Tax Information Authorization

Instructions for Form 8821

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

(Rev. February 2020)

Tax Information Authorization
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code
unless otherwise noted.

General Instructions
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 IRS.gov/
Form8821.

Reminder
Authentication Alert. When your appointee calls the
IRS, they must pass authentication procedures prior to the
IRS speaking to them about your tax information.

Purpose of Form

Form 8821 authorizes any individual, corporation, firm,
organization, or partnership you designate to inspect
and/or receive your confidential information verbally or in
writing for the type of tax and the years or periods you list
on Form 8821. Form 8821 is also used to delete or revoke
prior tax information authorizations. See the instructions
for line 6, later.
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 doesn’t authorize your appointee to speak
on your behalf; to execute a request to allow disclosure of
return or return information to another third party; to

advocate your position with respect to federal tax laws; to
execute waivers, consents, closing agreements; or
represent you in any other manner before the IRS. Use
Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of
Representative, to authorize an individual to represent
you before the IRS. The appointee may not substitute
another party as your authorized designee.
Authorizations listed on prior Forms 8821 are
automatically revoked unless you attach copies of your
prior Forms 8821 to your new submissions.

!

CAUTION

Your appointee is never allowed to endorse or
negotiate a taxpayer's refund check or receive a
taxpayer's refund via direct deposit.

Need a copy of tax return information? Go to IRS.gov/
Transcripts and click on either “Get Transcript Online” or
“Get Transcript by Mail” to order a copy of your transcript.
IRS transcripts of your tax return are often used instead of
a copy of the actual tax return to validate income and tax
filing status for mortgage applications, student and small
business loan applications, and during tax preparation.
You may also request transcript information by mail by
completing Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax
Return, or Form 4506T-EZ, Short Form Request for
Individual Tax Return Transcript. Alternatively, you may
call 800-908-9946 to order a transcript over the phone.
If you want a photocopy of an original tax return, use
Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return. There is a
fee for each return ordered, which must be paid with your
request.

Where To File Chart
IF you live in...
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
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
All APO and FPO addresses, American Samoa,
nonpermanent residents of Guam or the U.S. Virgin
Islands**, Puerto Rico (or if excluding income under
Internal Revenue Code section 933), a foreign country:
U.S. citizens and those filing Form 2555 or 4563.

THEN use this address...

Fax number*

Internal Revenue Service
5333 Getwell Road, Stop 8423
Memphis, TN 38118

855-214-7519

Internal Revenue Service
1973 Rulon White Blvd., MS 6737
Ogden, UT 84201

855-214-7522

Internal Revenue Service
International CAF Team
2970 Market Street
MS 4-H14.123
Philadelphia, PA 19104

855-772-3156
304-707-9785
(Outside the United
States)

* These numbers may change without notice. For updates, go to IRS.gov/Form8821 and search under “Recent Developments.”
** Permanent residents of Guam should use Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation, P.O. Box 23607, GMF, GU 96921; permanent residents of the
U.S. Virgin Islands should use V.I. Bureau of Internal Revenue, 6115 Estate Smith Bay, Suite 225, St. Thomas, VI 00802.

Jan 29, 2020

Cat. No. 66794Z

Appointee Address Change

When a properly executed Form 8821 is on file with the
IRS, your appointee can also get online tax information
through IRS.gov/eServices.

If your appointee's address changes, a new Form 8821
isn’t 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 of
address change.

Form 56. 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, not as a
representative. A fiduciary may authorize an individual to
represent or perform certain acts on behalf of the person
or entity by filing a power of attorney that names the
eligible individual(s) as representative(s) for the person or
entity. Because the fiduciary stands in the position of the
person or entity, the fiduciary must sign the power of
attorney on behalf of the person or entity.

Specific Instructions
Line 1. Taxpayer Information

Address information provided on Form 8821 will not
change your last known address with the IRS. To change
your last known address, use Form 8822 for your home
address and Form 8822-B to change your business
address.

When To File

Individual. Enter your name, TIN, and your street
address in the space provided. Don’t enter your
appointee's name or address information in the Taxpayer
information 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.

If you are submitting Form 8821 to authorize disclosure of
your confidential tax information for a purpose other than
addressing or resolving a tax matter with the IRS (for
example, for income verification required by a lender), the
IRS must receive the Form 8821 within 120 days of the
taxpayer’s signature date on the form. This 120-day
requirement doesn’t apply to a Form 8821 submitted to
authorize disclosure for the purpose of assistance with a
tax matter with the IRS.

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 the trust.

Where To File

If you check the box on line 4, mail or fax Form 8821 to the
IRS office handling the specific matter. Otherwise, mail or
fax Form 8821 directly to the IRS address according to the
Where To File Chart.

Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)

Trust. Enter the name, title, and address of the trustee,
and the name and EIN of the trust.

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).

Estate. Enter the name and address of the estate. If the
estate doesn't have a separate taxpayer identification
number, enter the decedent's SSN or ITIN.

Line 2. Appointee

Partnership Items

Enter your appointee's full name and mailing address.
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 doesn't assign CAF
numbers for employee plan status determination or
exempt organization application requests.

Tax matters partner. For partnership tax years
beginning prior to January 1, 2018, a tax matters partner
is authorized to perform certain acts on behalf of an
affected partnership. Rules governing the use of Form
8821 don’t replace any provisions of law concerning the
tax treatment of partnership items.
Partnership representative. For partnership tax years
beginning after December 31, 2017, unless the
partnership is an eligible partnership that has elected out
of the centralized partnership audit regime, the
partnership is required to designate a partnership
representative. The partnership representative (as defined
in section 6223(a)) has the sole authority to act on behalf
of the partnership under the centralized partnership audit
regime. The partnership representative doesn’t have to be
a partner; however, his or her actions will bind the
partnership and all partners of such partnership in
dealings with the IRS under the centralized partnership
audit regime.

If you want to name more than one appointee, check
the box on line 2, and attach a list of appointees to Form
8821. Provide the address, and requested numbers for
each appointee named.
Check the appropriate box to indicate if the appointee's
address, telephone number, or fax number is new since
the IRS issued the CAF number.
Penalties for unauthorized disclosures. Appointees
receiving tax information pursuant to a tax information
authorization may be subject to penalties for unauthorized
uses and disclosures of such information.
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Instructions for Form 8821 (Rev. 2-2020)

Line 3. Tax Information

column (a), and if applicable, enter the tax year(s) for the
penalty. Enter “NA” (not applicable) in column (b). You
don’t have to enter the specific penalty.
If the taxpayer is subject to penalties related to an
individual retirement account (IRA), enter “IRA civil
penalty” in column (a).

Authority to access electronic IRS records via Intermediate Service Providers. Your appointee is not
authorized to use an Intermediate Service Provider to
retrieve your confidential tax information indirectly from
the IRS unless you check the box on line 3. If you don’t
authorize the use of an Intermediate Service Provider,
your appointee can obtain your tax information directly
from the IRS by using the IRS e-Services Transcript
Delivery System.
Intermediate Service Providers are privately owned
companies that offer subscriptions to their software and/or
services that your authorized appointee can use to
retrieve, store, and display your tax return data (personal
or business) instead of obtaining your tax information
directly from the IRS through the IRS e-Services
Transcript Delivery System. Intermediate Service
Providers are independent of, and not affiliated in any way
with, the IRS, and the IRS has no involvement in your
appointee’s choice to obtain your tax information directly
from the IRS or use an Intermediate Service Provider to
indirectly obtain your tax information from the IRS.

Note. If Form W-2 is listed on line 3, then the appointee is
entitled to receive taxpayer notices regarding any civil
penalties and payments related 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 payments. For example,
if Form 1040 is listed, the appointee is entitled to receive
taxpayer notices regarding the failure-to-pay penalty.
Specific reference to those penalties and payments isn’t
required. However, any civil penalty or healthcare-related
payment that isn’t return-related, such as the section
4980H employer shared responsibility payment, the
annual fee for branded prescription drug sales under
section 9008 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or health
insurance provider fee under section 9010 of the ACA,
isn’t covered by the Form 8821 unless column (a)
references “civil penalties” or the name of a specific
penalty or payment.

Columns (a)–(c). Enter the type of tax information, the
tax form number, the years or periods, and the specific
matter. For example, you may list “Income, 1040” for
calendar year “2018” and “Excise, 720” for “2018” (this
covers all quarters in 2018).
For multiple years or a series of inclusive periods,
including quarterly periods, you may enter, for example,
“2017 thru 2019” or “2nd 2017-3rd 2018.” For fiscal years,
enter the ending year and month, using the YYYYMM
format.
Don’t 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/period and any tax years
or periods that have already ended as of the date you sign
the tax information authorization. You may also list future
tax years or periods. However, the IRS will not record
on the CAF system future tax years or periods listed
that exceed 3 years from December 31 of the year
that the IRS receives the tax information
authorization.

Column (d). Enter any specific information you want the
IRS to provide. Examples of column (d) information: lien
information, balance due amount, a specific tax schedule,
section 4980H employer shared responsibility payment
information, or a tax liability.
Enter “not applicable” in column (d) if you are not
limiting your appointee's authority to inspect and/or
receive all confidential tax information described in
columns (a), (b), and (c).
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 the same as
instructed on Form 8802.

Line 4. Specific Use Not Recorded on CAF

Generally, the IRS records all tax information
authorizations on the CAF system. However,
authorizations relating to certain issues or matters aren’t
recorded. Check the box on line 4 if Form 8821 is being
submitted for a specific use that the IRS will not record on
the CAF. Examples of specific uses not recorded include
but are not limited to the following:
1. Requests to disclose information to loan companies
or educational institutions.
2. Requests to disclose information to federal or state
agency investigators for background checks.
3. Requests for information regarding the following
forms:
a. Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification
Number;
b. Form W-2 Series;
c. Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate;
d. Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer
Identification Number;

Centralized Partnership Audit Regime.
Partnerships under the centralized partnership
CAUTION audit regime are required to designate a
partnership representative for each tax year; therefore, it
is recommended that a separate Form 8821 be completed
for each tax year.

!

Note. A Form 8821 for a future year will not be allowed
since a partnership representative would not have been
designated yet in a filed Form 1065.
You must enter the description of the matter, the tax
form number, and the future year(s) or period(s). If the
matter relates to estate tax, enter the date of the
decedent's death instead of the year or period. If the
matter relates to an employee plan, include the plan
number in the description of the matter.
If you appoint someone only with respect to a penalty
and interest due on that penalty, enter “civil penalty” in
Instructions for Form 8821 (Rev. 2-2020)

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If you are completely revoking the authority of the
appointee, state “revoke 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 notification of
revocation to the IRS office handling your case, using the
instructions above.

e. Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for
Abatement;
f. Form 966, Corporate Dissolution or Liquidation;
g. Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of
U.S. Information Returns;
h. Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement;
i. Form 1099 Series;
j. Form 1128, Application To Adopt, Change, or
Retain a Tax Year;
k. Form 2553, Election by a Small Business
Corporation; or
l. Form 4361, Application for Exemption From
Self-Employment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of
Religious Orders and Christian Science Practitioners.

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:
1. An officer having authority under applicable state
law to bind the corporation,
2. Any person designated by the board of directors or
other governing body,
3. Any officer or employee on written request by any
principal officer and attested to by the secretary or other
officer, and
4. Any other person authorized to access information
under section 6103(e)(1)(D), except for a person
described in section 6103(e)(1)(D)(iii) (bona fide
shareholders of record owning 1% or more of the
outstanding stock of the corporation).

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 5. Disclosure of Tax Information

The IRS will send copies of notices and communications
to no more than two appointees. If you check the box for
line 5a and the IRS has a prior Form 2848 or Form 8821
from you that authorized other appointees to receive
copies of notices and communications for the same tax
and tax years, the IRS will stop sending notices and
communications to the appointees designated on the prior
Form 2848 or Form 8821.

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.
If the Form 8821 covers matters under the centralized
partnership audit regime, Form 8821 can be signed by the
partnership representative (or designated individual, if
applicable).

Line 6. Retention/Revocation of Prior Tax
Information Authorizations

If the line 4 box is checked, skip line 6. If line 4 isn’t
checked, the IRS will automatically revoke all prior tax
information authorizations on file unless you instruct
otherwise. If you don’t want a prior tax information
authorization submission to be revoked, you must attach a
copy of the tax information authorization that you want to
retain and check the line 6 box.

For partnership tax years beginning after
December 31, 2017, the Bipartisan Budget Act of
CAUTION 2015, which repealed the TEFRA partnership
audit and litigation procedures and the rules applicable to
electing large partnerships and replaced them with a new
centralized partnership audit regime, has eliminated the
role of “tax matters partner” and replaced it with
“partnership representative.” Pursuant to Treasury
Regulations section 301.9100-22, a partnership can elect
to have the new regime apply to partnership returns for tax
years beginning after November 2, 2015, and before
January 1, 2018.

!

Revocation request. If you want to revoke a prior tax
information authorization without submitting a new
authorization, write "REVOKE" across the top of the
particular authorization that you want to revoke. Provide a
current taxpayer signature and date under the original
signature that was provided on line 7.
If you don’t have a copy of the tax information
authorization you want to revoke, and it isn’t a specific-use
authorization, send a notification to the IRS using the
corresponding address in the Where To File Chart. In the
notification:
1. State that the authority of the appointee is revoked,
2. List the name and address of each appointee
whose authority is being revoked,
3. List the tax matters and tax periods, and
4. Sign and date the notification.

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.
Trust. A trustee having the authority to bind the trust
must sign with the title of trustee entered. If the trust hasn’t
previously submitted a completed Form 56, Notice
Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, identifying the current

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Instructions for Form 8821 (Rev. 2-2020)

trustee, the trust must submit a Form 56 to identify the
current trustee.

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.

Estate. An executor having the authority to bind the
estate must sign. A Form 56 should be filed to identify the
executor. If there is more than one executor, only one
co-executor having the authority to bind the estate is
required to sign. See Regulations section 601.503(d).

You aren’t 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.

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.

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act
Notice

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.

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 don’t 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,

Instructions for Form 8821 (Rev. 2-2020)

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 send your comments from IRS.gov/FormComments.
Or you can send your comments to the Internal Revenue
Service, Tax Forms and Publications, 1111 Constitution
Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224. Don’t send
Form 8821 to this office. Instead, see the Where To File
Chart.

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