Client Copy of the Return

[Jesse]

Where do I get an IRS efile acknowlegment that the return has been accepted? I see it in my software (ATX), but what can I print off for confirmation for the taxpayer?

After your return is accepted a Form 9325 should be generated by your software that will give the acceptance date for your client.

[Jesse]

I didn't understand this literally. My software prints my company name on the tax return. I always understood it to not have blanks where the preparer information goes.

This is my understanding as well. Several years ago, (2006 +/-), I believe you were required to sign the copy given to the client but then the requirement of the signature was removed, (or maybe I dreamt this?). The paid preparer name, address, and PTIN was and is still required.

[AJsTax]

Computer generated signature

is the same as hand signature for the tax preparer and ERO. The pin you enter for a pin protected signature is also the official signature for you and your client. You never have to sign in ink, as far as I can tell.
I was always taught that you should only sign the official filing copy of a return. You never know what might get changed on paper copies after they leave your desk. Althought the software prints my name automatically on the forms , so I guess I am in a way.

[taxea]

In a different thread, taxea wrote:



I agree that the client copy does not need to be signed by the preparer.

But they may have the right to a signed copy of Form 8879. I'd have to look that one up.

Student loan servicers and financial aid officers routinely require students and their parents to produce a signed copy of their tax return, and some have been known to insist that they produce a copy that is also signed by the preparer. I don't know whether they have any statutory authority to make such demands. But the reality is that they do. I'd love to hear about a case where the student complies by signing the tax form himself, but then says that he can't obtain the preaprer's signature because the preparer is out of business, or deceased...

I have seen some financial aid guidelines that are finally staggering into the 21st century, where it says that you can submit a signed copy of the e-file authorization, or declaration, or whatever it is called. That's Form 8879. And of course they still want the entire return, but they are acknowledging that the signatures may show up somewhere other than at the bottom of Form 1040.

But if you do a Google search, you'll find hundreds of references on financial aid websites at universities, stating that the student must submit a signed copy of their tax return.

They will accept signed documents that are marked with a "copy" stamp, or a watermark, which is available in almost all professional software now. So they do seem to recognize a distinction between a copy and an original...

BMK
I

In the case of the PITA financial aid people I tell my client to have them call me if they have a problem with the explanation given. I give it to them again but I think I have only received one call in all the years I have had this policy in place.
I am not willing to sign a copy of a filed return because I can not vouch for a return that may be manipulated by the client. If they want an accurate filed return then they can request a transcript from the IRS.

[AZ-Tax]

Paid Preparer's name printed in signature box?

"Must sign" is one of the listed requirements here:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/...120129,00.html

So what about those tax returns for which the paid preparer "typed" there name in the "preparer's signature" box?

I am looking at a new 2011 client for which her CPA who preparered her 2010 tax return printed his name in the Preparer's Signature box thus violating #8. The IRS link above is dated Jan 2011.

[BP.]

So what about those tax returns for which the paid preparer "typed" there name in the "preparer's signature" box?

I am looking at a new 2011 client for which her CPA who preparered her 2010 tax return printed his name in the Preparer's Signature box thus violating #8. The IRS link above is dated Jan 2011.

Printed vs wet sig is fine I believe.

[Koss]

No violation

Again, BP, this is not a violation because--

- the signature requirement is only applicable to the original return, and
- you are not looking at the original return.

I concede that clients and the media may not recognize this subtle point. But the fact is that there are two separate rules. One rule says you have to sign the tax return. The other rule says you have to give the client a copy of the return. It does not follow that the copy must be signed.

I will reluctantly concede that one could argue that the copy you give to the client is somehow not a complete and accurate copy if it does not include the signatures that appear on the original.

But on that reasoning, you would be required to get the taxpayer's signature (and even the spouse) before making a copy, in order to make sure that the copy has all the signatures that appear on the original.

Furthermore, if the return is e-filed, the "signatures that appear on the original" are not handwritten signatures. They are PINs.

The copy simply does not have to be signed. If it makes the tax pro or the client feel better, then there's no harm. But I do think it should be clearly marked as a COPY, so that some bonehead doesn't mail it in after the return has been e-filed.

BMK

[Gary2]

I concede that clients and the media may not recognize this subtle point. But the fact is that there are [i]two separate rules[/i.] One rule says you have to sign the tax return. The other rule says you have to give the client a copy of the return. It does not follow that the copy must be signed.

Agreed. This makes me think that basic logic, syllogisms, etc. should be part of the testing syllabus for the EA and RTRP exams. Or maybe just add the LSAT to the testing requirement.

Which is not to criticize experienced people who get this wrong. Usually it's not the lack of logic skills, but rather the lack of time that causes these misinterpretations in practice. And lack of time is pandemic.

[taxea]

"Must sign" is one of the listed requirements here:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/...120129,00.html

Doesn't that refer to the copy that gets filed with the IRS. It also says the preparer must provide you with a copy and if the return was efiled then the copy would contain that information.