Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Form 8821 is the Tax Information Authorization. It lets a designee inspect and receive your confidential tax information for the tax types and periods you list. The instructions say it does not authorize a designee to represent you, which is the job of Form 2848.
Related reading on this site: IRS Letter 4883C (identity verification by phone), IRS Letter 5747C (in-person identity verification), IRS Letter 5071C (online identity verification) and IRS Letter 12C (request for more information).
Form lines read one part at a time: Form 2848 lines 1 and 2, Form 2848 lines 3 to 7 and Form 2848 Part II.
What Form 8821 does
The instructions open with the purpose: “Form 8821 authorizes any individual, corporation, firm, organization, or partnership you designate to inspect” “and/or receive your confidential information verbally or in writing for the type of tax and the years or periods you list on Form 8821.” The same passage adds “Form 8821 is also used to delete or revoke prior tax information authorizations.”
The form header marks the boundary: “Don’t use Form 8821 to request copies of your tax returns or to authorize someone to represent you.” The instructions list what is not authorized: “Form 8821 doesn’t authorize your designee to speak on your behalf; to execute a request to allow disclosure of return or return information to another third party; to advocate your position regarding federal tax laws; to execute waivers, consents, closing agreements; or represent you in any other manner before the IRS.”
The alternative for representation is named: “Use Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, to authorize an individual to represent you before the IRS.” A refund is also outside the designee’s reach: “A designee is never allowed to endorse or negotiate a taxpayer’s refund check or receive a taxpayer’s refund via direct deposit.”
The lines, one to six
The form has six numbered lines, each with a stated job.
| Line | As printed on the form |
|---|---|
| Line 1 | “Taxpayer must sign and date this form on line 6.” |
| Line 2 | “If you wish to name more than two designees, attach a list to this form.” |
| Line 3 | “Each designee is authorized to inspect and/or receive confidential tax information for the type of tax, forms, periods, and specific matters you list below.” |
| Line 4 | “If the tax information authorization is for a specific use not recorded on CAF, check this box.” |
| Line 5 | “If the line 4 box isn’t checked, the IRS will automatically revoke all prior tax information authorizations on file unless you check the line 5 box and attach a copy of the tax information authorization(s) that you want to retain” |
| Line 6 | “IF NOT COMPLETED, SIGNED, AND DATED, THIS TAX INFORMATION AUTHORIZATION WILL BE RETURNED.” |
For line 1 on a joint return, “If a return is a joint return, the designee(s) identified will only be authorized for you.” “Your spouse, or former spouse, must submit a separate Form 8821 to designate a designee(s).”
For line 2, “Enter the nine-digit CAF number for each designee.” When none exists, “If a CAF number has not been assigned, enter “NONE,” and the IRS will issue one directly to your designee.” On notices, “You may not designate more than two designees on Form 8821 to receive copies of notices and communications sent to you by the IRS for the same matter(s).”
Tax matters and years on line 3
Line 3 asks for the tax type, the form, the years and the specific matter. The instructions give an example for an income tax authorization of the type, form and year to enter. They also bar general references such as all years, all periods or all taxes: “Any tax information authorization with a general reference will be returned.”
On timing, “You may list the current year/period and any tax years or periods that have already ended as of the date you sign the tax information authorization.” “You may also list future tax years or periods.” For estate matters, “If the matter relates to estate tax, enter the decedent’s date of death instead of the year or period.”
Column (d) narrows the access: “Enter any specific information you want the IRS to provide.” Online access through a software provider needs its own check mark: “Your designee is not authorized to use an Intermediate Service Provider to retrieve your confidential tax information indirectly from the IRS unless you check the box on line 3.”
Receipt window, filing and signature
The receipt rule depends on the purpose: “If you are submitting Form 8821 to authorize disclosure of your confidential tax information for a purpose other than addressing or resolving a tax matter with the IRS (for example, for income verification required by a lender), the IRS must receive the Form 8821 within 120 days of the taxpayer’s signature date on the form.” “This 120-day requirement doesn’t apply to a Form 8821 submitted to authorize disclosure for the purpose of assistance with a tax matter with the IRS.”
| Item | As printed in the instructions |
|---|---|
| Receipt window | “the IRS must receive the Form 8821 within 120 days of the taxpayer’s signature date on the form” |
| Future years | “However, the IRS will not record on the CAF system future tax years or periods listed that exceed 3 years from December 31 of the year that the IRS receives the tax information authorization.” |
| Corporate signer, shareholders of record | “Any other person authorized to access information under section 6103(e)(1)(D), except for a person described in section 6103(e)(1)(D)(iii) (bona fide shareholders of record owning 1% or more of the outstanding stock of the corporation).” |
For filing, if the line 4 box is not checked, the instructions offer three options: online (“Submit your Form 8821 securely at IRS.gov/Submit8821.”), fax, or mail to the IRS address in the Where To File Chart. If you check the box on line 4, the instructions say to mail or fax Form 8821 to the IRS office handling the specific matter. On signatures, “You must handwrite your signature on Form 8821 if you file it by mail or by fax.” For an individual, “If a joint return has been filed, your spouse must execute his or her own authorization on a separate Form 8821 to designate a designee.”
For the IRS pointer page on the form, see the IRS page about Form 8821.
Revoking and replacing an authorization
Replacement is automatic unless line 4 is checked: “Authorizations listed on prior Forms 8821 are automatically revoked unless you attach copies of your prior Forms 8821 to your new submissions.” For a specific use not recorded on the CAF, the instructions say “A specific-use tax information authorization will not revoke any prior tax information authorizations.” On line 5, “If you want to revoke a prior tax information authorization without submitting a new authorization, write “REVOKE” across the top of the authorization you want to revoke.” “Provide a current taxpayer signature and date under the original signature.”
When the copy is gone, “If you are completely revoking a designee’s authority, state “revoke all years/periods” instead of listing the specific tax matters, years, or periods.”
Which revision applies
The editions read for this page are Form 8821 (Rev. January 2021) and the Instructions for Form 8821 (Rev. September 2021), which are the revisions irs.gov served when they were read on 2026-10-17. Check the revision printed on the form you are signing, because a later revision can change the line layout, the filing options and the signature rules.
Common mistakes
- Using Form 8821 when a representative is needed. The instructions say it “doesn’t authorize your designee to speak on your behalf”
- Listing every year in one phrase. The instructions say “Any tax information authorization with a general reference will be returned.”
- Sending a new authorization without the old one attached. The instructions say “Authorizations listed on prior Forms 8821 are automatically revoked unless you attach copies of your prior Forms 8821 to your new submissions.”
Related: Form 2848, Form 4506-T, Form 56, Form 1040, Form 706, Form 1041 for estates, and first-time penalty abatement.
Sources
- Form 8821 (Rev. January 2021), Tax Information Authorization: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8821.pdf
- Instructions for Form 8821 (Rev. September 2021): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8821.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.