IRS Code 960 Appointed Representative: Form 2848 Filing and Powers

To appoint a representative before the IRS on a Code Section 960 matter, you file Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, naming an attorney, certified public accountant, or enrolled agent and listing the exact tax type, form number, and tax years the foreign tax credit dispute covers. The form is the same one used for any other IRS controversy; what makes an IRS Code 960 appointed representative different is the specialization you should look for and the care needed on the line that describes the matters at issue.

Section 960 lets a U.S. parent corporation claim credit for foreign income taxes paid by its controlled foreign corporations when those earnings are included in the parent’s U.S. taxable income, typically through subpart F income or GILTI. Disputes commonly turn on how foreign taxes were allocated across income categories, which is why the appointment itself is worth getting right.

Who Can Represent You on a Section 960 Matter

The IRS limits full practice rights to attorneys, certified public accountants, and enrolled agents, along with enrolled actuaries and enrolled retirement plan agents within their specialty areas.¹ Each must be in good standing and not under suspension or disbarment from IRS practice.²

For a Section 960 matter, an attorney or CPA with international tax experience is the realistic choice. Enrolled agents handle many IRS disputes well, but the foreign tax credit calculations under Section 960 involve layered corporate structures and treaty analysis that fall in the domain of international tax specialists.

Unenrolled preparers who complete the Annual Filing Season Program have limited rights: they can represent only clients whose returns they personally prepared and signed, and only before revenue agents, customer service representatives, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Preparers holding only a PTIN cannot represent clients at all for returns prepared after December 31, 2015.³ Neither category is suited to a Section 960 examination.

Form 2848 or Form 8821

Two authorizations exist, and they do different things. Form 2848 authorizes your representative to advocate, negotiate, sign documents, argue facts and law, and receive your confidential tax information for the matters you specify.¹ Form 8821 only allows someone to inspect your confidential tax information; it does not authorize them to represent you or act on your behalf.⁴

If you need someone to handle correspondence, attend meetings, or respond to audit notices about your Section 960 credits, Form 2848 is the right form. Form 8821 fits when you only want an advisor to pull transcripts or review your account.

A third, narrower option exists. The third-party designee checkbox on your tax return lets you name someone the IRS can contact about processing questions for that specific return; the authorization expires one year after the return’s due date and covers only basic issues like missing information or math errors.¹ It is not the right tool for a substantive Section 960 dispute.

Completing Form 2848 Without Getting Rejected

Download the current version of Form 2848 from the IRS website; outdated versions are rejected.⁵ The form has seven lines and a declaration section, and rejections almost always trace to the same handful of errors.

Line 1: Taxpayer Information

Enter your full legal name, current address, and taxpayer identification number. For a corporate Section 960 filer, use the Employer Identification Number. Any mismatch with what the IRS has on file causes rejection. The address on Form 2848 does not change your last known address with the IRS.⁶

Line 2: Representative Information

List each representative’s name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and CAF number. The CAF (Centralized Authorization File) number is a nine-digit identifier the IRS assigns the first time a representative files any third-party authorization.⁷ A representative who has never had one writes “NONE,” and the IRS assigns one when processing the form.

You can also check the box directing the IRS to send copies of notices and communications to your representative. On a Section 960 dispute, doing so is almost always the right call.

Line 3: Tax Matters

This is the line that causes most rejections. You must identify the specific tax type, form number, and tax periods your representative is authorized to handle. For a Section 960 issue on a corporate return, that typically means “Income” as the tax type, “1120” as the form number, and each tax year at issue listed individually. Entries like “All Years” or “All Future Periods” will be rejected.⁸

The authorization covers only what you list. If a dispute later expands to include additional years, you will need a new or amended Form 2848 to cover them.

Line 5a: Specific Acts You Have to Spell Out

A standard power of attorney already covers attending meetings, receiving notices, signing extensions, and arguing your position. Some actions require you to check Line 5a and describe the authority in writing:

Signing your tax return, allowed only when you are unable to sign due to disease or injury, continuous absence from the United States for at least 60 days before the filing deadline, or with specific IRS permission for other good cause.⁶
Accessing your records through an Intermediate Service Provider (a third-party data service the representative uses to retrieve IRS information indirectly).⁶
Substituting or adding another representative.
Authorizing disclosure of your tax information to third parties.
Signing Form 907, which extends the government’s time to bring suit.

Line 7 and the Declaration: Signatures

Both you and your representative must sign. Missing signatures are the single most common rejection reason. If a business entity is the taxpayer, the signer includes their title. The representative signs the Declaration of Representative and must include their designation (attorney, CPA, enrolled agent, and so on), jurisdiction, and license or enrollment number. Leaving any of those fields blank triggers rejection.⁸

Where to Submit the Form

You can file electronically, by fax, or by mail. The IRS processes forms in the order received regardless of method, but electronic submissions through the Tax Pro Account receive real-time processing for individual taxpayer authorizations.⁹

Fax and mail submissions go to one of three IRS CAF processing centers based on the taxpayer’s location:⁶

Memphis, TN (fax: 855-214-7519) for states east of the Mississippi, plus Arkansas and Louisiana.
Ogden, UT (fax: 855-214-7522) for states west of the Mississippi and Wisconsin, minus Arkansas and Louisiana.
Philadelphia, PA (fax: 855-772-3156) for international authorizations, U.S. territories, and APO/FPO addresses.

Fax numbers can change without notice, so check the IRS site before sending. For a corporate Section 960 matter with international elements, consider whether the Philadelphia international CAF team should handle the form.

What the Appointment Lets Your Representative Do

Federal law gives you the right to stop any IRS interview and consult a representative. If you tell the interviewing officer at any point that you want to speak with an attorney, CPA, enrolled agent, or other authorized representative, the officer must suspend the interview immediately, even if you have already answered questions.¹⁰

Once a valid Form 2848 is on file, the IRS generally cannot require you to attend interviews in person; your representative can appear alone. The exception is a formal administrative summons directed at you personally.¹⁰ In a Section 960 examination, which often involves detailed factual questions about foreign subsidiary operations and intercompany transactions, sending your representative in your place matters.

Changing or Ending the Appointment

A power of attorney stays in effect until you revoke it or your representative withdraws.¹ There is no automatic expiration.

To revoke, you have two options. Filing a new Form 2848 naming a different representative for the same tax matters and periods automatically revokes the prior authorization. If you want to end the prior authorization without appointing anyone new, write “REVOKE” across the top of the first page of the original Form 2848, sign and date it, and send it to the appropriate CAF unit.¹¹

If you no longer have the original, send a signed, dated written statement identifying the tax matters, periods, and the name and address of each representative whose authority you are revoking. “Revoke all years/periods” works for a clean slate.¹¹

Two details catch filers. If you check the Line 6 box to keep an existing representative while adding a new one, you must attach a copy of the prior power of attorney identifying the retained representative; failing to do so is a common rejection reason.⁸ And filing a new Form 2848 does not revoke any Form 8821 tax information authorizations on file; those are tracked separately.¹¹

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Internal Revenue Service. Power of Attorney and Other Authorizations
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eCFR. 31 CFR 10.3 – Who May Practice
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Internal Revenue Service. Annual Filing Season Program
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 – Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
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Internal Revenue Service. What Is a CAF Number?
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Internal Revenue Service. Common Reasons for Power of Attorney (POA) Rejection
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Internal Revenue Service. Tax Pro Account
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7521 – Procedures Involving Taxpayer Interviews
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 (09/2021)