Form 2848, signature.

[Safire]

Do we have to see the person sign this form, or can it be taken to a person, signed and brought back to us?

[Koss]

Signatures

As far as I know, the IRS does not require witnessing of any signature on any IRS form.

In certain cases, IRS regs or instructions may require that a document be notarized, or that a document must be a certified copy. For example, in a correspondence audit, if the IRS requests a copy of a birth certificate, they will not accept a "baptismal certificate" issued by a church, and they probably won't accept a noncertified document from the hospital. They want the birth certificate issued by the state or the county, with the seal.

I work with nonresident aliens who apply for an ITIN, and there are some special requirements that apply to copies of identification documents submitted by mail with the Form W-7, and to translations of foreign birth certificates and marriage licenses.

But these are not IRS forms. These are forms issued by another agency, and submitted to the IRS.

If someone knows of an exception, or a specific set of guidelines, I'm always open to constructive criticism. But I don't think the IRS ever requires a witness or notary for any IRS tax form. An IRS tax form is a form published by the IRS, with a form number and an OMB number. Form 2848 is a tax form.

Form 2848 could be signed by the tax pro, then mailed to the client, then signed by the client, and then mailed by the client directly to the IRS. I don't recommend this, but it would not be a violation of any regs.

There are witness and ID requirements for some documents used for "bank products," i.e., refund anticipation loans, and programs that allow the prep fee to be deducted from the refund. If you have a securities license and you perform transactions for your client in a brokerage account, then you have a whole other body of regulatory baggage to deal with. Any time a financial institution gets involved, it will trigger PATRIOT Act requirements, not to mention NASDAQ, SEC, and state requirements.

But it doesn't apply to tax forms.

There is also no requirement to obtain identification from the client for electronic filing of the tax return.

It may be a good idea. And if the client is paying with a check or a credit card, it may be a standard business practice at some firms.

But the simple fact is that a client can bring me all the stuff I need to prepare a tax return for his 84 year old grandmother who is bedridden, and then he can take the Form 8453 to her, have her sign it, and bring it back to me. If he pays me with his personal check, I may ask for his identification. But I don't have to meet her, and I don't have to see her ID. This is simply not required by the IRS. And no, he doesn't have to have a power of attorney. He's not signing her tax return or Form 8453. If I refuse to file the return electronically because I believe there is a regulation that doesn't really exist, he can take the paper return home, have his grandmother sign it, and then mail it. This is no different than the signature on Form 8453.

At some point due diligence enters into the picture. If certain documents or behavior appear to be suspicious, I may insist on talking to the client or actually meeting her. Or I may simply refuse to prepare the return. But the requirement is common sense. It isn't regulatory or statutory.

Burton

[Safire]

Thanks Burton, what just what I needed to koow.