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TAX PRACTICE & PROCEDURES
Updates and guidance on key
IRS practice developments.
Editor: How to submit third-party of Attorney and Declaration of Representa-
Uzell T. Freeman-Williams, CPA authorization forms online tive, or Form 8821, Tax Information Au-
(and use ID.me) thorization, online, rather than using the
Author: As if contacting the IRS by telephone traditional methods of mailing or faxing
Ellen Brody, CPA, J.D., LL.M. for assistance was not already difficult in such forms.
enough, the recent pandemic shutdowns This column first discusses ID.me
made it almost impossible to accom- and then describes how practitioners
plish any basic task that required IRS can use the “Submit Forms 2848 and
assistance. Well aware of this problem, 8821 Online” portal to send clients’
the government, to its credit, has been third-party authorization forms to the
making more and more services avail- IRS. The Service also has created a
The IRS strives able online so that a practitioner need separate, all-digital, non–form-based
not sit on the telephone on hold for
method, through Tax Pro Account, for
to expand online hours waiting for the inevitable recorded tax professionals to initiate a request
service offerings message to “try again later.” Allowing for a third-party authorization from
online access to taxpayers’ confidential
their account that is then sent to the
while balancing information through new online ser- client’s online account for an electronic
convenience with vices, of course, must be balanced against signature. This column, however, focuses
the fear of hackers and identity theft.
on how to upload the forms themselves
the need to keep With this concern in mind, the IRS in using the “Submit Forms 2848 and 8821
taxpayer data safe November 2021 announced the launch Online” portal.
from hackers. of an improved identity verification and ID.me
sign-in process to obtain secure access
to the IRS’s online tools. The Service The IRS’s initial intention was that
announced that for this purpose it would by the summer of 2022, ID.me would
be using a third-party technology pro- replace the old system and usernames
vider, ID.me. currently in place to log in to IRS online
The new, mobile-friendly verifica- services. The old system was going to
tion procedure through ID.me was remain available as a parallel access
designed to allow taxpayers and their method until then, after which everyone
representatives easy access to valuable would be forced to create an ID.me
online services, including the Child Tax account in order to access any online
Credit Update Portal, Online Account, services. These plans have changed PHOTO BY SEAN GLADWELL/HEMERA/THINKSTOCK
Get Transcript Online, Get an Identity because of a controversy over the use of
Protection PIN (IP PIN), and Apply biometric verification.
Online for a Payment Plan. The IRS In order to use ID.me, as the Service
also created a portal for tax professionals explained back in November, taxpayers
who want to submit a Form 2848, Power and practitioners had to first establish
40 October 2022 The Tax Adviser
