IRS 8821, Tax Information Authorization Form

To permit another party to receive and audit confidential tax information, concerned party must file Form 8821 with the IRS. The other party can be an individual, a corporation, an organization, a firm, or a partnership.Download

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Form  	8821 	
(Rev. October 2012) 
Department of the Treasury 
Internal Revenue Service   	
Tax Information Authorization 	
▶ Information about Form 8821 and its instructions is at www.irs.gov/form8821.▶ Do not sign this form unless all applicable lines have been completed. 	  
▶ 	
To request a copy or transcript of your tax return, use Form 4506, 4506-\
T, or 4506T-EZ.	
OMB No. 1545-1165 For IRS Use Only 	Received by:Name TelephoneFunctionDate	
1 	Taxpayer information. Taxpayer must sign and date this form on line 7. 	
Taxpayer name and address (type or print) 	Taxpayer identification number(s)
Daytime telephone number 	Plan number (if applicable) 	
2 	Appointee. If you wish to name more than one appointee, attach a list to this form.\
 
Name and address 	
CAF No. 
PTIN 
Telephone No. 
Fax No. 
Check if new: Address 	Telephone No. 	Fax No. 	
3 	Tax matters. The appointee is authorized to inspect and/or receive confidential tax i\
nformation for  the tax matters listed on this 
line. Do not use Form 8821 to request copies of tax returns. 	
(a)  	Type of Tax  
(Income, Employment, Payroll, Excise, Estate,  Gift, Civil Penalty, etc.) (see instructions) 	(b) 
Tax Form Number  
(1040, 941, 720, etc.)	(c) 
Year(s) or Period(s) 
(see the instructions for line 3)	(d) 
Specific Tax Matters (see instr.)	
4  Specific  use not recorded  on Centralized  Authorization  File (CAF).  If the  tax information  authorization  is for  a specific 
use not recorded on CAF, check this box. See the instructions. If you ch\
eck this box, skip lines 5 and 6  ...... 	▶	
5	Disclosure of tax information (you must check a box on line 5a or 5b unless the box on line 4 is checked): 
a  If  you  want  copies  of tax  information,  notices, and other  written  communications  sent to the  appointee  on an ongoing 
basis, check this box  ................................. 	
▶	
Note. Appointees will no longer receive forms, publications and other related \
materials with the notices.
b  If you do not want any copies of notices or communications sent to your \
appointee, check this box  ....... 	
▶	
6 
Retention/revocation  of tax  information  authorizations.  This tax information  authorization  automatically  revokes all prior 
authorizations  for the  same  tax matters  you listed  on line  3 above  unless  you checked  the box  on line  4. If you  do not  want 
to  revoke  a prior  tax information  authorization,  you must  attach  a copy  of any  authorizations  you want  to remain  in effect 
and check this box  .................................. 	
▶	
To revoke this tax information authorization, see the instructions. 	
7 Signature of taxpayer. If signed by a corporate officer, partner, guardian, executor, receiver\
, administrator, trustee, or 
party other than the taxpayer, I certify that I have the authority to ex\
ecute this form with respect to the tax matters and tax 
periods shown on line 3 above.	
▶ IF NOT SIGNED AND DATED, THIS TAX INFORMATION AUTHORIZATION WILL BE RETU\
RNED. 
▶ DO NOT SIGN THIS FORM IF IT IS BLANK OR INCOMPLETE. 	
Signature 	Date 	
Print Name 	Title (if applicable) 	
PIN number for electronic signature 	
For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions. 	Cat. No. 11596P 	Form 	8821	 (Rev. 10-2012)

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Form 8821 (Rev. 10-2012) 	Page 	3 	
General Instructions 
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code  
unless otherwise noted. 
Future developments. For the latest information about 
developments related to Form 8821 and its instructions, 
such as legislation enacted after they were published, go 
to www.irs.gov/form8821. 
Purpose of Form 
Form 8821 authorizes any individual, corporation, firm,  
organization, or partnership you designate to inspect  
and/or receive your confidential information for the type 
of tax and the years or periods you list on Form 8821. 
You may file your own tax information authorization 
without using Form 8821, but it must include all the 
information that is requested on Form 8821. Form 8821 does not authorize your appointee to  
advocate your position with respect to federal tax laws; to 
execute waivers, consents, or closing agreements; or to 
otherwise represent you before the IRS. If you want to 
authorize an individual to represent you, use Form 2848, 
Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative. 
Use Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, to get 
a copy of your tax return. 
Use Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax 
Return, to order: (a) transcript of tax account information 
and (b) Form W-2 and Form 1099 series information.  Use Form 4506T-EZ, Short Form Request for Individual 
Tax Return Transcript, to request a tax return transcript 
for the current and three prior tax years that includes 
most lines of the original return. The transcript will not 
show payments, penalty assessments, or adjustments 
made to the originally filed return.
Use Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary 
Relationship, to notify the IRS of the existence of a 
fiduciary relationship. A fiduciary (trustee, executor, 
administrator, receiver, or guardian) stands in the  
position of a taxpayer and acts as the taxpayer.  
Therefore, a fiduciary does not act as an appointee and 
should not file Form 8821. If a fiduciary wishes to 
authorize an appointee to inspect and/or receive  
confidential tax information on behalf of the fiduciary,  
Form 8821 must be filed and signed by the fiduciary  
acting in the position of the taxpayer. 	
When To File 
Form 8821 must be received by the IRS within 120 days 
of the date it was signed and dated by the taxpayer. 
Where To File 
Generally, mail or fax Form 8821 directly to the IRS. See 
the  Where To File Chart, below. Exceptions are listed 
next. 
If Form 8821 is for a specific tax matter, mail or fax it to 
the office handling that matter. For more information, see 
the instructions for line 4. 	
Where To File Chart 	
IF you live in . . . 	THEN use this address . . . 	Fax Number* 	
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District 
of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, 
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New 
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, 
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,  South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, or West Virginia 	
Internal Revenue Service                      
Memphis Accounts Management Center  
PO Box 268, Stop 8423                        
Memphis, TN 38101-0268 	
855-214-7519 	
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, 
Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, 
Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, 
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, 
Washington, Wisconsin, or Wyoming 	
Internal Revenue Service                            
1973 N. Rulon White Blvd. MS 6737       
Ogden, UT 84404 	
855-214-7522 	
All APO and FPO addresses, American  Samoa, 
nonpermanent residents of Guam or the U.S. Virgin 
Islands**, Puerto Rico (or if  excluding income under 
section 933), a foreign country, U.S. citizens and 
those filing Form 2555, 2555-EZ, or 4563. 	
Internal Revenue Service                  
International CAF                                        
2970 Market St. MS 3-E08.123      
Philadelphia, PA 19104  	
855-772-3156	
*These numbers may change without notice. For updates to these fax numbe\
rs, go to  www.irs.gov/form8821.
**Permanent residents of Guam should use Department of Taxation, Governm\
ent of Guam, P.O. Box 23607, GMF, GU 
96921; permanent residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands should use: V.I. B\
ureau of Internal Revenue, 6115 Estate Smith 
Bay, Suite 225, St. Thomas, V.I. 00802.

Form 8821 (Rev. 10-2012) 	Page 	4 
Your appointee may be able to file Form 8821  
electronically with the IRS from the IRS website. For more 
information, go to IRS.gov. Under the for Tax Pros tab, go 
to Other Tools & Information and click on Use e-Services 
for Tax Pros. If  you complete Form 8821 for electronic 
signature authorization, do not file a Form 8821 with the 
IRS. Instead, give it to your appointee, who will retain the 
document. 	
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) 
A TIN is used to confirm the identity of a taxpayer and 
identify the taxpayer's return and return information. It is 
important that you furnish your correct name, social 
security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification 
number (ITIN), and/or employer identification number 
(EIN).
Partnership Items 
A Tax Matter Partner is authorized to perform certain acts 
on behalf of an affected partnership. Rules governing the 
use of Form 8821 do not replace any provisions of law 
concerning the tax treatment of partnership items. 
Appointee Address Change 
If your appointee's address changes, a new Form 8821 is 
not required. The appointee can provide the IRS with the 
new information by sending written notification of the new 
address to the location where the Form 8821 was filed. 
Your appointee must sign and date the written notice.
Specific Instructions 
Line 1. Taxpayer Information 
Individual. Enter your name, TIN, and your street 
address in the space provided. Do not enter your 
appointee’s address or post office box. If a return is a 
joint return, the appointee(s) identified will only be 
authorized for you. Your spouse, or former spouse, must 
submit a separate Form 8821 to designate an appointee.
Corporation, partnership, or association. Enter the 
name, EIN, and business address. 
Employee plan or exempt organization. Enter the 
name, address, and EIN or SSN of the plan sponsor/plan 
name, exempt organization or bond issuer. Enter the 
three-digit plan number when applicable. If you are the 
plan's trustee and you are authorizing the IRS to disclose 
the tax information of the plan's trust, see the instructions 
relating to trust.
Trust. Enter the name, title, and address of the trustee,  
and the name and EIN of the trust. 
Estate. Enter the name and address of the estate. If the 
estate does not have an identification number, enter the 
decedent’s SSN or ITIN. 
Line 2. Appointee 
Enter your appointee’s full name. Use the identical full 
name  on all submissions and correspondence. Enter the 
nine-digit CAF number for each appointee. If an 
appointee has a CAF number for any previously filed 
Form 8821 or power of attorney (Form 2848), use that 
number. If a CAF number has not been assigned, enter 
“NONE,” and the IRS will issue one directly to your 
appointee. The IRS does not assign CAF numbers to 
requests for employee plans and exempt organizations.  If you want to name more than one appointee, indicate 
so on this line and attach a list of appointees to Form 
8821. If more than two appointees are listed and you 
request copies of notices and communications be sent to 
your new appointees (see line 5), copies of notices and 
communications will be sent only to the first two 
appointees. 
Note. Because the IRS will send copies of notices and 
communications to no more than two persons, if you 
previously filed a Form 2848, Power of Attorney and 
Declaration of Representative, for the same tax matters 
and periods and you requested copies of notices and 
communications be sent to your representative(s) at that 
time, requesting your new appointee(s) receive copies of 
notices and communications may stop notices and 
communications from being sent to your authorized 
representative(s).
Check the appropriate box to indicate if either the 
address, telephone number, or fax number is new. 	
Line 3. Matters 
Enter the type of tax, the tax form number, the years or  
periods, and the specific matter. Enter “Not applicable,”  
in any of the columns that do not apply. 
For example, you may list “Income, 1040” for calendar 
year “2010” and “Excise, 720” for “2010” (this covers\
 all 
quarters in 2010). Multiple years or a series of inclusive 
periods, including quarterly periods, you may list 2008 
through (thru or a hyphen) 2010. For example, “2008 thru 
2010” or “2nd 2009-3rd 2010.” For fiscal years, enter the 
ending year and month, using the YYYYMM format. Do 
not use a general reference such as “All years,” “All 
periods,” or “All taxes.” Any tax information authorization 
with a general reference will be returned. 
You may list the current year or period and any tax 
years  or periods that have already ended as of the date 
you sign  the tax information authorization. However, you 
may include on a tax information authorization only future 
tax periods that end no later than 3 years after the date 
the tax information authorization is received by the IRS. 
The 3 future periods are determined starting after 
December 31 of the year the tax information authorization 
is received by the IRS. You must enter the type of tax, the 
tax form number, and the future year(s) or period(s). Only 
tax forms directly related to the taxpayer may be listed on 
line 3. If the matter relates to estate tax, enter the date of 
the decedent's death instead of the year or period.  
If you appoint someone only with respect to a penalty 
and interest due on that penalty, enter “civil penalty” in 
the description of matters column. If applicable, enter the 
tax year(s) for the penalty. Enter “NA” (not applicable) in 
the tax form number column. You do not have to enter 
the specific penalty.
Column (d). Enter any specific information you want the 
IRS to provide. Examples of column (d) information are: 
lien information, a balance due amount, a specific tax 
schedule, or a tax liability. Enter “not applicable” in 
column (d) if you are not limiting your appointee's 
authority to inspect and/or receive confidential tax 
information described in columns (a), (b), and (c).

Form 8821 (Rev. 10-2012) 	Page 	5 
For requests regarding Form 8802, Application for 
United States Residency Certification, enter “Form 8802” 
in column (d) and check the specific use box on line 4. 
Also, enter the appointee’s information as instructed on 
Form 8802. 
Note. If the taxpayer is subject to penalties related to an   
individual retirement account (IRA) (for example, a  
penalty for excess contributions) enter, “IRA civil penalty” 
on  line 3, column a. 
Note. If Form W-2 is listed on line 3, then the appointee 
may receive information regarding any civil penalties 
charged that relate to that Form W-2.
A Form 8821 that lists a particular tax return will also 
entitle the appointee to receive the taxpayer notices 
regarding any return-related civil penalties and a specific 
reference to penalties is not required.  However, any civil 
penalty that is not return-related is not covered by the 
Form 8821 unless it references “civil penalties” or a 
specific penalty is stated.	
Line 4. Specific Use Not Recorded on CAF 
Generally, the IRS records all tax information 
authorizations on the CAF system. However, 
authorizations relating to a specific issue are not 
recorded. 
Check the box on line 4 if Form 8821 is filed for any of 
the following reasons:
(a) requests to disclose information to loan companies or  educational institutions,
(b) requests to disclose information to federal or state  agency investigators for background checks, 
(c) application for EIN, or
(d) claims filed on Form 843, Claim for Refund and  Request for Abatement. 
If you check the box on line 4, your appointee  should 
mail or fax Form 8821 to the IRS office handling the 
matter. Otherwise, your appointee should bring a copy of 
Form 8821 to each appointment to inspect or receive 
information. A specific-use tax information authorization 
will not revoke any prior tax information authorizations. 
Line 6. Retention/Revocation of Tax 
Information Authorizations 
Check the box on this line and attach a copy of any tax 
information authorization you do not want to revoke. The 
filing of Form 8821 will not revoke any Form 2848 that is 
in effect. 
If you want to revoke an existing tax information  
authorization and do not want to name a new appointee,  
send a copy of the previously executed tax information  
authorization to the IRS, using the Where To File Chart, 
earlier. The copy of the tax information authorization must 
have a current signature of the taxpayer and date under 
the original signature on line 7. Write “REVOKE” across 
the top of Form 8821. 
If you do not have a copy of the tax information 
authorization you want to revoke, send a statement to the 
IRS. In the statement:
(a) indicate that the authority of the appointee is           revoked, (b) list the name and address of each recognized 
appointee whose authority is revoked,
(c) list the tax matters and tax periods, and
(d) sign and date the statement. If you are completely revoking the authority of the 
appointee, state “remove all years/periods” instead of 
listing the specific tax matters, years, or periods.
To revoke a specific use tax information authorization,  
send the tax information authorization or statement of  
revocation to the IRS office handling your case, using the  
above instructions. 	
Line 7. Signature of Taxpayer 
Individual. You must sign and date the authorization. If 
a joint return has been filed, your spouse must execute 
his or her own authorization on a separate Form 8821 to 
designate an appointee.
Corporation. Generally, Form 8821 can be signed by:
(a) an officer having authority under applicable state law  to bind the corporation, 
(b) any person designated by the board of directors or  other governing body, 
(c) any officer or employee on written request by any  principal officer and attested to by the secretary or 
other officer, and
(d) any other person authorized to access information  under section 6103(e)(1)(D), except for a person 
described in section 6103(a)(1)(D)(ii) (bona fide 
shareholders of record owning 1% or more of the 
outstanding stock of the corporation). 
Partnership. Generally, Form 8821 can be signed by 
any person who was a member of the partnership during 
any part of the tax period covered by Form 8821. See  
Partnership Items, earlier. If the Form 8821 covers more 
than one tax year or tax period, the person must have 
been a member of the partnership for all or part of each 
tax year or period covered by Form 8821. 
Employee plan. If the plan is listed as the taxpayer on 
line 1, a duly authorized individual having authority to bind 
the taxpayer must sign and that individual's exact title 
must be entered.
If the trust is the taxpayer, listed on line 1, a trustee 
having the authority to bind the trust must sign with the 
title of trustee entered. If the trust has not previously 
submitted a completed Form 56, Notice Concerning 
Fiduciary Relationship, identifying the current trustee, the 
trust must submit a Form 56 to identify the current 
trustee.
Estate. If there is more than one executor, only one 
executor having the authority to bind the estate is 
required to sign. See regulations section 601.503(d). 
All others. See section 6103(e) if the taxpayer has died, 
is insolvent, is a dissolved corporation, or if a trustee, 
guardian, executor, receiver, or administrator is acting for 
the taxpayer.

Form 8821 (Rev. 10-2012) 	Page 	6 	
Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act 
Notice 
We ask for the information on this form to carry out the 
Internal Revenue laws of the United States. Form 8821 
authorizes the IRS to disclose your confidential tax 
information to the person you appoint. This form is 
provided for your convenience and its use is voluntary. 
The information is used by the IRS to determine what 
confidential tax information your appointee can inspect 
and/or receive. Section 6103(c) and its regulations require 
you to provide this information if you want to designate 
an appointee to inspect and/or receive your confidential 
tax information. Under section 6109, you must disclose 
your identification number. If you do not provide all the 
information requested on this form, we may not be able to 
honor the authorization. Providing false or fraudulent 
information may subject you to penalties.We may disclose this information to the Department of 
Justice for civil or criminal litigation, and to cities, states, 
the District of Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths and 
possessions for use in administering their tax laws. We 
may also disclose this information to other countries 
under a tax treaty, to federal and state agencies to  enforce federal nontax criminal laws, or to federal law 
enforcement and intelligence agencies to combat 
terrorism.
You are not required to provide the information 
requested  on a form that is subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB 
control number. Books or records relating to a form or its 
instructions must be  retained as long as their contents 
may become material in the administration of any Internal 
Revenue law. 
The time needed to complete and file this form will vary 
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated  
average time is: Recordkeeping, 6 min.; Learning about 
the law or the form, 12 min.; Preparing the form, 24 
min.; Copying and sending the form to the IRS, 20 min. 
If you have comments concerning the accuracy of 
these time estimates or suggestions for making Form 
8821 simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You 
can write to Internal Revenue Service, Individual and 
Specialty Forms and Publications Branch, 
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526, 
Washington, DC 20224. Do not send Form 8821 to this 
address. Instead, see the Where To File Chart, earlier.