Form 8821

Form 8821 Troubleshooting Guide

Form 8821 Troubleshooting Guide, Last Updated: July 31, 2024
If your Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, has been rejected by the IRS, there may have been a typo or an oversight during the onboarding process.

‍To ensure accuracy, please take a moment to review the data you provided and double-check your details against the relevant source documents.
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You will need:
‍A copy of your most recent income tax return to complete the IRS Form 8821 correctly.  Typically, this will be Form 1040 for individuals, or Form 1120, 1120-S, or 1065 for business taxpayers.  For “Schedule C filers” (i.e., sole proprietorships or certain single-member LLCs), please refer to Form 1040, Schedule C, or a payroll tax return (Form 940, 941, etc.), if applicable.

‍What if I don’t have my tax return?
‍In the event you don’t have a recent tax return you may do the following:

Call the IRS at (800) 829-4933 to confirm your Business Name and TIN or request an IRS letter 147c. The hours are 7am to 7pm Monday through Friday. Be prepared to answer several security questions.

‍As part of this process, you may wish to request an IRS Letter 147c.  This is a letter the IRS sends to a company when it has lost or misplaced its TIN and needs confirmation. They will mail or fax your letter.  Note, TaxNow does not need a copy of this letter, but you may wish to retain it for your files.

Here are some useful tips to ensure you are entering the correct data:

Business Name and Address

‍Are you using your legal entity name or a DBA? Please use your legal entity name and address as they appear on your tax return or 147c letter.
Note, your business’ legal name with the IRS may not always match your business name with the Secretary of State (SoS) or similar organization.  The IRS and the SoS (or other local governing organization for legal entities) are not in communication with one another.  Hence, if you filed a name change with the SoS, but have not filed a name change with the IRS (or such name change has yet to be processed), then the IRS’ legal name of record may be different.  For your Form 8821 to be successfully accepted, it must match what the IRS has on record, regardless of what the current legal name is with the SoS or similar organization.  You may wish to call the IRS if you are unsure of whether a name change has been processed.

TIN (Tax Identification Number)

Double check if you transposed any numbers or accidently typed one in wrong. Again, please make sure this number matches what appears on your tax return or 147c letter.
Social Security Numbers (SSN) for individuals always follow a ###-##-#### format (9 digits). Employer Identification Numbers for business always follow a ##-####### format (9 digits).

First and Last Name

Please make sure you use your full legal name and not a nickname.

IRS Accepted Signatories*

LLC: Member or Manager
‍LP, LLP, or other partnership: Partner
‍S or C Corporation** (including incorporated Non-Profits): President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, CEO, CFO, or Director.
‍Sole Proprietorship: Sole Proprietor (must use title ‘Sole Proprietor’)
‍Trust: Trustee, Executor, Administrator, Receiver or Guardian.
‍Unincorporated Non-Profit: Director
‍*For the greatest chance of success, please disregard any tax elections when making the determination of an accepted signatory.  For example, an LLC that has made an election to be taxed as an S-Corporation should still use “Member” or “Manager”.  

**Included corporations designated as “LTDs” or “CompanIes.”