IRS broadens Tax Pro Account for accounting firms and others

An expanded version of the Tax Pro Account provides business-level digital capabilities to professionals working for accounting firms, tax preparation companies, and other organizations, the IRS said Monday.

The enhancements give tax professional businesses that serve larger numbers of taxpayers more control over their centralized authorization file (CAF) relationship. With the new features, the IRS said, firms can set employee access levels, review client information tied to active authorizations, and withdraw authorizations directly through the platform.

The change does not affect sole proprietorships and other businesses that do not use CAF systems.

IRS CEO Frank Bisignano said in a news release that the expansion will help firms streamline operations and reduce paperwork.

Update details

Under the new release, designated business representatives can:

• Manage business CAF access and determine which employees are authorized to act on the firm’s behalf.
• Link the business CAF number to the company’s employer identification number through Tax Pro Account.
• View taxpayer information associated with the business CAF within the scope of active authorizations.
• View and withdraw active authorizations for the business.

The expansion builds on digital capabilities introduced in 2023 and 2024 that allowed individual practitioners to manage authorizations online and act on behalf of clients. This release extends those tools to firms that operate as business entities.

Background

Launched in July 2021, Tax Pro Account provides tax professionals with a secure online platform to manage authorization relationships, link or request CAF numbers, review client account information, and make payments or create payment plans on behalf of taxpayers.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Martha Waggoner at Martha.Waggoner@aicpa-cima.com.