What This Letter Means

Letter 861C tells you the IRS couldn't process an authorization as submitted. It covers Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, and the authorization on Form 706, the estate tax return. Until the problem is fixed, the IRS can't record that authority on its Centralized Authorization File (CAF).

The letter can go to the taxpayer or to the representative, depending on what's missing. Problems with the representative's part of the form usually go to the representative. For international authorizations, the letter goes to the representative.

Common Reasons

  • Taxpayer signature or date missing.
  • An electronic signature sent by mail or fax. Electronic signatures are accepted only through the IRS's approved online submission channel.
  • Representative signature, date, designation, or licensing jurisdiction missing.
  • Tax years or periods missing, or for business matters, the type of tax and form number missing.
  • A page missing, or the form illegible or incomplete.
  • Individual and business matters combined in a way the IRS can't process on one form.
  • A Form 2848 revision older than October 2011.
  • A Form 8821 naming yourself as the designee. You don't need a Form 8821 to get your own tax information.

If the form listed several representatives and only one had a problem, the IRS may have processed the others already.

What to Do

  • Read the reason given in the letter.
  • Complete a new, corrected form. Fill in every required item.
  • Sign and date it properly, then resubmit it.
  • Keep a copy of what you send.

Deadlines

Letter 861C has no legal deadline. But until the authorization is on file, the IRS won't deal with your representative on those periods. Deadlines in your underlying tax matter keep running. Fix the form quickly.

If you need a representative recognized by the IRS on your case, call us at (813) 229-7100.