require.

One restriction cannot be overridden: representatives are never authorized to endorse or negotiate a government refund check, or to direct a refund payment into an account they control.²

Line 5b works in the opposite direction. Use it to take away powers your representative would otherwise have. You might write that the representative cannot sign closing agreements, or cannot delegate authority. Clear, specific language here prevents disputes later about what the representative was allowed to do.

Line 6: Prior Powers of Attorney

Filing a new Form 2848 automatically revokes every prior power of attorney recorded on the CAF system for the same tax matters and periods. If you already have one representative handling your 2023 income tax and now you’re adding a second representative for that same year, the first one gets wiped out unless you act.¹

To keep the prior representative in place, check the box on Line 6 and attach a copy of the earlier power of attorney you want to remain in effect. Check the box without attaching the copy and the IRS will reject the form.³

Line 7: Your Signature

The taxpayer signs first on Line 7. If a business is involved, the person signing must include their title (officer, partner, trustee). Omitting the title is a common rejection trigger. Both a signature and a date are required. A signature without a date, or a date without a signature, sends the form back.²

Part II: Representative Signature and Timing

Each representative then completes Part II by selecting a professional designation, entering their jurisdiction and license or enrollment number, and signing. Representatives sign in the same order they are listed on Line 2.²

Timing matters here. For domestic authorizations, the representative must sign within 45 days of the date the taxpayer signed. If the taxpayer lives abroad, the window extends to 60 days. If the representative signs first, which is less common, the taxpayer has no specific deadline.²

By signing Part II, the representative declares under penalties of perjury that they are not suspended or disbarred from practicing before the IRS and that they are subject to the rules in Circular 230.¹

Who Can Be Your Representative

Not everyone can be named on Form 2848, and the scope of what someone can do depends on their credentials.

Attorneys, CPAs, and Enrolled Agents have unlimited representation rights. They can represent you on any matter — audits, collections, appeals — whether or not they prepared the return.⁴

Tax preparers without those credentials have much narrower authority. Annual Filing Season Program participants can represent clients only before revenue agents, customer service representatives, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service, and only for returns they personally prepared and signed. They cannot handle appeals or collection matters. Preparers who hold only a PTIN and do not participate in the AFSP have essentially no representation rights for returns filed after 2015.⁴

Part II also covers enrolled actuaries, enrolled retirement plan agents, and qualifying students or law graduates in supervised programs. Each must enter their jurisdiction and their license or enrollment number. Missing that information is a frequent rejection cause.³

How to Submit the Completed Form

You have three options: online upload, fax, or mail. The choice affects how long the form takes to process.

The IRS offers two digital paths. Tax Pro Account processes authorizations in real time without paper forms and is currently available for individual power of attorney requests. The separate “Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 Online” portal lets you upload a completed PDF for both individuals and businesses, but those submissions go into the same manual processing queue as faxed and mailed forms.⁵ Both tools require identity verification through ID.me, which involves uploading a photo of a government ID and either taking a selfie or completing a video call with an agent.⁶

For fax and mail, the Instructions include a “Where To File” chart that assigns a fax number and mailing address based on your state of residence. Fax numbers change without notice, so check IRS.gov/Form2848 for the current list before sending. Faxing is generally faster than mailing.² Do not submit the same form online after faxing or mailing it, because duplicate submissions create processing confusion.⁷

Your representative will know the authorization is active once they start receiving copies of IRS correspondence about the authorized tax matters. To check proactively, the representative can call the Practitioner Priority Service at 866-860-4259, available to any tax professional with a valid third-party authorization on file.⁸ Until the CAF unit finishes recording the form, the IRS will not disclose your confidential tax information to the representative.

Why the IRS Rejects Form 2848

Most rejections are technical and easy to prevent if you know what the CAF unit is looking for:

Missing or undated signatures from either the taxpayer or the representative.
Vague tax periods on Line 3, such as “All Years” or “All future periods” instead of specific years.
Line 6 box checked to retain a prior authorization but no copy of that prior form attached.
No designation or jurisdiction listed in Part II.
Missing license or enrollment number. Attorneys need their bar number, CPAs need their certification number, and Enrolled Agents need their enrollment card number.
Missing business title when someone signs on behalf of an entity.³

A rejected form means your representative has no authority until you fix the errors and resubmit, so double-check every field before sending.

When Form 2848 Isn’t the Right Tool

Form 2848 only covers IRS matters. It doesn’t reach state tax agencies, courts, or other federal agencies.¹

It also requires the taxpayer’s signature, which means it only works while the taxpayer can sign. If someone becomes physically or mentally incapacitated, no one can complete a new Form 2848 on their behalf under the standard process. The IRS will accept a durable power of attorney executed under state law in that situation. The word “durable” means the document stays effective after the person who signed it loses the capacity to manage their own affairs.⁹

When a taxpayer dies, the power of attorney terminates. The executor or personal representative of the estate must file Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, to notify the IRS that they now have authority over the deceased person’s tax matters.¹⁰ The executor can then file a new Form 2848 to authorize a representative to handle the estate’s tax affairs.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Form 2848 (Rev. January 2021)
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 (Rev. September 2021)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Common Reasons for Power of Attorney (POA) Rejection
4
Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Tax Return Preparer Credentials and Qualifications
5
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Pro Account
6
Internal Revenue Service. How to Register for IRS Online Self-Help Tools
7
Internal Revenue Service. Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 Online
8
Internal Revenue Service. Practitioner Priority Service
9
Internal Revenue Service. Using a Durable Power of Attorney in Tax Matters
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship