IRS postpones effective date of new procedures for consents to disclose

Rev. Proc. 2013-19, issued Wednesday, delays the date that taxpayer consents to disclose and consents to use tax return information must contain the mandatory language recently issued in Rev. Proc. 2013-14. The original effective date of Jan. 14, 2013, has been moved back to Jan. 1, 2014.

Taxpayer consents to disclose obtained in 2013 may contain the language issued in Rev. Proc. 2008-35 or the language from Rev. Proc. 2013-14. After Dec. 31, 2013, the mandatory language of Rev. Proc. 2013-14 must be used. The IRS did not reveal why it is pushing back the effective date.     

Rev. Proc. 2013-14, released last December, provides guidance to tax return preparers about the format and content of taxpayer consents to disclose and consents to use tax return information, and it modified the mandatory language required on each taxpayer consent. The guidance applies to individuals filing a return in the Form 1040 series. The revenue procedure also lists specific requirements for electronic signatures when a taxpayer executes an electronic consent to the disclosure or consent to the use of the taxpayer’s tax return information. The rules of Rev. Proc. 2013-14 are discussed more fully in “Mandatory Language for Consents to Disclose, Use Taxpayer Information Modified.”

—Sally P. Schreiber (sschreiber@aicpa.org) is a JofA senior editor.