The IRS won’t share your records with anyone, including us, until you say so. Here’s how that works.
The two authorizations
| Form | What it allows | When we ask for it |
|---|---|---|
| Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization | We can see your IRS records, such as transcripts of your account and the income reported for you | At the start of your $79 investigation |
| Form 2848, Power of Attorney | An Enrolled Agent can represent you, sign requests and speak for you with the IRS | When we move to resolving what you owe, or right away if collection is active |
The fastest way: your IRS Online Account
- We send the request from our IRS Tax Pro Account to your IRS Online Account.
- You sign in to your IRS Online Account at IRS.gov and approve it. If you don’t have an account yet, the app walks you through creating one and verifying your identity with the IRS.
- The IRS processes it in real time. Once it’s approved, we can retrieve your records.
This route covers individual income tax matters for the last 20 years and up to three future years. It doesn’t cover business tax matters.
If you can’t use your Online Account
You can sign Forms 8821 and 2848 electronically in our app, and we upload them to the IRS. The IRS processes uploaded, faxed and mailed forms in the order it receives them, so this route takes longer.
What we do with access
We use it to retrieve your IRS records for the years covered and, with Form 2848, to represent you. Your authorization is listed in your IRS Online Account, and you can revoke it at any time.