Revoking a Power of Attorney or Tax Information Authorization With the IRS

You fired your accountant. You and your spouse divorced. The bookkeeper retired. In each case, the paperwork you signed with the IRS may still be sitting on the Centralized Authorization File, giving that person access to your tax information. Authorizations do not expire just because a relationship did. You have to take them back.

This guide covers revoking a Form 2848 power of attorney, revoking a Form 8821 tax information authorization, and how a representative withdraws.

Option one: let a new form do it

The simplest revocation is often automatic.

• Form 2848. Under the line 6 instructions, if the IRS records a new power of attorney on the CAF, it generally revokes any earlier power of attorney recorded for the same matter. If the new one is a specific-use form not recorded on the CAF, it revokes only an earlier power of attorney on file with the same office for the same matters.
• Form 8821. Under the line 5 instructions, if line 4 is not checked, the IRS automatically revokes all prior tax information authorizations on file unless you instruct otherwise.

So if you are replacing one representative with another for the same matters, the new form can do the work, as long as you leave the retention box unchecked. Note that filing a Form 2848 does not revoke a Form 8821 that is in effect. If you want both gone, deal with each.

Option two: revoke a Form 2848 without naming anyone new

The Form 2848 instructions describe the steps.

If you have a copy of the power of attorney:

1. Write "REVOKE" across the top of the first page.
2. Sign and date it below that annotation, with a current signature and date.
3. Mail or fax the annotated copy to the IRS using the Where To File chart in the instructions, or, if the power of attorney is for a specific matter, to the IRS office handling that matter.

If you do not have a copy: send the IRS a signed and dated statement of revocation that:

• indicates the authority of the power of attorney is revoked,
• lists the matters and years or periods, and
• lists the name and address of each recognized representative whose authority is revoked.

To revoke everything, write "revoke all years/periods" instead of listing specific matters and periods.

Option three: revoke a Form 8821

The Form 8821 instructions work the same way, with slightly different wording.

With a copy: write "REVOKE" across the top of the authorization you want to revoke and provide a current taxpayer signature and date under the original signature. Send it to the IRS using the Where To File chart.

Without a copy, and if it is not a specific-use authorization: send a notification to the IRS at the address in the Where To File chart that:

1. states that the authority of the designee is revoked,
2. lists the name and address of each designee whose authority is being revoked,
3. lists the tax matters and tax periods, and
4. is signed and dated.

For complete revocation, state "revoke all years/periods."

Specific-use authorizations are revoked by sending the authorization or the notice of revocation to the IRS office handling your case.

Where to send it

The Where To File chart in the instructions for both forms routes most taxpayers to one of two IRS offices by state of residence, with a third for international addresses. The IRS notes the fax numbers may change without notice and directs taxpayers to IRS.gov/Form2848 or IRS.gov/Form8821, under Recent Developments, for updates. Check those pages before you send.

The IRS's online submission page also says you can submit forms to revoke or withdraw an authorization. To revoke, the taxpayer writes "REVOKE" across the top of the form and signs and dates it, following the form instructions. Mailed or faxed revocations need a handwritten signature.

Keep proof of what you sent and when. See proof of mailing to the IRS.

When the representative is the one leaving

Representatives can end the relationship too. Under the Form 2848 instructions, a representative who wants to withdraw writes "WITHDRAW" across the top of the first page of the power of attorney, with a current signature and date below, and provides a copy to the IRS the same way a revocation is sent. A representative without a copy sends a signed and dated statement of withdrawal listing the matters and periods and the taxpayer's name, taxpayer identification number and address if known.

Practitioners using Tax Pro Account can withdraw from authorizations online in real time, according to the IRS.

If your representative withdraws, you are not left without options. You can represent yourself, file a new Form 2848 for someone else, or, if you qualify, seek help from a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic.

A sample revocation statement

If you do not have a copy of the original form, a short signed statement works. Something like this, adapted to your facts:

Statement of revocation. I, [your name], [SSN or EIN], [address], revoke the authority of [representative or designee name], [address], under the power of attorney (Form 2848) [or tax information authorization (Form 8821)] for the following matters and periods: [for example, Income, Form 1040, 2021 through 2024]. [Or: revoke all years/periods.] Signed, [signature], [date].

Send it to the address or fax number in the Where To File chart for the form type, or to the office handling a specific matter, and keep proof of delivery.

What revocation does not undo

Revocation works going forward. It does not recall information the IRS already disclosed while the authorization was in effect. What protects you there is the law on redisclosure: the Form 8821 instructions note that section 6103(c) limits the use and redisclosure of return information received under your consent and holds recipients subject to penalties for unauthorized use. If you believe a former designee misused your information, write down what happened and talk to an attorney.

Revocation also does not end your obligations in any open case. If a representative withdraws in the middle of an audit or collection matter, the deadlines keep running. Find out what is pending before the representative leaves, and get copies of your file.

After a death or a fiduciary appointment

When a taxpayer dies or a court appoints a guardian, conservator or similar fiduciary, the instructions point to Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship. A fiduciary stands in the position of the taxpayer and can sign a new power of attorney naming a representative for the estate or the person. If an old authorization should not continue, the fiduciary deals with it the same way the taxpayer would have.

Common mistakes

• Revoking the wrong form. If someone has both a Form 2848 and a Form 8821, revoking one does not revoke the other.
• Forgetting joint filers file separately. Each spouse signs his or her own authorizations. Each must revoke his or her own.
• Assuming the IRS will notify the old representative. Tell them yourself, in writing, so they stop acting for you.
• Leaving the retention box checked on a new form. If you check it and attach the old authorization, you are telling the IRS to keep it.

Revocation and a pending case

If you are revoking a representative in the middle of an audit, appeal or collection case, do two things at once. First, send the revocation, or file a new Form 2848 naming your new representative. Second, send a short letter to the IRS employee handling the case, with a copy of the revocation or new form, so that person knows who to contact. Calling the employee to confirm receipt is reasonable. Until the change is recorded, the IRS may still contact the old representative, so tell the old representative too.

A good habit

Once a year, ask yourself who has authority over your IRS account. If you are not sure, find out. The CAF number guide explains how, including a FOIA request for your CAF records. Then revoke anything you no longer need. Your tax information is confidential by law. Revocation is how you keep it that way.