10 pitfalls: FTB tips on avoiding POA declaration setbacks.

• Author: Reynolds, Bob
• Position: CA Tax - Power Of Attorney - Franchise Tax Board

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The Franchise Tax Board has noticed 10 common pitfalls on power of attorney (POA) declarations submitted to its revamped MyFTB platform that result in rejections.

To help ease the process and get you closer to successfully submitting a POA, we'll share the top 10 reasons the FTB rejects online POAs--and three ways to edit or remove a representative for security reasons.

Top 10 Reasons for Rejection

The most common missteps have to do with ensuring information matches across all forms and entries. While entering information, keep these rejection reasons in mind:

1. The information entered online doesn't match the attached declaration. (The information must exactly match the POA declaration.)

2. The taxpayer has not signed the attached POA form.

3. Specific tax years (Part 4) are missing or incorrect.

4. The box titled "Authorization for All Years" (Part 3) was checked online, while the attached POA lists specific tax years (Part 4).

5. The box titled "Authorization for All Years" (Part 3) was checked online, and the attached POA lists both "Authorization for All Years" (Part 3) and specific tax years (Part 4).

6. The attached POA lists additional representatives; however, these representatives weren't entered online. (You must enter all representatives listed, not just the primary representative.)

7. Incorrectly inputting married individuals, who are considered two separate taxpayers. (You must enter each spouse separately online and attach his or her respective POA, according to California and IRS requirements.)

8. Your email address is missing. (Remember, the FTB will no longer send paper notices to the POA representative.)

9. The POA isn't filed by the Key Corporation if it's being filed for a combined group of corporations that files a single combined return. For more information regarding the Key Corporation and POAs, see Schedule R-7, Terms and Conditions.

10. Fiscal tax years must match the filing period on the tax returns. This is critical for short period tax years.

The FTB will notify the taxpayer if the POA was rejected. You can determine that the POA was rejected if the taxpayer's POA doesn't show up in your MyFTB Client List between 15 and 30 days.

Three Ways to Protect Clients

When a representative leaves a firm or no longer represents the taxpayer, it's important to remove that person from the POA so he or she no longer has access to a client's account information. Amending a representative is the primary...