How to Sign a Tax Return as Power of Attorney: Form 2848

You can sign another person’s federal tax return under a power of attorney only in three situations the IRS recognizes: the taxpayer has a disease or injury that prevents them from signing, the taxpayer has been continuously outside the United States for at least 60 days before the filing due date, or the IRS has given you specific written permission for other good cause. Learning how to sign a tax return as power of attorney means meeting one of those three conditions, filing Form 2848 with the right box checked and the right statement written in, and signing the return itself in the format the IRS expects. Convenience is not a qualifying reason, and a general financial power of attorney by itself does not authorize this act.¹

The Three Qualifying Reasons

Treasury regulations limit return-signing authority to these circumstances:

Disease or injury that leaves the taxpayer physically or mentally unable to sign.
Continuous absence from the United States (including Puerto Rico) for a period of at least 60 days before the return’s due date.
Other good cause, if you request and receive written permission from the IRS.

Representing someone in an audit, pulling their transcripts, or answering IRS notices falls within ordinary power of attorney authority. Signing the return itself is narrower, and the document you rely on must specifically authorize you to sign returns.¹

Do You Need Form 2848, a Durable POA, or Both

Form 2848 is the IRS’s own power of attorney, and the taxpayer normally signs it themselves. A durable power of attorney is a separate document, usually drafted by an estate planning attorney, that stays in force after the principal becomes incapacitated.

If the taxpayer can still sign, they sign Form 2848 directly, and that is the only authorization the IRS needs. If the taxpayer is already incapacitated and cannot sign a new Form 2848, a pre-existing durable POA fills the gap: the agent named in that document can complete and sign Form 2848 on the taxpayer’s behalf, and both documents get submitted together.²

For this to work, the durable POA has to cover federal tax matters. Broad language authorizing the agent to “perform any and all acts that the principal could, but for their incapacity” is sufficient. Explicit reference to federal taxes is better. Most durable POAs will not identify the specific tax type, form number, or years, which is expected; the agent fills those details in on the Form 2848 they sign on the taxpayer’s behalf.²

Filling Out Form 2848 to Authorize Signing

Ordinary Form 2848 authority does not include signing returns. You have to add it. On line 5a, check the “Sign a return” box, and write a statement identifying which of the three qualifying reasons applies. The instructions call for language along these lines: “This power of attorney is being filed pursuant to 26 CFR 1.6012-1(a)(5), which requires a power of attorney to be attached to a return if a return is signed by an agent by reason of [your specific reason].”³

Elsewhere on the form, you list the taxpayer’s identifying information and the specific tax matters covered: the form number (Form 1040 for individual income tax, for example), each applicable tax year, and a description of the matter. Your authority is limited to exactly what you list, so be precise.⁴

Signing a Paper Return

On a paper return, the signature line needs to show both who the taxpayer is and why your name appears there. Write the taxpayer’s name in the signature space, then sign your own name after it followed by an indication of your role, such as “attorney-in-fact” or “agent.” Attach the completed Form 2848 (or a copy of the private power of attorney) to the return so IRS processors can verify your authority when the return is opened.⁵

One consequence of signing worth understanding before you do it: both the taxpayer and the agent are legally responsible for the return as filed, including liability for penalties if it turns out to be erroneous, false, or fraudulent.¹

E-Filing as the Agent

Electronic returns are signed with a five-digit personal identification number rather than a handwritten signature. The self-select PIN can be any five digits other than all zeros.⁶

If a tax practitioner is transmitting the return, the practitioner PIN method lets you authorize the practitioner to enter or generate the PIN. That authorization goes on Form 8879, IRS e-file Signature Authorization, which you (as the taxpayer’s authorized agent) sign before transmission.⁶

The power of attorney still has to reach the IRS. You have two ways to get it there: attach a scanned PDF of the POA to the electronic return before it is transmitted, or mail it using Form 8453, U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return. If you mail Form 8453, send it within three business days after you receive confirmation that the IRS accepted the e-filed return. The same process applies whether you are using Form 2848 or a private power of attorney.⁷⁸

Joint Returns When One Spouse Cannot Sign

Joint returns normally need both signatures. When one spouse physically cannot sign because of disease or injury, the able spouse can sign the incapacitated spouse’s name in the proper place, followed by “By [their own name] Husband” or “By [their own name] Wife,” and then sign in their own right below. A dated statement must be attached identifying the return, the tax year, the reason the other spouse could not sign, and confirmation that the incapacitated spouse consented to the signing.¹

When Your Authority Ends

A power of attorney terminates when the taxpayer dies. If the person you were authorized to represent passes away before the return is filed, you can no longer sign under the POA. Responsibility shifts to the personal representative of the estate, meaning the executor or administrator named in the will or appointed by the court.⁹

For a joint return when one spouse has died, the surviving spouse signs in their own right. If no personal representative has been appointed, the surviving spouse writes “Filing as surviving spouse” in the signature area. If a personal representative has been appointed, that person signs alongside the surviving spouse.⁹

A durable power of attorney also ends at death, even though it survives incapacity. Naming a personal representative in the taxpayer’s will closes what would otherwise be a gap between the end of your authority and the filing of the final return.

1
eCFR. 26 CFR 1.6012-1 – Individuals Required to Make Returns of Income
2
Internal Revenue Service. Using a Durable Power of Attorney Rather Than a Form 2848 in Tax Matters
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 – Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
4
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
5
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 – Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
6
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 255, Signing Your Return Electronically
7
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8453 – U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return
8
Internal Revenue Service. VITA/TCE Volunteer Resource Guide – Return Signature
9
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 356, Decedents