Signing Of 8879 By Both Spouses

[dyne]

It is my understanding that BOTH spouses must sign the form 8879 and other state
electronic authorization forms. This is tedious for many taxpayers as they must take the
form home to have the other spouse sign the form and bring it back to me. Am I correct?
I considered having both husband and wife sign a power of attorney authorizing either
spouse to sign the form 8879 for the other but this is complicated and tedious also. Is
there an alternative?

[Koss]

Signatures

There is no practical alternative that I know of.

Even a power of attorney may not be recognized as valid by the IRS, unless the power of attorney explicitly authorizes one spouse to sign a tax return for the other spouse.

Photocopies and scanned images are valid. So one option is to send the form to the absent spouse by fax or by e-mail, and then they send it back the same way after it is signed.

There are other possibilities out there. But I don't think they are very feasible for a small practice. A reading of the instructions for Form 8879 suggests that the IRS allows taxpayers to sign the return electronically, by personally entering a PIN. This is not the same as "authorizing" the ERO to "enter or generate" the PIN. But I'm not sure this option is fully functional, and actually available, in all the professional software packages. When the taxpayer selects this option, Form 8879 is still required, and apparently a signature is still required from the taxpayer, if the ERO is using the "Practitioner PIN method." So I'm admitting that I don't really get it.

But even if this method was fully functional, you would have to find a way for the taxpayer to personally enter his or her PIN-based signature without being present in your office. You would need to develop, or purchase and implement, some sort of secure web-based platform that would allow your client to "log in," review the return, and sign it electronically.

This is how many taxpayers sign their do-it-yourself returns. They authenticate by providing a prior year AGI and PIN. But it's a seamless process, because they are already "logged in" in the sense that they are filing electronically through the internet platform operated by the DIY software vendor. Getting a client connected to your office remotely is a bit more challenging.

HRB figured out a way to do this a few years ago, in their retail offices. I don't know if they are still offering it. It was meant for just this situation--the absent spouse--or cases where the client had a complex, "drop-off" tax return, and didn't want to come back to the office to complete the filing. HRB had a "sign online" option, where the tax pro would send a special e-mail to the client, that would allow them to log into a secure web platform, where they would actually have to go through the motions, or mouse clicks, of reviewing the return, and then sign it online with a PIN.

Notably, this option wasn't available for bank products (RAC or RAL). The bank still required a handwritten signature, from both spouses on an MFJ return, and physical inspection of identification documents at the office.

So, yes, I think there a ways of doing this, but they involve a lot of baggage. If you're going to screw around with a POA, it seems like it would be easier to just fax or scan/e-mail the form to the other spouse.

The use of the handwritten signature for authentication is dying a very slow and painful death.

Give it a few more years, and maybe your client will be able to sign the return online with a thumbprint reader or something...

BMK

[Gary2]

HRB figured out a way to do this a few years ago, in their retail offices. I don't know if they are still offering it. ...

Notably, this option wasn't available for bank products (RAC or RAL). The bank still required a handwritten signature, from both spouses on an MFJ return, and physical inspection of identification documents at the office.

It's still offered, and it is available for the RAC, in a sense. For a RAC, since it involves opening a bank account, the Patriot Act requires positive id. So both spouses must come into the office, have their id confirmed, and sign the pre-printed RAC documents. But once that's done (e.g. a drop-off return), they can still sign the return at home using the online PIN mechanism. It works for RACs because the fees are fixed, so the contract can be signed in advance. It wouldn't work for RALs, but they're irrelevant this year.

Note that not all states allow this method, due to various glitches in their regulations.

[DonPriebe]

The low-tech solution

My low-tech solution is to have the taxpayer review the return and sign the 8879, and then take it home. The absent spouse signs the 8879 at home, and ... mails it in to me in the SASE I provided.

A variant of this procedure also works when neither spouse is in my office. I mail the return and the 8879 to the clients and they sign it and mail it back to me. Along with their check.

Not to belabor the point, but I also have some clients who use the snail-mail system to get their papers to me in the first place.

Gasoline is currently $3.67 per gallon, but you can mail two pounds of paper for less than $5.00 with tracking included.

[oceanlovin'ea]

the majority of my clients that must take the 8879 home to their spouse send it back to me the next day. A few take longer to get it back to me. Some fax it to me.

One idea that makes them move faster is that I won't electronically file the return until I get it back. So if they want their refund fast they better sign that form and get it back to me fast.

I really don't consider this a major issue for me.

Linda EA

[dyne]

Thank You!

[taxxcpa]

Slow return of 88789s

Some clients will hod the 8879 for two or three weeks before returning it. If the IRS saw the date on the 8879 and compared to the date transmitted, it might look like I was holding them too long.
I got one the other day with a check paying me. I scanned the 8879 (dated about three weeks earlier) AND the check with the current date just in case I need to provide evidence that I had to wait to receive the 8879

[PIGLEE]

You can not e-file until you have the signed form, can be orginal, faxed or e-mailed copy. I heard at a conference once that he had efiled a return early, before he got the signed 8879, and that person died. OPPS. I refuse to efile until I get the signed forms. There are also other problems, they think of something else, etc.

[ChEAr$]

It is my understanding that BOTH spouses must sign the form 8879 and other state
electronic authorization forms. This is tedious for many taxpayers as they must take the
form home to have the other spouse sign the form and bring it back to me. Am I correct?
I considered having both husband and wife sign a power of attorney authorizing either
spouse to sign the form 8879 for the other but this is complicated and tedious also. Is
there an alternative?

Nope. Only if it is a joint return.

[Black Bart]

This is

...BOTH spouses must sign the form 8879...This is tedious...as they must take the form home to have the other spouse sign the form and bring it back to me...Is there an alternative (to POA)?

a problem for me too -- not a really serious one, but definitely an annoyance (sure do miss USPS doing the sendin'/trackin').

Like Don & Linda I give them the forms and a SASE to mail, fax, or drop in my outside box; most get it back pretty quick and I follow up in a week if not. I don't really believe IRS has/takes time to check up on our "holding" 8879s.

I agree with Burton that there's not much help for us Mom & Pop shops. My older clients (I've got lots) are definitely "low-tech" and most don't even have a computer. Talk about PINs 'n' Platforms and you might as broach nuclear physics. Most simply say "Let me take it to the house and I'll be back in a little bit" (which works fairly well).