IRS launches 'Tax Pro Account' feature.

• Author: Strausfeld, Dave

The IRS has unveiled a new online feature known as the "Tax Pro Account," (available at www.irs.gov) the purpose of which, initially, is to automate the submission of powers of attorney (POAs) to authorize tax practitioners to represent individual taxpayers and tax information authorizations (TIAs) to view those taxpayers' accounts. But the IRS ultimately has bigger plans for the Tax Pro Account portal.

"Over time, additional functionality will be added for taxpayers and tax professionals that will increase the options for electronic interactions," the IRS's announcement about the Tax Pro Account feature said. The Service quoted Commissioner Chuck Rettig as saying, "This is the first, basic step toward a more fully integrated digital tax system that will benefit taxpayers, tax professionals, and the IRS."

Tax Pro Account, which is separate from e-Services, is intended to speed the time for obtaining authorizations to represent taxpayers. The digital submissions will go directly to the Centralized Authorization File (CAF) database and will not require manual processing by IRS personnel, the Service said. The digital POAs and TIAs are simpler versions of Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, and Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization.

Tax Pro Account does not replace other options for obtaining third-party authorizations, because POAs and TIAs will still be accepted by fax, mail, or the "Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 Online" portal--although all of these require manual processing, the Service said.

The new automated system has the advantage of being all-electronic with realtime processing. The basic steps for using Tax Pro Account to obtain authorizations to represent clients are as follows:

* The tax professional initiates the request for a POA or TIA by going...