IRS Plans Compliance Checks for Practitioners Filing POAs


The IRS intends to check the personal tax compliance history of practitioners filing Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative. Michael Chesman, director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), recently announced the new procedure and the Service confirmed the compliance checks for CCH on October 24. However, the IRS declined to indicate when the compliance checks would begin.


Power of Attorney


A power of attorney authorizes an individual to act as a representative for either an individual or an entity. Form 2848 is routinely executed by taxpayers and practitioners, Cindy Hockenberry, enrolled agent, National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP) explained. "The preparer wants to know when the IRS is contacting the taxpayer."



Speaking at the Tax Executives Institute's annual conference in Boston on October 20, Chesman said that the new compliance checks would be automatic for practitioners filing a power of attorney. The IRS will review if the practitioner has timely filed and paid his or her personal taxes, he indicated.



This new procedure "raises the bar" to make sure that individuals who represent taxpayers are compliant with their filing and tax obligations, Hockenberry noted. It also complements the IRS' efforts to make OPR more transparent.



Hockenberry also noted that the IRS performs a tax compliance check when an individual applies to become an enrolled agent. "An individual who is not compliant will not be granted enrolled agent status."