Limited representation rights before the IRS let a tax preparer who isn’t an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent speak for you in one specific situation: an examination of a return that preparer personally prepared and signed. The authority comes from completing the IRS Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP). A preparer who holds only a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), without the AFSP Record of Completion, can prepare your return but cannot represent you in any IRS proceeding.1Internal Revenue Service. Annual Filing Season Program
Who Has These Rights
Only one group of non-credentialed preparers qualifies: AFSP participants with a current Record of Completion. That completion has to be valid for two different years at once. It must cover the year the return was prepared, and it must also be current for the year the IRS opens the examination. If either lapses, the right to represent you disappears.1Internal Revenue Service. Annual Filing Season Program
Since January 1, 2016, PTIN holders without the AFSP credential or another recognized professional credential have had no representation authority whatsoever.1Internal Revenue Service. Annual Filing Season Program They can fill in the return. That’s the end of what they’re allowed to do for you with the IRS.
What a Limited Representative Can Do
An AFSP participant can appear before revenue agents, customer service representatives, and similar IRS employees, including the Taxpayer Advocate Service, during an examination of a return they signed.2eCFR. 31 CFR 10.3 – Who May Practice In practical terms, that covers office audit meetings, correspondence audits, and walking an examiner through the numbers, credits, and deductions on the return.
The preparer acts as both a factual witness and an advocate for the positions taken on the return. They know how the figures were reported, so they can explain them. This is the most common kind of IRS contact taxpayers actually face.
What limited practice does not include is general tax advice outside of preparing the return or responding during an examination.2eCFR. 31 CFR 10.3 – Who May Practice
What They Cannot Do
The boundary is firm once a matter leaves the examination stage. Unenrolled preparers cannot represent taxpayers before appeals officers, revenue officers, or IRS Counsel, even if they prepared the return in question.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 947 – Practice Before the IRS and Power of Attorney If your audit becomes an appeals dispute or turns into a collection matter, you need someone with full practice authority.
Limited representatives also cannot:3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 947 – Practice Before the IRS and Power of Attorney
- Execute closing agreements
- Extend the statutory period for tax assessments or collection
- Execute waivers
- Sign any document on your behalf
These are decisions that lock a taxpayer into a legal position, sometimes for years, so the authority to make them is reserved for credentialed practitioners.
How the Preparer Earns and Keeps the Credential
The AFSP is an annual credential. A preparer has to hold or renew a PTIN, which costs $18.75 and takes about 15 minutes online.4Internal Revenue Service. IRS Reminds Tax Pros to Renew PTINs for the 2026 Tax Season
Non-exempt preparers then complete 18 hours of continuing education from IRS-approved providers each year:5Internal Revenue Service. General Requirements for the Annual Filing Season Program Record of Completion
- A 6-hour Annual Federal Tax Refresher course covering filing season issues and law updates, ending with a knowledge-based test
- 10 hours on other federal tax law topics
- 2 hours of ethics
Preparers who previously passed the now-defunct Registered Tax Return Preparer test or certain recognized state or national competency exams are exempt from the six-hour refresher and its test. They need 15 hours: 10 in federal tax law, 3 in law updates, and 2 in ethics.6Internal Revenue Service. Publication 6026 Continuing education generally costs between $55 and $90 depending on the provider.
Authorizing Your Preparer With Form 2848
Before your preparer can represent you, you have to authorize them on Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 – Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative You supply identifying information for yourself and the preparer, including Social Security numbers or employer identification numbers.
Line 3, the Acts Authorized section, has to spell out exactly which tax forms and years the authorization covers. An entry might read “Income, 1040” for calendar year “2024.”7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 – Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative Only the years and forms you list are covered. If another year gets picked up later, you file a new form.
Your preparer completes Part II, the Declaration of Representative, by selecting Designation “h” for unenrolled return preparer and entering their PTIN.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 – Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative Use the current version of the form from IRS.gov, because outdated versions can be rejected or held up.
You can submit Form 2848 by fax, by mail to the appropriate Centralized Authorization File unit for your state, or online at IRS.gov/Submit2848.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 – Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative Faxed and mailed forms generally take several weeks to appear in the IRS system.
When Form 8821 Is Enough
Sometimes you don’t need representation, just access. If you want someone to pull transcripts, receive copies of IRS notices, or submit documents, Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, does that job. It grants no representation authority: the appointee cannot advocate for you, argue an issue, amend documents, or sign anything on your behalf.8Internal Revenue Service. Preparation of Forms 2848 and 8821 and Their Uses In exchange, Form 8821 can name any individual or organization, while Form 2848 is limited to people authorized to practice before the IRS.
Check the Preparer Before You Hire
The IRS keeps a public directory of preparers who hold professional credentials or a current AFSP Record of Completion. Search it at irs.treasury.gov by ZIP code with a search radius, or by last name.9Internal Revenue Service. Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications A “Credentials/Other” filter narrows the results to AFSP participants.
Only preparers with a valid PTIN and a recognized credential or current Record of Completion appear. If someone isn’t listed, they either lack the credential or their record hasn’t been updated yet; the IRS says updates can take up to four weeks to show.9Internal Revenue Service. Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications Checking this directory before you hire is the cleanest way to confirm the person can actually stand in for you if questions come up.
If Your Preparer Loses Authority Mid-Case
The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility oversees unenrolled preparers exercising limited representation rights and can censure, suspend, or disbar them for violations of the conduct rules in Circular 230. For you as the taxpayer, the practical consequence is simple: a suspended or disbarred preparer can no longer represent you. They may still come to an IRS meeting with you if you want, but only to answer factual questions. They cannot argue your case.10Internal Revenue Service. OPR – Frequently Asked Questions If that happens in the middle of an examination, you’ll need to bring in a new representative or handle the remaining meetings yourself.